ANCSA established a closed shareholder system tied to enrollment status at the time of enactment.
Eligibility for shares was fixed based on Native status at the time of ANCSA’s passage. Shares were initially non-transferable and inheritance rules were defined by statute. This design aimed to prevent land alienation but also locked ownership into a static framework disconnected from population growth and future generations.
The closed shareholder model has produced intergenerational tension, dilution concerns, and ongoing debates about inclusion, descendants, and equity—issues not anticipated in the original design.