NOTE: This post previously submitted by Carl G. Wassilie, Yupiaq
Gwich'in Youth Speak out...
"Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the Porcupine Caribou herd is what a running river is to spawning salmon. And yet the US government is poised to approve oil and gas development in this birthplace of the Porcupine Caribou. No matter what the outcome, Gwich'in youth will inherit this land." "Vadzaih - Gwich'in Youth on the Arctic Wildlife Refuge"
These words introduce a powerful video produced by concerned Gwich'in youth protesting any move by the US Congress to allow oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). These Gwich'in teenagers want to retain their traditions in a fast-changing world - even if it means speaking out against the US government and some of the most powerful oil companies in the world. In their opinion, "Caribou is really important, more than money. It brings us life." Says another, "I want to live like the elders, travelling on the land". These young Gwich'in want to stay where they were born, where their culture is and they are convinced that oil and gas development in ANWR will limit their options and threaten their traditions and way of life.
ISSUE: Should oil and gas development be allowed in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)? Read more and then send us your opinion!
In 1980, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) was created by United States law. It closed off 1.5 million acres of land on the Coastal Plain in northern Alaska to gas and oil development, "unless authorized by Congress". In giving the US Congress the authority to remove this protected status at any time in the future, the law in effect left the fate of ANWR open to constant review. Recently, oil and gas companies, with the support of President George W. Bush, have been lobbying Congress to support a new energy policy proposal that would open up access to these rich reserves, estimated at more than 10 million barrels. Those opposed to development have likewise mobilized to convince Congress to stop any changes to ANWR's protected status.
Why is ANWR so important? The ecologically-rich Coast Plain area designated as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the calving ground for the 130,000 strong Porcupine Caribou herd which Gwich'in people living on lands adjacent to the Reserve in Alaska and the Yukon depend upon for food, clothing and medicine. ANWR also serves as a nesting ground to 160 species of birds and provides the most important on-shore denning site for polar bears in the US. Grizzly bears, wolves, muskox, wolverine, Arctic fox, whales and other Arctic fauna all call this region home.
At the same time, beneath the ANWR Coastal Plain lies millions of barrels of oil and gas. Advocates for oil development argue that the US needs to access these reserves now to ensure its future domestic energy supply, especially in light of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the war with Iraq. They estimate that there are more than 10 billions barrels of oil in the ANWR region, double the reserves of Texas. It is expected that drilling in ANWR would create between 250,000 and 735,000 jobs and pour billions of dollars into the US economy. Development advocates are confident that new technology can ensure that drilling and transportation can be done in an environmentally sensitive manner that would have little impact on the ecology while giving the US people access to this rich domestic resource.
Inupiat Eskimo favour the development
Not all people living in the Alaska/Yukon region are opposed to drilling in ANWR. The approximately 250 people, mostly Inupiat Eskimo, living in the village of Kaktovik, the only village within the ANWR boundaries, support the prospect of oil and gas development within ANWR. They feel very strongly, based on their experience of the past 20 years working with oil companies on the North Slope oil and gas development of Prudhoe Bay, that development can be managed in an environmentally responsible manner. They welcome the jobs, infrastructure, schools, health services and business opportunities that will arise out of future development. With Prudhoe Bay's reserves dwindling, these Inupiat worry that their current quality of life will likewise diminish if oil and gas production ceases in the region. A community survey shows they believe development in ANWR can be carried out without endangering subsistence animals, including the Porcupine Caribou Herd.
Other Alaskan Inupiat living outside the ANWR boundaries also support leasing in the Refuge area but have opposed or remained less agreeable to offshore leasing for oil development on the grounds that it might harm or drive off the bowhead whales that are central to their cultural and subsistence lifestyle. Nonetheless, they feel strongly that they and future Inupiat generations have a right to benefit from the resources found beneath their traditional lands just as their forefathers benefited from the resources found above ground. They are committed to working with their industry partners to encourage responsible development on their ancestral territory.
Many Inupiat oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The survey in Kaktovik was not done with folks that are subsistence hunting and gathering. They were done by folks dependant on oil development for their job. Recently, the folks in Kaktovik are resisting development due to the recognition of the US government and industry lies.
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation owns subsurface rights to most of the coastal plain of ANWR where drilling is on the plate in the US Budget Reconciliation Bill. Many shareholders are against drilling, but most need the monies to continue the local economy and shareholder profits for individual gain. All the Tribes in Alaska are against drilling, while the 'Native' Corporations see $$$$ signs. Tribes are the closest representation of the People that is around in the current systems of Alaska Native governance. So I disagree with the comment that "Inupiat Eskimo favour the development" of ANWR coastal plain.
Send us your opinion: OOKPIK@iisd.ca