CIRI is one of 12 in-state Native regional corporations established by Congress under the terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, known as ANCSA. A 13th Region was later established for Alaska Natives living outside the state at the time ANCSA passed.

The Act, passed Dec. 18, 1971, settled the aboriginal land claims of Alaska Native people and provided conveyance of land and seed capital to Native for-profit corporations representing various regions of the state.

Some 79,000 Alaska Natives were originally enrolled under the Act. Each enrolled Native received 100 shares of stock in the regional corporation to which he or she was enrolled. Today, CIRI has more than 7,000 shareholders.

ANCSA, a purposeful alternative to the Lower-48 reservation system, was the first settlement of its kind between Native Americans and the federal government. Alaska Natives fought for a corporate structure for holding land and capital, with the freedom to control their own economic and social future.