2022 Alaska Statutes
Title 14. Education, Libraries, and Museums
Chapter 57. Museums and Natural and Cultural History Repositories
Article 3. Property Held by Museums.
Sec. 14.57.210. Acquisition of title to undocumented property.

(a) A museum may acquire title to undocumented property held by a museum for seven years or longer if

(1) the seven-year holding period is verified by the written records of the museum;

(2) when this paragraph is applicable, the museum has notified by mail all corporations, except nonprofit corporations, created under 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. (Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) that the undocumented property appears to be a Native artifact, that the corporations are requested to view, identify, and catalog the property within one year after the notification, and that the museum may take steps to acquire title to the property after the one-year notification period and the seven-year holding period have expired without a person filing a claim with the museum that the person is the owner of the property; in this paragraph, the periods may run concurrently; and

(3) during the seven-year holding period, or the longer period if expanded by the application of (2) of this subsection, a person has not filed a claim with the museum that the person is the owner of the property.

(b) To acquire title under (a) of this section, the museum shall publish a notice at least once a week for four consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the judicial district where the museum is located. The notice must include

(1) a brief and general description of the property;

(2) the date or approximate date, if known, of the acquisition of the property by the museum;

(3) the name, address, and telephone number of the museum representative to contact for more information or to make a claim of ownership;

(4) the date of the last publication of the notice under this subsection; and

(5) a statement that the museum will acquire title to the property if a valid claim of an owner to the property is not received by the museum within 45 days from the date of the last publication of the notice under this subsection.

(c) The museum acquires the title to the undocumented property, subject to reclamation of the property under AS 14.57.220, as of the 46th day after the date of the last publication of the notice under (b) of this section if the requirements of (a) and (b) of this section are satisfied and if a valid claim of an owner to the property is not received by the museum within 45 days after the date of the last publication of the notice under (b) of this section.