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Robert Thompson lives in Kaktovik, the only borough existing within the boundaries of the refuge. An outspoken critic of drilling in the refuge, he notes that when dignitaries such as Akaka come to visit, they are often accompanied by the leaders of for-profit native corporations, which are "mandated" to make money.
"The North Slope borough government also influences outsiders' opinions relating to oil development," Thompson says. "Akaka cites the right of indigenous peoples to determine their destiny. The development proposals are a result of the formation of state-chartered corporations. To my knowledge, the traditional government of Kaktovik has never taken a position on oil development on their traditional lands. The native corporation of Kaktovik only represents about one third of the people of Kaktovik."
Thompson expresses other concerns as well. "Large areas are closed in the present oil field. No one will tell us where we will still be allowed to hunt on land. If Akaka is concerned about indigenous people's rights, why doesn't he be concerned about the Gwich'in, who actually reside in closer proximity to the porcupine caribou calving area and have a much larger dependence on them than the people of Barrow? Sometimes the people in positions of power and money are heard more than those who are not."
Indeed, the current rush in Alaska to open up hundreds of thousands of acres outside the Arctic Refuge to oil and gas development has the local community uneasy.
Mary-Margaret Brower, one of the Alaskan delegation that visited Hawaii Island last month, is a thirty-year-old Inupiat mother of two and village health aide in Kaktovik.
"The input from the community is not being heard by the politicians that only see dollar signs with development," she believes. "I'm concerned about our future generations here and our subsistence rights, which would be affected by development of the Arctic Refuge. Heck, a hundred years from now the local native corporations will have their land wiped out right under their noses with their own permission. The leaders are so blinded by the financial gain of oil development - what they gonna do in 100 years when the oil and money is gone? Their grandchildren are going to be crying for more money to put that beef and chicken on their table, because they won't be able to fall back on their subsistence way of life, because they'd have sold all their land for oil. And hunting will be restricted due to safety sensitive issues or extinction of the wildlife. They already are crying about money with the declining revenue. But most of all I want my future generation to continue to subsist/harvest off their lands."
Another of the Alaskan visitors, George Edwardson, is an Inupiat whaler, father of seven children and resident of Barrow, Alaska. A geologist by education, he has worked for Arctic Technical Services, for Arctic Regional Native Corporation, and presently works as gas field operations supervisor. He helped to develop the Environmental Arctic Policy for the Inuit Circumpolar Conference.
"When I was president of the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, I voted no to developing the Arctic Refuge, which has stood for 22 years, and all they want now is to open it so they can also go offshore to drill," says Edwardson. "We will not let them have it. My main interest is to make a safe environment for my children to live in and to pay back my environment for allowing me to make a living on it. I want to teach the children how to be whalers; help those in need however I can; and consult with my Inupiat people in Canada, Greenland, and Alaska on how to protect our home."
The native Alaskans who traveled with the Oil on Ice film tour are only the most recent of several groups from Alaska who have traveled to the Islands, raising awareness about the Arctic Refuge issue and looking for local support. Some Native Hawaiian groups, who fear that the Akaka Bill will set up a Hawaiian model similar to that of the Alaska native corporations, are working with the Alaskan activists to raise grassroots support in Hawai'i and to get the people's voice heard by Senators Akaka and Inouye.
Bumpy Kanahele, leader of Nation of Hawai'i, says, "I've been working with Faith Gimmel and the Gwich'in Steering Committee from the beginning and this issue has our full support. One thing that surprises me, though, is how Hawaiians who are knowledgeable about this issue can turn around and support the Akaka Bill."
"Hawaiian Natives feel solidarity with Alaskan Natives on drilling and development in the Arctic and the effect it has on traditional practices that in themselves rely on a pristine environment," says Jim Medeiros of the Big Island group Protect Keopuka 'Ohana, who participated in local meetings with Akaka and Inouye's staff in Honolulu in mid-January. "Hawaiians face the same problem on a daily basis with the shrinking of the cultural landscape, pollution of their shorelines, alteration of traditional waterways, [and] desecration of our burials."
Clarence Ku Ching, retired attorney and Hawaiian rights activist, says, "You see the press try to paint this as a people issue, a conflict between different peoples, the Gwich'in and the Inupiat. But that's not what it is. It's the corporate guys versus the people. It's all about money and power for them. I'm sure almost all pro-independence Hawaiians support the wishes of these people to maintain their subsistence lifestyles and cultural identity."
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