In light of current events, it is more important than ever that our nation unites. Not only do we need to be aware of issues on an international level, but also on a national and even statewide level. Speaking Sunday in the Ben Linder Forum on an issue of national concern was Princess Peter-Raboff, a member of the Gwich’in Nation, and Melissa Waage from the Alaska Coalition of Oregon. They brought forth a message of urgency for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Senate is preparing to vote on President George W. Bush’s energy plan, which includes opening the refuge to oil drilling. Peter-Raboff is concerned that the nation will turn its back on the refuge for a small and distant benefit for the destruction of her tribes’ subsistence lifestyles.
The Gwich’in Nation consists of 15 villages in the northeast corner of the northern slope of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Gwich’in have subsisted in the refuge for millennia. The wildlife refuge is the last 5 percent of the Arctic that is not protected from resource extraction. The Gwich’in, which means “caribou people,” depend on the refuge for their food, shelter, clothing and traditions. It is home to the ancestral birthing grounds of 130,000 porcupine caribou, the nesting ground for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds and the only polar-bear den sites in our nation.
This is an issue of national concern because it has been argued that drilling in the Arctic would rid the United States of its dependence on foreign oil. Especially in consideration of the events Sept. 11, it is more pressing than ever that we do not open up the Arctic to the oil industry. Sacrificing any part of this wilderness would not drill the United States out of energy dependence.
U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith is a crucial swing vote, and Oregonians have a special duty to let their opinions be known to him so he can vote responsibly on this bill. I urge everyone to voice their opinions with letters, phone calls and petitions.