 Residents petitioned to be granted an Indian Reservation as a way of securing their rights to the surrounding land.The area had previously been designated as the Hydaburg Indian Reservation from 1912-1926 but had been returned to the Tongass National Forest at community request in 1926.The Hydaburg Indian Reservation was established under the Indian Reorganization Act in 1949 but was invalidated by a US District Court decision in 1952.