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INTERNATIONAL

4
lej of Alas ahav' Lshed their absolute title rights and their
. .....
4nati9 polihal status Barnes, representative of the
enous P. Alaska before the United itti. 'flodged several diplomatic
t; 41
agait ted States of America and the ations itself for the denial of the
f self-det ion to the Alaska natives on g racial discrimination.

how did Alaska aeli i e e this historically recognized iliterHationa I status

Alaska was placed on the list of Non-Self-Governing Ter- Alaska, but only special trade rights with the natives. In
ritories by virtue of General Assembly resolution 66 (I) in any event, the Indigenous Peoples did not lose their right
1946, in recognition of its unresolved international legal to the land and must be seen as an independent and non-
and political status. The United States of America, Great consenting third party to the 1867 Treaty.
Britain and others asserted the independence of Alaska
19th
from the Russian Monarchy in the century and as- The United Nations Special Rapporteur Professor Miguel
serted their right to unregulated direct trade with Alaska's Alfonso Martinez stated in his report to the Sub-Com-
Indigenous Peoples. mission on the Promotion and Protection of Human
Rights that the 1867 Treaty of Cession of Alaska between
The historical reasons for Alaska being placed on an the Monarchy of Russia and the United States of America
equal plane with European Nations can be found in the granted neither title nor jurisdiction to the United States
documents published in 1903 concerning the Alaska of America. In his final report Professor Martinez stated
Boundary Tribunal between Great Britain and the United that the burden of proof is on States to prove they have
States of America and in the diplomatic communication properly acquired the territory of Indigenous Peoples.
entitled Confidential Memorial. Secretary of State John
Quincy Adams on behalf of President James Monroe as- The United Nations did not monitor the 1958 referendum
serted to the Monarchy of Russia using the treatise "Law that led to removal of Alaska from the list of Non-Self-
of Nations" by Emmerich de Vattel that, "she had no right Governing Territories by General Assembly resolution
to claim, either under the title of discovery or of posses- 1469 of 12 December 1959, violating United Nations
sion" the Northwest Coast of North America (Alaska). procedures, principles and international law. The United
The United States indicated that it "does not appear to States denied the right of self-determination to the In-
establish that the territory in question has been legiti- digenous Peoples of Alaska by instituting doctrines of
mately incorporated within the Russian empire": Further, superiority and racial discrimination in Alaska in the
the United States acted on the position that "the natives US Supreme Court judgments Johnson v. McIntosh and
ought to be regarded as independent tribes" by continu- the Tee-Hit-Ton v. United States of America despite its
ing to trade directly without the regulation or prohibition obligation to remove racial discrimination in law and
of the Monarch of Russia. The maxim "Nemo dat quod policy after it asserted absolute title and denied Russia
non habet" or "no man can give another any better title could claim discovery title or possession. The United States
than he himself has" applies to the 1867 Treaty of Cession misled the General Assembly in the report, among other
between the Monarchy of Russia and the United States of violations, by not stating that it had allowed its military
America since Russia had not acquired sovereignty over and American citizens and immigrants to vote in the ref-

28 DIVA - INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT