Emil Notti

Emil Notti is Koyukon Athabascan from Koyukuk, Alaska. Born in 1933, he grew up living a traditional subsistence lifestyle, but was sent to boarding school for high school since there was no high school in his village. He graduated from Mount Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, Alaska, earned a Bachelors of Science degree in aeronautical and electrical engineering from Northrop Institute of Technology (now Northrop University) in Inglewood, California, and served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.  He worked for Autonetics, a division of North American Aviation, on the Minuteman ballistic missile, and worked for the Federal Aviation Administration in Alaska as an electronic engineer. Emil was one of the early leaders in the Alaska Native land claims movement. He was the first president of the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) in 1966, which was the first statewide organization formed to unify Alaska Natives around the fight for land claims and passage of the 1971 Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement Act. He was a key advocate for the statewide movement and influential in negotiations in Washington, D.C. for the amount of land and money to be given Alaska Natives. After passage of ANCSA, Emil continued to be involved in Native issues. He served as the president and on the board of AFN, ran for U.S. Representative in 1973, and served the State of Alaska as Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services, Commissioner of the Department of Community and Regional Affairs, and Commissioner of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. In 2021, Emil was inducted into the Native American Hall of Fame in recognition of his continued advocacy for Alaska Natives. As an elder, Emil is generous with his time to share his experiences of the ANCSA period and his thoughts on its legacy and future.