Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

How do I update contact information, gift shares, or change my name?

All contact information updates, name changes, and gifting of shares are done directly through Bristol Bay Native Corporation. BVI contracts with Bristol Bay Native Corporation via their subsidiary Bristol Bay Corporate Services (BBCS) to manage BVI's shareholder database.

I am a shareholder of Bay View Inc. Does this automatically make me a tribal member of Ivanof Bay Tribe?

In short, no, being a shareholder of Bay View Inc. (BVI) does not mean that you are a tribal member of Ivanof Bay Tribe. Both are entirely separate entities.

BVI is a for-profit Alaska Native village corporation created in 1971 via the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) and only those who received or were gifted shares in BVI are shareholders.

Ivanof Bay Tribe is a non-profit, federally recognized tribe whose tribal citizenship roll is entirely independent of BVI shareholder status. Many individuals who are BVI shareholders happen to also be Ivanof Bay Tribal citizens but many other BVI shareholders are enrolled in a wide variety of federally recognized tribal communities throughout Alaska and the lower 48.

When ANCSA was enacted in 1971, individuals who were then citizens of Ivanof Bay Tribe were offered the opportunity to register with the newly created regional (BBNC) and/or village (BVI) corporation; those who registered received 100 shares of stock in that respective corporation. So, in this manner original BVI shareholders were citizens of Ivanof Bay Tribe and BVI is still considered the village corporation for Ivanof Bay. However, corporation shares have flowed in many different directions since 1971 as people have married, passed on, gifted shares and moved around and being a current shareholder of BVI is no longer implicitly associated with tribal citizenship in the Ivanof Bay Tribe. This is the case for all ANCSA village corporations.

I’ve just reached out to Bay View Inc. When will I be contacted?

Bay View Inc. will contact you within the next 3-5 business days.