%images;]> llnc-047 Corporate charter of the Native village of Diomede Alaska : a machine readable transcription. A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 to 1873. Selected and converted. American Memory, Library of Congress.

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2000/07/28 0001

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

CORPORATE CHARTER OF THE NATIVE VILLAGE OF DIOMEDE ALASKA

RATIFIED JANUARY 31, 1940

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1941

0002 1
CORPORATE CHARTER OF THE NATIVE VILLAGE OF DIOMEDE
A FEDERAL CORPORATION CHARTERED UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 18, 1934, AS AMENDED BY THE ACT OF MAY 1, 1936

Whereas, a group of Eskimos having a common bond of living together in Diomede, Territory of Alaska, seek to organize under sections 16 and 17 of the Act of June 18, 1934, and section 1 of the Act of May 1, 1936, by adoption of a constitution and by-laws and a charter approved by the Secretary of the Interior,

Now, therefore, I, Oscar L. Chapman, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, by virtue of the authority given to me by the above acts, do hereby submit this charter of incorporation to the group of Eskimos so organizing.

Section 1. Purpose and Name. —In order to enable the Village and its members to do various kinds of business for their good, the Village is hereby chartered as a corporation of the United States of America under the name of “Native Village of Diomede”.

Sec. 2. Membership. —The corporation shall be a membership corporation, consisting of all persons of the Village considered members under the rules of its Constitution.

Sec. 3. Management. —The corporation shall be managed by the governing body set up under the Constitution.

Sec. 4. Powers. —The corporation shall have the power to do the following things:

To own, hold, manage and dispose of all Village property;

To make contracts;

To sue and be sued;

To borrow money from the revolving Indian credit fund and to use it under a loan contract;

To enter into any business or activity that will better the condition of the Village and its members;

To do such other things as may be necessary to carry on the business and activities of the Village.

Sec. 5. Limits to Powers. —In using its powers the corporation must not do the following things:

Go against any law or the Constitution and By-laws of the Village;

Sell or mortgage any land set aside as a reserve for the Village;

Make leases, permits or contracts covering any lands or waters set aside as a reserve for the Village without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior or his authorized representative.

Sec. 6. Property of Members. —Property owned by a member of the Village shall not be taken to pay the debts of the corporation without his consent.

Sec. 7. Records. —The corporation shall keep correct records of its business and activities and give copies of these records when asked 0003 2 to do so to the representative of the Office of Indian Affairs serving the Village.

Sec. 8. Changes in the Charter. —Changes in the charter may be made by the Village and if approved by the Secretary of the Interior shall be in force when agreed to by a majority vote of those members voting in an election called by the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That at least 30 per cent of the voting membership votes. The charter itself shall continue in force for all time, unless taken away by act of Congress.

Sec. 9. Adoption of Charter. —This charter shall be in force when it is agreed to by a majority vote of those members voting in an election called by the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That at least 30 per cent of the voting membership votes and provided that the Village has agreed to a constitution and by-laws approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

This Charter is hereby approved and submitted to the group of Eskimos having a common bond of residence in the Village of Diomede, Alaska, to be voted on in an election called and held under the Instructions of the Secretary of the Interior. The Charter shall be deemed issued when a petition for a Charter, signed by one-third of the adult Eskimos, has been received by an authorized representative of the Department of the Interior.

Oscar L. Chapman, Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

Washington, D. C., May 15, 1939.

CERTIFICATION

Pursuant to an order, approved May 15, 1939, by the Assistant Secretary of the Interior, the attached Charter was submitted for ratification to the group of Eskimos having a common bond of residence in the Village of Diomede, Territory of Alaska, and was on January 31, 1940, duly ratified by a vote of 27 for and 10 against, in an election in which over 30 per cent of those entitled to vote cast their ballots, in accordance with the Alaska Act of May 1, 1936 (49 Stat. 1250), and section 17 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984), as amended by the Act of June 15, 1935 (49 Stat. 378).

Dwight Milligrock, Chairman, Election Board.

N. Whitaker, Government Representative.