WEBVTT - How Did an Alaska Native Corporation Become an ICE Detention Giant?

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>Kotsubue is a community of about three thousand people in

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<v Speaker 2>northwest Alaska. It sits roughly thirty miles north of the

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<v Speaker 2>Arctic Circle.

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<v Speaker 1>It's pretty remote. There's no roads that connect to the

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<v Speaker 1>community or any of the communities in the region. We

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<v Speaker 1>primarily travel by plane, boat, or in the wintertime, we

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<v Speaker 1>use snowmobiles to kind of travel along the ice.

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<v Speaker 2>Desiree Hagen lives there. She's the news director of the

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<v Speaker 2>local public radio station KOTZ In Kotsubu.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm the only news person. I'm the only reporter, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's a region the size of Indiana.

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<v Speaker 2>Most of Kottsubu's residents are in newpiac, a group indigenous

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<v Speaker 2>to northwestern Alaska. Their families have been there for generations.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a community big on nature.

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<v Speaker 1>We have a major dog race. It's like the last

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<v Speaker 1>dog race of the season, dog machine race. It's in April.

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<v Speaker 1>I've always wanted to do it. I've always thought like,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe one day I.

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<v Speaker 3>Could do this race.

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<v Speaker 2>Many residents are also shareholders or employees of NANA. It's

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<v Speaker 2>a for profit corporation established by Congress in the nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>seventies as a settlement over land claims by indigenous tribes

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<v Speaker 2>and to prop up Alaska's native economies. Twice a year,

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<v Speaker 2>Nana shareholders get a dividend payout of the company's profits.

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<v Speaker 1>Everybody looks forward to Nana dividends to dividend time.

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<v Speaker 2>In twenty twenty five, the average payout for the year

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<v Speaker 2>per shareholder will be about three three hundred dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>They'll hold off doing things until they get their dividend,

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<v Speaker 1>Like once I get my dividend, I'm going to get

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<v Speaker 1>a new four wheeler, or you know, hey, can I

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<v Speaker 1>borrow some money. I'll pay you back when dividends get here.

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<v Speaker 2>Historically that money came from Nana work in local industries

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<v Speaker 2>like oil and mining. In fact, Nana leases the mining

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<v Speaker 2>rights to one of the largest lead and zinc mines

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<v Speaker 2>in the world. But in recent years, the overwhelming majority

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<v Speaker 2>of Nana's revenue, the money that's fueling those dividend payments,

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<v Speaker 2>it's come from a subsidiary of the company, and a

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<v Speaker 2>chunk of that money comes from a corner of Nana's

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<v Speaker 2>business that some shareholders say they weren't aware of, ice

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<v Speaker 2>detention facilities.

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<v Speaker 4>There were folks who were surprised to learn that the

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<v Speaker 4>company was involved in this work.

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<v Speaker 2>Potly Mason's is an investigative reporter at Bloomberg. She visited

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<v Speaker 2>Kotzebu to report with Desiree on Nana's growing relationship with ICE,

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<v Speaker 2>and Poty says that as news of those government contracts

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<v Speaker 2>has come to light, it's caused deep concern among some

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<v Speaker 2>in the community.

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<v Speaker 4>The shareholders who I spoke with, they all sort of

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<v Speaker 4>had the same refrain that they were, you know, they

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<v Speaker 4>totally understood that these might be profitable contracts, but they

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<v Speaker 4>were concerned that, however profitable they might be, that they

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<v Speaker 4>did not uphold the values of their community, and that

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<v Speaker 4>they were zerned about human rights conditions and how people

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<v Speaker 4>might be treated in these facilities.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm David Gera, and this is the Big Take from

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<v Speaker 2>Bloomberg News Today. On the show, a collaboration between Bloomberg News,

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<v Speaker 2>Kotz and Alaska Public Media, How an Alaska Native Corporation

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<v Speaker 2>became an ICE detention giant, and why some of its

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<v Speaker 2>shareholders are now speaking out. Alaska Native Corporations were established

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<v Speaker 2>through the Alaska Native Claim Settlement Act in nineteen seventy one.

