While politicians, lobbyists, activists, and business leaders regularly comment on whether or not the Arctic should be developed, how it should or should not be developed, and the implications of development, the voices of the indigenous people in the area are rarely given much press time. Edward Itta, Inupiat elder, member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, former mayor of North Slope Borough, and Senior Advisor, Pt Capital recently wrote an article expressing this concern. As he says in the article,
Like any other community, we Iñupiat don’t speak with one voice. What matters in this debate is that our views and concerns are taken into account. We need to be heard, because our perspective is fundamentally different from that of the warring parties. We aren’t just staking a claim to the Arctic. We’re part of it, and we always will be.
Full article here.
Excerpt from article:
Ours is a communal culture. Sharing has always been a key to our survival. It’s a good thing, because now there’s a whole lot of sharing going on. Lands that once belonged to us are under siege by two warring tribes — the environmentalists and the oil companies. Neither group owns any land outright. The federal government controls the 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to the east of Prudhoe Bay and the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA) in the west. Native corporations own smaller areas, primarily around the eight villages that are home to our Iñupiat people. . . .
We are a practical people. That’s how we survived for thousands of years in the Arctic. We have supported oil development in some cases and fought against it in others. We don’t have a default position, because the well being of our people depends on both oil and protected land. Our traditional hunting culture is linked to the health of wildlife habitat, while access to decent housing, food and transportation requires us to earn a living. We don’t choose between the two — we try to balance them.
Turtle Talk 