Arctic Village is located within ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) and the people here have been active proponents to preserve the land and maintain its status as a refuge. Today the assistant to the Secretary of the Interior, the head of Fish and Game for the Nation, the head of Fish and Game in Alaska and a few other official people came to the village to speak to the people about their thoughts on drilling in ANWR. The Secretary of the Interior himself was supposed to come, but was not able to because he is down in Louisiana helping deal with the oil spill still.
You have probably heard debates about drilling ANWR in the news, but being here in ANWR it takes on an all new meaning. Sitting in a room of village elders who have lived their entire lives by hunting the land and relying upon the bounty of the land, it is no wonder they are fighting to keep the land preserved. One elder wisely said there may come a time when we have to drill, when the nation is in crises and we have to access the oil in this region, but to destroy this place just to keep oil prices down is wrong. Generations of Gwich'in people have lived on this land, it is their land and in their words "we must keep it as the Maker made it."
Sarah James, featured in the video clips on this site, lives in Arctic Village and is a very active spokesperson for the Gwich'in people on behalf of preserving ANWR.
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