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<v Speaker 2>In exchange for dropping their claims to vast areas of

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<v Speaker 2>the state, Alaska natives received roughly forty five million acres

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<v Speaker 2>of land and nearly one billion dollars in a settlement payment.

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<v Speaker 2>The act helped clear the way for the trans Alaska

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<v Speaker 2>Pipeline system and came after a push from Alaska Native

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<v Speaker 2>leaders to create an alternative to the reservation system of

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<v Speaker 2>the lower forty eight states. So divided Alaska into twelve

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<v Speaker 2>regions and established a private, for profit regional corporation for

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<v Speaker 2>each of them. NANA is one of those corporations. The

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<v Speaker 2>regional corporations got mineral and oil rights for those lands,

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<v Speaker 2>and nana's over fifteen thousand shareholders are eligible for a

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<v Speaker 2>cut of those profits. Here's Kotz's Desiree Hagen.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the reasons that this was created was some

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<v Speaker 1>of the people that were sort of the architects of

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<v Speaker 1>this system. They wanted people to be independent so that

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<v Speaker 1>they could do activities like subsistence hunting and fishing and

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<v Speaker 1>would have a sort of passive income.

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<v Speaker 2>Desiree and Bloomberg's Polymoscins have been reporting on NANA, the

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<v Speaker 2>Alaska Native corporation that got spun up in Consubu and

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<v Speaker 2>its surrounding area after President Nixon signed that legislation into law.

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<v Speaker 2>Polly says, at first, NANA invested in industries that were

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<v Speaker 2>close to home in.

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<v Speaker 4>Their business, sort of in the seventies and early eighties,

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<v Speaker 4>a lot of what they're focused on is natural resources.

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<v Speaker 4>They're focused on oil, on mining, on supporting the Trans

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<v Speaker 4>Alaska pipeline system, and they start to struggle a little bit.

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<v Speaker 4>They're having a little bit of trouble, and Congress sees

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<v Speaker 4>a way out, they see a solution, and they decide

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<v Speaker 4>to extend what's called the eight A Program.

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<v Speaker 2>The eight A Program is essentially a carve out. It's

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<v Speaker 2>meant to help socially and economically disadvantaged groups compete for

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<v Speaker 2>government contracts, and it requires the federal government to reserve

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<v Speaker 2>a certain percentage of contracts to bidders from those backgrounds.

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<v Speaker 4>That basically means that instead of competing in this huge, huge,

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<v Speaker 4>huwed wide world of government contracting, you're competing in a

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<v Speaker 4>different program that's a little bit smaller and geared towards

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<v Speaker 4>these smaller, perhaps disadvantage groups.

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<v Speaker 2>NANA has been doing work for the federal government as

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<v Speaker 2>far back as nineteen ninety five when it got a

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<v Speaker 2>contract to provide services to the US Military Academy at

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<v Speaker 2>West Point.

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<v Speaker 4>They're doing variety of work in all corners of the

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<v Speaker 4>federal government. There is technical work, there's tech support, there's

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<v Speaker 4>DoD contracting. You know, it's not like they are just

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<v Speaker 4>in one teeny tiny sliver of the federal government. There

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<v Speaker 4>are no shortage of contracts that they are going to

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<v Speaker 4>take on.

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<v Speaker 2>And in twenty twelve, Nana organized all of its federal

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<v Speaker 2>contracting under one subsidiary called Akama. The next year, Akama

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<v Speaker 2>hired a former assistant ICE Field Office director. His LinkedIn

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<v Speaker 2>page lists his role at the company that year as

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<v Speaker 2>director of Operations. By twenty fourteen, Okama won its first

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<v Speaker 2>contract to run an ice detention facility, the Chrome North

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<v Speaker 2>Service Processing Center in Miami.

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<v Speaker 4>You might have heard of Chrome more recently this year

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<v Speaker 4>because it was one of the centers that was over

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<v Speaker 4>capacity in the early Trump administration earlier this year. That

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<v Speaker 4>is their first foray into ice work. From there, they

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<v Speaker 4>take on the Batavia Detention Center, which is in New

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<v Speaker 4>York State, And now they've got about a half dozen

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<v Speaker 4>places that they're operating.

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<v Speaker 2>Among those half dozen other places is Guantanamo Bay. Through

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<v Speaker 2>its subsidiary NANA, runs the Trump administration's migrant detention facility there.

