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Gwich'in Elders

The Elders of the Tribal Group
The Elders of the Tribal Group

The Setting
One of North America’s last great wilderness areas, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) often is called the “American Serengeti” for the richness and diversity of the ecosystem. In northeastern Alaska, it is among the most pristine ecosystems on earth. It is home to more than 180 bird species, 36 species of freshwater fish, and mammals including polar bears, wolverines, moose and Dall sheep. The narrow coastal plain of the refuge also is the birthplace and nursing grounds of 130,000 Porcupine Caribou. The Gwich'in call this area "the sacred place where life begins."

Jonathon Solomon


The Threats
From the beginning, the Gwich'in First Nations peoples campaign has focused on what is at stake for the Gwich'in. Oil exploration and drilling in ANWR, currently being debated in Congress, risks high-impact environmental disturbance for the sake of a very limited supply of petroleum. Drilling for oil and gas in the coastal plain would require hundreds of miles of roads and pipelines and massive production facilities. Oil exploration would interrupt the life cycle of the Porcupine Caribou that have been the foundation of Gwich'in culture and subsistence for 20,000 years. Global warming has already disturbed the ecosystems of the refuge. The permafrost on the tundra is showing signs of melting, impinging on the food supply and migration patterns of Arctic wildlife, including the caribou.

Struggles and Success
In the mid-1980s, Canada and the United States entered into an historic agreement to protect the Arctic’s Porcupine Caribou. Solomon, as a member of the International Porcupine Caribou Commission, was a key negotiator of the agreement. He has also successfully negotiated several land claims on behalf of the Gwich'in. Solomon is steadfast in prioritizing the inclusion of the entire Gwich’in community in all decisions affecting their land and the caribou.

Norma Kassi


The Gwich'in Steering Committee elected James as its chairperson in 1988. Since then, she has become a national and global leader in the Gwich'in campaign to save the refuge and caribou. She has continuously worked to educate Congress about maintaining ANWR’s protected status. In 2000, she traveled to the international climate change talks in the Netherlands to publicize the connection between global warming and the degradation of the Arctic. James is currently coordinating the efforts of various native peoples to develop sustainable sources of energy in the region. As a result of her work, solar power was recently installed in two Gwich'in villages. James also offers inspiration and guidance to the next generation of Gwich'in. This year, she helped organize the Gwich’in Young Peoples Gathering, a five-day assembly to celebrate and to strategize about ANWR conservation.

Sarah James


Kassi initiated the struggle to save the Porcupine Caribou in Northeastern Alaska on behalf of the Gwich'in. She has organized numerous conferences, community activities and media events on environmental and health issues affecting the Arctic. She has appeared at U.S. Congressional hearings and has organized support among major environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club, Audubon and the National Wildlife Federation. In August of 2000, she met with former President Jimmy Carter, who pledged to ask then-President Clinton to declare the ANWR a national monument. This summer Kassi traveled to Hawaii to urge Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI), a member of the Senate Energy and Resources Committee, to join others in Congress in denouncing oil drilling in the refuge.

"We are caribou people," said James. "It’s our clothing, our story, our song, our dance and our food—that’s who we are. If you drill for oil here, you are drilling right into the heart of our existence."

"Some might say it is a fool’s errand to fight the oil industry in Alaska, but we have no choice but to fight," added Solomon. "They may have their lobbyists and campaign contributions, but we have found that a well-timed visit to the halls of Congress by Gwich'in, whose lives and livelihoods would be devastated, can make for a very convincing argument."

Kassi noted, "For thousands of years the Gwich'in have safeguarded the sacred calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou, which sustains our existence. Is it right that the fate of yet another indigenous culture will be determined by the U.S. government?"

Page created on 10/22/2011 3:51:27 PM

Last edited 10/22/2011 3:51:27 PM

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