| CIRI shareholder and Board member Gosta Dagg,
Kuskokwim Yup’ik, grew up working in Alaska’s fishing
industry. “During high school and throughout college, I worked
on cannery tenders in Southeast and Bristol Bay, Alaska. They were
good jobs,” said Dagg. The money from fishing helped Dagg
to graduate from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s
degree in business, cum laude, and a law degree.
Dagg is the youngest of five children of Helen and Gosta Dagg. Helen
Dagg grew up in the Bristol Bay region and attended Chemawa Indian
School, operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Oregon. During
World War II, Helen and Gosta Dagg moved to Washington and raised
their family.
Dagg worked for the attorney general’s office before opening
his own law practice in Washington. When Dagg heard of the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), he learned as much as possible
about the impacts on Alaska Natives. “I attended the first
meetings in Washington and Alaska on creating the corporations,
I read the legislation. I helped other people understand the impact
and importance of enrolling, especially to CIRI,” said Dagg.
Dagg remembers CIRI’s first shareholder meetings in Washington.
“We had potluck meetings with more than 100 shareholders in
the Seattle area. I collected proxies for CIRI’s first election
and advocated for shareholders living out of state to participate
on the Board,” said Dagg.
Dagg’s active participation in the enrollment process led
him to sponsoring more than 500 adopted Alaska Natives who were
born in Anchorage. Dagg did not know the individuals but he believed
in their right to participate in ANCSA. “Hearing about the
adopted shareholders reuniting with families and learning about
their culture over the years has been rewarding for me,” said
Dagg.
Dagg has been married to Carol, a writer and former librarian, for
36 years. Their two children are following in their foot steps.
Rolf Dagg graduated from the University of Washington with a Master’s
of Business Administration and joined the Denali Commission as the
ANCSA CEO’s liaison. Emily Dagg is a librarian in Denver.
Dagg has served on the CIRI Board of Directors since 1974. “There
is always something exciting happening at CIRI. I am honored to
serve in John Colberg’s seat and honored to serve the shareholders.
It has been a heck of a lot of fun,” said Dagg. |
