No drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — our sacred lands

The U.S. Senate is poised to advance drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Located in the northeast corner of Alaska, the Arctic Refuge is not only an iconic wilderness, but it is also my homeland. And it is under threat.

For decades, Congress has fought over protecting the Arctic Refuge and its Coastal Plain, known as the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge and a nursery for caribou. The Coastal Plain has remained in political limbo throughout — it would take an act of Congress to open it to drilling and an act of Congress to protect it as wilderness. Yet it remains protected today because of the support of the American people.

When asked about pushing Arctic Refuge drilling into the budget, my senator, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said, “You’re damn right I am.” With oil supplies at historic highs and gas prices at long-term lows, there is no need to use the budget process for more drilling, especially in sacred places like the Arctic Refuge. Any attempt to sneak the refuge into the budget process is nothing more than a play by the oil industry to get even richer off our public lands.

But, other senators like Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall of New Mexico, as well as Reps. Ben Ray Luján and Michelle Lujan Grisham, also Democrats from New Mexico, have signed on to the Arctic Refuge Wilderness bill to protect the sensitive Coastal Plain. In fact, Sen. Heinrich visited the Arctic Refuge in August 2015.

Allowing drilling in the refuge would be the first time in history Congress has ignored a wilderness recommendation in order to allow for full-scale oil and gas development in an untouched, protected refuge with essential wildlife habitat.

For me, protecting the Arctic Refuge is more personal. I want my kids to be able to continue the Gwich’in way of life. We often say, “Where the caribou go, so do the Gwich’in.” You see, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its Coastal Plain is life for us and for the porcupine caribou we depend on. We call it “the sacred place where life begins,” as it is the birthplace for our caribou.

We are both physically and spiritually connected to the porcupine caribou herd and have been for more than 20,000 years. About 9,000 Gwich’in people in 13 villages live along the porcupine caribou herd migration route in northeastern Alaska and northwest Canada.

As Gwich’in, our home, our very existence and identity are under threat. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a sacred place. We want to continue to live our cultural and traditional way of life with the porcupine caribou herd. We need to continue to feed our families and practice our traditions.

Last summer, I traveled to Arctic Village, Alaska, to participate in the biannual Gwich’in Gathering. My family and I took a small chartered plane to Arctic Village. It was the first time that I brought my kids to the gathering. It was an opportunity to teach them about their homeland and why it should be protected. Once there, we feasted on caribou, drank water pulled from a nearby river, stayed up late fiddle dancing and stood together as one Gwich’in Nation.

I ask all of you to stand with the Gwich’in Nation and tell your representatives that they must listen and stop this irresponsible and immoral drive to drill in our sacred place. We must protect our homeland and protect the future of the Gwich’in.