As one of Alaska's representative Indigenous corporations, the NANA regional corporation is operating U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities for revenue, drawing growing criticism among shareholders that it runs counter to Iñupiat values. NANA is one of the 12 regional corporations established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 and has more than 15,000 Iñupiat shareholders. In its early days, it aimed to develop the community through local job creation and resource development, but it has since transformed into a large government contractor headquartered in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
According to Bloomberg on the 24th (local time), NANA's affiliate Akima has contracts with the Ministry of National Defense as well as ICE and operates six detention facilities across the United States, including the Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami, Florida. These facilities have recently seen a series of deaths of detainees, inappropriate uses of force, and forced labor controversies. The human rights group Human Rights Watch noted that Akima failed to provide detainees with minimum hygiene and medical services. In fact, in February, Maksym Cherniak, a Ukrainian refugee, died in detention due to delayed treatment. He complained of a simple health problem, but it was revealed that guards took no action for hours.
NANA posted $2.8 billion in revenue last year, about 80% of which came from Akima's government contracts. This year's ICE-related contracts are nearing $300 million. The company paid dividends of $8.05 and $20 per share in the spring and fall, respectively, and the average dividend per shareholder reached about $3,300. However, some shareholders are voicing opposition, saying, "Human dignity must come before money." Shareholder David Leslie said, "Our corporations are entangled in violence and abuse," adding, "The dividends we receive in return are stained with blood."
As criticism mounted, NANA's board said in a statement that "all detention facilities are under strict supervision and inspection" and that it "has not strayed from Iñupiat values." However, former NANA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Roswell Schaeffer criticized the ICE contracts as "a betrayal of the Iñupiat's fundamental principle of respecting human beings." He said, "We must acknowledge that a company that abuses people of color is owned by us."
NANA's government contracts were originally secured through the 8(a) program, which was created to provide contracting opportunities to socially and economically disadvantaged groups. But after the launch of the Trump administration, as the expansion of ICE detention facilities accelerated, NANA ended up competing with private prison corporations and became the biggest beneficiary. Over the past 10 years, ICE-related contracts signed by NANA affiliates have reached $1.2 billion.
Some shareholders are publicly raising concerns on Facebook and at local meetings. One shareholder said, "If our profit is built on the suffering of others, that is no longer the mission of an Indigenous corporations." However, the board decided to maintain the contracts, saying it found no problems during on-site inspections.
The Trump administration plans to expand detention facilities to more than 100,000 beds, and NANA's Akima has already been selected to operate new camps, including at the Fort Bliss Army base in Texas. Residents of Kotzebue in northern Alaska still take pride in NANA, but some point out that "NANA's success no longer represents our values."