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<v Speaker 4>That's a really big one. I think that that is

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<v Speaker 4>a facility that has not actually held a ton of people,

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<v Speaker 4>but gotten a lot of attention because of its location.

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<v Speaker 2>What do we know broadly speaking about the conditions inside

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<v Speaker 2>these ICE facilities that are run by Akama.

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<v Speaker 4>So I'll start off by speaking about Chrome. Chrome during

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<v Speaker 4>the second Trump administration in its early days, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>it was being cited for just overflow issues. And you

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<v Speaker 4>know the other thing that we start hearing about Chrome

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<v Speaker 4>that people feel unsafe there, they feel overcrowded.

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<v Speaker 2>Since the start of the year, four men in ICE

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<v Speaker 2>custody have died after being detained at Chrome. At another

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<v Speaker 2>Akama managed detention center near Buffalo, New York, government inspectors

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<v Speaker 2>repeatedly found that guards used inappropriate force. In a lawsuit,

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<v Speaker 2>those detained there have alleged they were subject to forced labor.

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<v Speaker 2>Acama has denied the forced labor allegations, and the case

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<v Speaker 2>hasn't yet gone to trial. Ice did not respond to

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<v Speaker 2>requests for comment, and US Customs and Border Protection and

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<v Speaker 2>the Department of Homeland Security have not responded to claims

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<v Speaker 2>by detained immigrants Bloomberg spoke with. Nana also did not

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<v Speaker 2>reply to a detailed list of questions from Bloomberg.

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<v Speaker 4>However, in April, after a Facebook poll was conducted by

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<v Speaker 4>some shareholders who were concerned about this line of work,

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<v Speaker 4>the company did note that they felt like this work

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<v Speaker 4>did uphold their values of their community, and the company

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<v Speaker 4>noted that they were not able to disclose some of

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<v Speaker 4>the nature of the contract and speak publicly extensively at

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<v Speaker 4>the time.

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<v Speaker 2>But through the years, Nana's contract work through Akama and

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<v Speaker 2>the eight AA program has only grown. Polly says, it's

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<v Speaker 2>a noteworthy example of a diversity and inclusion initiative that

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<v Speaker 2>survived under an administration trying to get rid of them.

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<v Speaker 2>NANA subsidiaries have secured contracts worth nearly one point two

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<v Speaker 2>billion dollars to work with ICE over the past decade.

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<v Speaker 2>That's according to government contracting data compiled by Bloomberg Government.

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<v Speaker 2>So what does all this mean for NANA shareholders in Kotzebue.

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<v Speaker 2>Polly spoke with Roswell Schaeffer Senior, a man who's had

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<v Speaker 2>many lives in the city growing up.

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<v Speaker 5>Everybody had to help in the household to survive. So

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<v Speaker 5>we picked berries. We picked greens where we hunt constantly, and.

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<v Speaker 4>I picked salmon berry's yesterday.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh you did that all cool.

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<v Speaker 2>He's been a commercial fisherman, a subsistence hunter, and an artist.

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<v Speaker 2>He's been a mayor, a councilman, and a judge. And

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<v Speaker 2>from nineteen ninety to nineteen ninety two he was also

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<v Speaker 2>the president and chief executive officer of Nana. He told Polly,

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<v Speaker 2>the Nana of today is a far cry from the

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<v Speaker 2>corporation he oversaw.

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<v Speaker 4>So what kind of business was Nana doing at the

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<v Speaker 4>time that you were president.

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<v Speaker 5>Well, there they had a construction company, we had a

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<v Speaker 5>fishing business, oil oil services, electrical services up on the

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<v Speaker 5>Norse Smoke. We had all kinds of jobs light that.

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<v Speaker 2>Now with the ice contracts, Shaffer says, the corporation has

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<v Speaker 2>lost its way.

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<v Speaker 5>That's that the contract really goes contrary to our values. Absolutely,

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<v Speaker 5>the attention facilities like that are against our principles.

