The battle over whether for-profit Alaska Native corporations should get a slice of the $8 billion in coronavirus relief intended for U.S. tribes exploded Thursday into a Twitter fight among U.S. senators, an Alaska-born Interior Department official and the governor.
Let’s get you caught up: Congress has agreed to give $150 billion in relief money to local governments across the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. Some of that money is set aside for tribal governments. But some tribes, especially in the Lower 48, were surprised to see they might be competing with large Alaska Native regional corporations for the cash.