SEN. DAN SULLIVAN RIPS OF COPY OF BILL
The Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat (VOICE), a coalition representing the majority of North Slope local governments, Alaska Native corporations, tribal non-profits, and federally recognized tribes, has announced its opposition to a new congressional proposal seeking to restrict activity in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
The legislation, introduced by California Democrat Rep. Jared Huffman, who was an ally of former Rep. Mary Peltola, was met with firm condemnation from North Slope Iñupiat leaders, who say the bill was developed without their input. The co-sponsor in the Senate is Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, who has never visited the Arctic communities but has repeatedly signed on to legislation that impacts the people of the Arctic.
The legislation would limit development and access within ANWR’s 19-million-acre expanse, including the Coastal Plain, a region that is culturally vital to the Iñupiat people of Kaktovik, the only community that is actually located within the refuge’s boundaries.
In Washington, DC today, Sen. Dan Sullivan, while meeting with a group of Alaskans, took a copy of the bill and ripped it up to show his disapproval of the legislation that would harm Alaska Native communities.
“It is deeply concerning that, once again, legislators in Washington are attempting to advance policy to interfere with Kaktovik’s future, without any opportunity for our people to engage in the process,” said Charles Lampe, President of the Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation.
Mayor Nathan Gordon, Jr. of the City of Kaktovik also voiced strong opposition to the bill, calling it a “misguided attempt by outsiders to regulate our homelands” without local consultation.
The North Slope Borough, which encompasses ANWR’s Coastal Plain, was established to allow local communities to benefit from and guide regional development.
The Borough’s tax base, composed almost entirely of infrastructure development, funds essential services including schools, healthcare, water and sewer systems, and wildlife management.
These services have had measurable impacts: In 1969, the average life expectancy for residents was 34 years.
Today, the lifespan of residents has more than doubled to 77 years, an increase VOICE points out is the largest of its kind in the US during that time span.
VOICE President Nagruk Harcharek criticized the lack of consultation in the bill’s development and expressed frustration with what he sees as selective support for Indigenous voices. “These individuals are beholden to so-called progressive organizations, the lot of whom only care about the Indigenous perspective when it is aligned with their policy priorities,” he said. “As stated by the 2023 Arctic Peoples Conference, ‘climate change cannot be an excuse to infringe on our distinct rights as Indigenous Peoples.’ As such, we overwhelmingly reject Representative Huffman and Senator Markey’s bill.”
The opposition signals a deepening divide between Democrats and Indigenous communities regarding land use and self-determination in the Arctic. Huffman and Peltola worked closely together during her two years on office.
Again, this article parallels the on-going aim of non-Alaskans (particularly those deemed politically as ‘Democrat party adherents’) to treat Alaska as “their last frontier. Certainly, all of the US States comprise the US democracy; however, a safeguard to minority-populated States such as Alaska, is that State Constitutional safeguards ensure continued sovereignty to each State, a.k.a. Alaskan democracy. Of course this translates that a balance is kept between States’ rights and those managed in Washington D.C. on behalf of ALL AMERICANS. As informed Alaskans are increasingly voicing, Alaska’s sovereignty has been severely compromised by groups outside Alaska whose sole aim is to stop Alaskan development, indeed commerce. Sixty years ago, it could commonly be heard “Alaska-for-Alaskans”! This holds true today; however, not forgetting that since the genesis of Alaska as a State, the USA’s security concerns have poured both prodigious federal funds into Alaska, but, too, the federal influences that supplanted Alaska’s constitutional sovereignty. Alaska COULD become quite a wealthy State, were it allowed a strong voice in steering use of its enormous resources. Alaskans are the State’s managers & partners in & of America — NOT solely non-Alaskans! In this sense, “Alaska-for-Alaskans” today still holds true.
Well said.
Per capita income in Barrow is over $1M per year from resource development and oil support industries . They have raised their quality of life and it has most positive impact on most Eskimos . Should be a show case of effort by using natural resources to lift the people . They’ve actually done a much better job than most of the wealthy Arab country’s .
