The proposed trans-Alaska pipeline could not proceed without resolving Native land claims.
As plans for the trans-Alaska pipeline advanced, unresolved Aboriginal claims created a legal impasse. Federal courts halted progress due to the lack of clear land title. This blockage made it politically untenable to continue postponing a comprehensive settlement and forced Congress to confront the land claims issue directly.
This moment demonstrates that ANCSA was not only a policy choice but a legal necessity created by structural conflict. The settlement’s urgency came from legal constraint, not solely political goodwill.