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<v Speaker 2>A lot of Nana's ice business is run thousands of

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<v Speaker 2>miles away from Kotzebue. So who's in charge and how

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<v Speaker 2>are shareholders making their concerns known? That's after the break

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<v Speaker 2>over the last decade. NANA, the Alaska Native corporation based

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<v Speaker 2>in the city of Kotzebue, has one contracts worth more

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<v Speaker 2>than one billion dollars to run and support ice detention facilities,

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<v Speaker 2>and residents of the community who get a dividend of

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<v Speaker 2>the corporation's profits, are starting to raise concerns that this

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<v Speaker 2>business doesn't align with the community's values, but Bloomberg's Polymosin

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<v Speaker 2>says that a lot of that business happens far away.

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<v Speaker 2>Kotspew doesn't have ice attention facilities in town, and the

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<v Speaker 2>subsidiary that handles nana's federal contracting, ACAMA, is headquartered thousands

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<v Speaker 2>of miles away from the Arctic Circle.

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<v Speaker 4>So they are run really kind of like a traditional

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<v Speaker 4>classic government contractor. It's exactly where you expect them to

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<v Speaker 4>be an office park in Virginia. You know, the folks

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<v Speaker 4>who are running it have a lot of career experience

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<v Speaker 4>in the federal government, and some folks who they're hiring

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<v Speaker 4>that's really what they've always done, just in this case

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<v Speaker 4>they're doing it for an Alaska Native corporation.

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<v Speaker 2>Crucial to all that business is Akima's CEO and president,

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<v Speaker 2>Bill Monet. He's a Virginia executive who's worked in government

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<v Speaker 2>contracting for decades.

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<v Speaker 4>Money is certainly well compensated. If we look at his

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<v Speaker 4>compensation over the last six years, it's almost forty million dollars.

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<v Speaker 2>In twenty twenty four, Money received seven point nine million

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<v Speaker 2>dollars according to a proxy statement filed by the company.

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<v Speaker 2>That's roughly two million dollars more than the total compensation

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<v Speaker 2>that year of the former CEO of Geogroup, the biggest

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<v Speaker 2>private prison operator in the country.

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<v Speaker 4>I do think that that is notable. You know, that's

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<v Speaker 4>certainly not all of Bill Monet's job. They do a

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<v Speaker 4>whole lot of other contracting. Dood work is a huge

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<v Speaker 4>part of their business, like it is with most federal contracting.

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<v Speaker 4>But I do you think it's important to know what

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<v Speaker 4>his compensation looks like.

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<v Speaker 2>Over that time, you mentioned that word began to spread

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<v Speaker 2>about these ice contracts that NANA had. How would you

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<v Speaker 2>describe that reaction among people in the community as they

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<v Speaker 2>learned about that, The reaction among shareholders to that news.

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<v Speaker 1>I think a lot of people were shocked. They had

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<v Speaker 1>not heard of it.

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<v Speaker 2>Kotz's desire Hagen says that as news of Nana's ice

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<v Speaker 2>contracts traveled through the community. Some shareholders found it troubling.

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<v Speaker 1>One thing that comes up a lot is that it

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<v Speaker 1>goes against their value system. So there are different values.

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<v Speaker 1>It's in youpac illucusate, which is like, actually, I have

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<v Speaker 1>them right here a list. I think it's about let's say, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:16.680
<v Speaker 1>I think it's about seventeen is when I'm counting, you know,

0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.840
<v Speaker 1>and their like respect for elders, respect for tribe, respect

0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:24.640
<v Speaker 1>for nature, you know, cooperation, hard work, humility, humor. You know,

0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:27.000
<v Speaker 1>they go on. But one of the things that I

0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.400
<v Speaker 1>heard a few people say is like, why are we

0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:33.880
<v Speaker 1>doing this to other brown people? You know, why are we,

0:13:35.080 --> 0:13:39.360
<v Speaker 1>as Indupac people doing this to another marginalized group.

0:13:39.920 --> 0:13:43.520
<v Speaker 2>Polly says some shareholders are starting to speak out. There

0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.400
<v Speaker 2>was that Facebook poll in March. The true response is

0:13:46.440 --> 0:13:49.720
<v Speaker 2>from one hundred shareholders, and a majority of respondents said

0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:53.079
<v Speaker 2>they disapproved of the work. A NANA shareholder emailed the

0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:57.280
<v Speaker 2>corporation's board expressing her disapproval of Nana's contracts with ICE.

