About Bristol Bay Native Corporation
Over the past few years, Alaska has faced economic uncertainty, yet BBNC has remained very strong and healthy. We’ve worked diligently to maintain strong earnings and a robust cash flow. We continue to pay out predictable and increasing dividends to our shareholders. We continue to create economic, employment and training oppertunities. We’re as strong as we’ve ever been. There’s no business model for indigenous people like ANCSA anywhere else in the world, and after 48 years, we’ve never lost sight of its true meaning or the opportunity it affords us.
What started with three million acres of land and $33 million has grown into a business with roughly $600 million in assets, around 4,300 employees, and 10,500-plus shareholders. We do business in every state in the U.S. and across the globe in 11 foreign countries. We boast a diverse investment portfolio with a market value of about $200 million. And to date, we’ve distributed more than $200 million in shareholder dividends.
We’ve gotten here by standing behind innovation, seeking new opportunities, and not being afraid to try new things. We hire great people, treat them well, and let them do their best work. We’ve taken the best traits of the Western corporate model and blended them with our own, a model that has sustained BBNC for almost 50 years without any major economic setbacks. And as always, we honor our land, our people, our traditions, and our culture. We look to the future with optimism, excitement and clarity.
Centuries ago, the three distinct Native cultures of the Bristol Bay region began reaching out to each other, braving treacherous journeys, language barriers, and territorial disputes in their efforts to connect. Driven by curiosity, a spirit of exploration and the hope of finding resources not available in their own territory, our earliest ancestors became successful traders, due in part to their willingness to venture from home.
Today, Bristol Bay Native Corporation continues that tradition of exploration and cooperation. Our shareholders live in Bristol Bay, and around the world. As a corporation, we search out profitable projects worldwide to provide more opportunities and benefits for our shareholders and their families. Our commitment is, as it has always been, to enrich the lives of our people through economic development, employment and educational opportunities, and responsible resource management.
Natives leaders from the Bristol Bay region and across Alaska played an important role in achieving the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) by encouraging the Native Claims movement.
ANCSA offered an alternative to the Indian reservation system in the Lower 48. When ANCSA was signed into law on Dec. 18, 1971, it required each of the 12 newly formed regions to create a for-profit corporation. Bristol Bay Native Corporation was incorporated in 1972 and received approximately 3 million acres of land, primarily subsurface estate. Roughly 5,400 Alaska Natives with ties to the Bristol Bay region received 100 shares of stock in BBNC. Today, BBNC has more than 10,500 shareholders.
Our foundation is based on our land and our shareholders. BBNC’s founders took their knowledge of the land and culture and built BBNC into a diversified corporation with nearly $2 billion in annual revenue. This revenue has been shared with our shareholders, who have received more than $120 million in dividends since our inception. BBNC has and continues to be a major contributor to Alaska’s economy.