Maybe turn about is fair play. Let’s get our delegation to introduce legislation to lock up more of Calif. and Mass!
Indeed. Tear down some buildings in NYC and return it to forest. ;^)
Tribes need to give Peltola the boot She is bad for Alaska, And California needs to stay our of our business
Uhh.. Peltola was already given the boot. Where have you been?
Why do you not like Peltola. She does support energy development, like this post does, and she is not a Trumper. I have talked to Alaskans who say Peltola is good.
Mary is not severely limited energy development.
And we need more President Trump supporters.
Now,just get their voters off the Democrat Plantation
Interesting thing to note growing up in household who’s parents were democrats in the sixties , how the liberals have hijacked the democrat party . What did a working class democrat have to do with a Hollywood liberal or an wacko environmentalist? Nothing . How about Federal judges protecting illegal gang members over US citizens? My parents would have thought that was crazy . How would an Eskimo living with the challenges near the Arctic Ocean identify with liberals today ? They won’t and don’t !
One can only hope that some day that light will dawn on them.
Finally. After 20 years of listening to local groups on the slope say that oil exploration and development threatens their way of life, it’s good to see them waking up. Oils good for them. It’s good for Alaskans and Alaska.
The south Seward inupiat are silent on this matter because they cannot reap the financial windfall of others actually taking risk, investing and performing real work. The south Seward ‘natives’ aka #EskimoMafia use their time tested strategy of allowing non-natives to invest millions of dollars in mining investment and use regulatory claim jumping tactics to steal their claims, equipment and the critical minerals after bankruptcy has been achieved with the collusion and grifting partners in the ADNR.
#TribesWhoBribe
This goes against most Democrat ideologies. Indigenous people should have a say in their future, they are people of color so ignoring them and going against their wishes could be seen as racist. Democrats having control over those lands could be seen as facism leading to an Oligarchy. They only thing Democrats would have left is the old standby…Climate Change.
The northern Native peoples need to fight against the Environmentalist colonizers!
My Atata James Norton lived until 98 years old; he said it was because he never went to the doctors there.
I always tell my grandchildren not ever to listen to nilagmiuts when they condescendingly term Iñupiats as “indigenous”.
We are human beings, Natives to these lands, not animals or plants.
Sure as spring follows winter, the GOP controlled Congress does nothing useful when it has a GOP Senate and allegedly conservative president. The president is too busy continuing destroying foreign lands and pretending to mediate lost wars of aggression than deal with domestic issues.
The GOP Congress simply continues its’ legacy by sitting on its’ hands until it can give the Democrat faction, their overlord mentors, of their Unipaty control in less than 2 years. So they can pretend that there is nothing they can do, although they never do anyways.
We would be better off separating from the US and creating a circumpolar nation with the Innuits in Canada and Greenland.
End the tyranny of the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and the bottom of the putrid agency barrel, the National Park Service, kick them off our ancestral lands. Along with the utterly corrupt Congress, who should be mandated to wear the logos of their corporate sponsors, as NASCAR drivers do.
ANWR was created with a caveat that there will be oil and gas exploitation on a few acres in trade of surrendering millions of acres to these agencies. All the federal land lock ups are complete, yet the agreement is never consumated.
When will Alaskan Natives realize that the Democratic Party does not recognize or support their fundamental lifestyle or even attempt to?
The Democratic Party is against all consumptive use of our natural resources to include hunting, fishing, use of wood for fuel, in fact, use of any carbon fuel. They will never support any mining or any further oil or natural gas extraction.
Alaska Natives, especially rural natives, how will you and your cultures survive the Democratic Party?
AKGOP, are you listening?
I’m so glad they are speaking up. They need to fight to keep their voices out there.
It would be nice to know specifically what input the locals want to give. The statements are statements just saying that they want a say. What do they want to say?
This effort will have no chance of success. Thankfully.
Does anybody think that there will be any mention of this in any other news sources? Especially the Anchorage Daily Snooze? An associated press dispenser.
They need to stop voting for the enemy.