0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:00.880
<v Speaker 4>A few months after she sent that letter, the shareholder

0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:05.240
<v Speaker 4>received a response from the board chair and the board

0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:09.200
<v Speaker 4>chair in a one page letter basically said we are

0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:12.040
<v Speaker 4>comfortable with these contracts. The board has conducted site visits

0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:13.439
<v Speaker 4>and that's that.

0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:17.920
<v Speaker 2>And in late July, the issue resurfaced at a community

0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:20.440
<v Speaker 2>meeting for NANA shareholders in the village of Deering.

0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:23.960
<v Speaker 3>My English name is ru Ramos. I'm calling from the

0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:28.000
<v Speaker 3>Lower forty eight, but I care deeply about what happened

0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:32.320
<v Speaker 3>to our community, to our people, and how NANA leads.

0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:35.760
<v Speaker 2>The meeting was intended to cover general business matters, but

0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:39.640
<v Speaker 2>several shareholders pressed Nana's board on why Akama continues to

0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:40.320
<v Speaker 2>work with ICE.

0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:44.920
<v Speaker 3>So I'm asking and hoping for leadership from Nana to

0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:50.760
<v Speaker 3>really assess whether those relationships are worth the financial woodfall

0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:54.320
<v Speaker 3>that's clearly coming our way. So I really encourage us

0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:59.680
<v Speaker 3>all to really think about being displaced from our lands.

0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:04.000
<v Speaker 3>As a Lower forty eight Innuit, I feel really strongly

0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:08.200
<v Speaker 3>that being displaced is the place in which our hearts

0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:11.360
<v Speaker 3>and our spirits go to die. So I really hope

0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:16.600
<v Speaker 3>that you all see the pain that where people are

0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:20.720
<v Speaker 3>causing problems. So I'm asking for sharing. You often known

0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:23.080
<v Speaker 3>we have RESK for connection.

0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:27.240
<v Speaker 2>Nana's president said he thought their comments were heartfelt, but

0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:30.360
<v Speaker 2>noted that connectivity issues made it difficult for some people

0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:33.320
<v Speaker 2>on the call to hear them. Meanwhile, Akama's business with

0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:37.240
<v Speaker 2>ice is continuing to grow. The value of Nana's ice

0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:41.000
<v Speaker 2>contracts this year is approaching three hundred million dollars, a

0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:43.760
<v Speaker 2>figure that Polly says is rising sharply.

0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:46.960
<v Speaker 4>That is an increase of one hundred million dollars since

0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:50.000
<v Speaker 4>last year. And while those are both plenty large numbers,

0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:52.760
<v Speaker 4>we also need to be looking ahead at the forty

0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:56.080
<v Speaker 4>five billion with a B dollars that are going to

0:15:56.120 --> 0:16:00.720
<v Speaker 4>be dedicated to this line of work in the future. Now,

0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:03.960
<v Speaker 4>I do think that as more people find out, perhaps

0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:06.200
<v Speaker 4>that those careers are going to be more frequent, perhaps

0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:08.600
<v Speaker 4>there'll be more shareholders asking these questions. But among the

0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.680
<v Speaker 4>shareholders who have posed the question so far, they have

0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:15.600
<v Speaker 4>not found a super robust plan from the board being presented.

0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:18.320
<v Speaker 4>They haven't released any information about moving away from these

0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:21.720
<v Speaker 4>contracts or anything like that, just that their impressions thus

0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:24.040
<v Speaker 4>far is that they will be continue with this line

0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:26.520
<v Speaker 4>of work and they do believe that their values are

0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:28.880
<v Speaker 4>being upheld in how they handle this line of work.

0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:37.520
<v Speaker 2>This is the big take from Bloomberg News. I'm David

0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:40.280
<v Speaker 2>Gurra to get more from The Big Take and unlimited

0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:43.600
<v Speaker 2>access to all of bloomberg dot Com. Subscribe today at

0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:48.040
<v Speaker 2>Bloomberg dot com slash podcast offer. If you'd like this episode,

0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.280
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0:16:53.320 --> 0:16:55.160
<v Speaker 2>Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow