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10/8/03, 10/12/03, 10/26/03, 10/31/03, 11/15/03

Inupiat

Culture:
Closely tied to nature, especially the Arctic Sea

Village:
Kaktovik on Barter Island (oil development area)
Seasonal villages along Hulahula and Sadlerochit River
Population: 293 (2000 Census)
Village Area: 1 square mile
Facilities: Housing Units, Electricity via North Slope Borough Power & Light, Surface water collected in reservoirs, honeybuckets used for sewage, service for gathering honeybuckets, Sewer and water system designing is in progress, K-12 school (about 90 pupils),Kaktovik Health Clinic/Volunteer Fire Department, Barter Island Airport maintained by US Air Force
Primary Employment: education, North Slope Borough, city services
Secondary Employment: construction
Unemployment Rate: 15.2%
Perecent of adults not in the work force: 27.4%
Per Capita Income: $22,031

Economy:
From subsistence to modern due to Western Civilization
Centralization in Kaktovik for jobs during the Cold War's Defense Early Warning Site (DEW) construction, but now the site is mostly automated.
Still hunt Dall sheep, caribou, fish, seals, whales, birds and eggs, moose, and fur bearers
Primarily marine
Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Program-oil royalty investment stipend given to every man, woman, and child of Alaska, spent on everything from toys to essential supplies. The 2003 stipend is $1,107.56 for 2003. Alaska does not have an income or state sales tax.

Expenses:Housing, Fuel, Electricity, Imported Goods

Position on Drilling:
Robert Thompason is an Inupiat from Kaktovik comes from a village, which has historically been involved in oil development. Acknowledging that many people are "in support of oil development in his area," he states, "The Porcupine Caribou Herd is in decline. There are no safeguards during the production stage of oil and gas. They are having problems without any development at this time and development will further damage this herd, it is my hope that the 7th generation will come to know our land and culture. In order for our culture to survive, we have to have the land."
Strongly opposed to offshore drilling, as their subsistence strategy focuses on the sea

Survey of Kaktovik residents on drilling

1. Do You participate in the harvest of whales, game and fish to sustain your diet?

71%A.Yes. My family actively participates in all of the above.
16%B.Yes. My family hunts game and fishes.
4% C. Yes. My family participates in fishing.
7% D No. My family does not harvest whales, game or fish to sustain our diet.
0% E. Other

2. Please estimate the percentage of your family's food that comes from the harvest of whale, game and fish.

16% A. 100% My family only consumes harvested game.
34% B. 75% My family eats mostly harvested game.
24% C. 50% My family eats some harvested game and purchases the rest.
16% D. 25% My family occasionally eats harvested game.
7% E. 10% My family eats harvested gamed when it is given to us.
4% F. 0% My family does not hunt or fish and we only eat food that is purchased.

3. What is the number one advantage of oil development on the North Slope?

44% A. Improved schools
35% B. Improved health care
53% C. Improved job opportunities
21% D. Improved recreation activities
4% E No advantage
8% F. Other

4. The quality of life in Kaktovik will diminish if oil development ceases.

31% A. Strongly agree
40% B. Agree
15% C. Neutral
8% D. Disagree
6% E. Strongly disagree

5. As government spending continues to decline, what public services do you fear most of losing?

44% A. Municipal services (running water, electrical service, sanitation, etc.)
50% B. Health care
16% C. Public Transportation
35% D. Education
7% E. Recreation activities
6% F. Other

6. To what degree are you satisfied with the environmental practices of the oil industry on the North Slope?

35% A. Very satisfied
40% B. Somewhat satisfied
18% C. Neutral
4% D. Somewhat dissatisfied
1%E. Very dissatisfied

7. Please mark the advantages and disadvantages you see of opening ANWR to oil and gas development.

Advantages:
68% 1. More jobs for local people
26% 2. Will stabilize the economy
50% 3. Will help Kaktovik grow
26% 4. More business opportunities
13% 5. Other 5%

Disavantages:
22% 1. Will increase population
31% 2. May hurt wildlife
25% 3. May hurt the environment
46% 4.lncreased alcohol,drug abuse
5. Other

8. If ANWR is not opened to oil and gas exploration, what other resources are available in Kaktovik that, if developed, will help sustain our economy?

15% A.Coal
35% B. Tourism
38% C. Fishing
44% D. Arts& Crafts
15% E. Other

9. Based on your information about the Porcupine Caribou Herd, will oil development in ANWR diminish the herd's use of the core calving area?

18% A. Yes. The caribou will go away.
18% B. It might affect their use, but the oil companies can stop drilling during calving season.
15% C. I don't know.
15% D. More research is needed.
41% E. No. The caribou will not be affected.

10. The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should be open to oil and gas exploration.

43% A. Strongly agree
35% B. Agree
10% C. Neutral
5% D. Disagree
4% E. Strongly disagree

Organizations:
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation: Mission is to preserve Inupiat culture and traditions while ensuring prosperity through drilling. Subsidiaries: ASRC Energy Services, Petro Star Inc., Alaska Growth Capital, Top of the World Hotel, ASCG Incorporated, ASRC Aerospace Corporation, Arctic Slope World Services, SKW/Eskimos Inc., ASRC Communications.
Arctic Development Council: "The mission of the Arctic Development Council is to build a sustainable regional economy by cultivating people-centered economic development, encouraging citizen leadership and promoting healthy human and natural environments.
Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation: owns 92,000 acres of land within ANWR.

Gwich’in Athabascan (People of the Caribou)

Culture:
Closely tied to nature, especially to the Porcupine Caribou herd

Villages:
15 total Gwich'in villages with 4 exclusively in Alaska, all combining for a population of approximately 7000 inhabitants
Major Villages in Alaska:
Arctic Village
Population: 152 (2000 Census)
Village Area: 72 square miles
Facilities: water treated and hauled from Chandalar River, honeybuckets and outhouses, elecricity by Arctic Village Electricity Company, school, Arctic Village Health Clinic
Primary Employment: school, clinic, village council, stores
Secondary Employment: Construction, fire fighting, serving as guides, trapping, selling firewood, and surveying for US Fish and Wildlife Service
Unemployment Rate: 16.7%
Percent of adults not in work force: 26.3%
Per Capita Income: $10,761
Accessibility: by air, but ice fog prohibits in winter
Venetie
Population: 202 (2000 Census)
Village Area: 21 square miles
Facilities: Water from wells off the Chandalar River, draw their own water and take care of honeybuckets, electricity from Venetie Village Electric, Myra Roberts Clinic
Primary Employment: School, clinic, post office, store, village council
Secondary Employment: Fire Fighting, arts and crafts
Unemployment Rate: 36.2%
Percent of adults not in work force: 52.1%
Per Capita Income: $7,314
Accesibility: Only by air
Fort Yukon
Population: 595 (2000 Census)
Village Area: 7.4 square miles
Facilities: two wells, piped water, outhouses, honeybuckets, electricity from Gwitchyaa Zhee Utility Company, two schools, Yukon Flats Health Care Center,
Primary Employment: City, state, local government, school
Secondary Employment: Tourism (Northern Lights), emergency fire fighting, US Air Force White Alice Radar Station, trapping, crafts
Unemployment Rate: 18.0%
Percent of adults not in work force: 35.6%
Per Capita Income: $13,360
Accesibility: Air, barge by summer
Chalkyitsik
Population: 80 (2000 Census)
Village Area: 9 square miles
Facilities: Water treated and stored from Black River, honeybuckets and outhouses, electricity from Chalkyitsik Village Energy Systems, school, Chalkyitsik Health Clinic
Primary Employment: state and federal government, school, village council, clinic
Secondary Employment: firefighting, making sleds and snowshoes, trapping, crafts
Unemployment Rate: 0.0%
Percent of adults not in work force: 63.8%
Per Capita Income: $11,509
Accesibility: by air, winter trail to Fort Yukon

Economy:
Subsistence, hunter-gatherer society
80% diet is caribou
Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Program-oil royalty investment stipend given to every man, woman, and child of Alaska, spent on everything from toys to essential supplies. The 2003 stipend is $1,107.56 for 2003. Alaska does not have an income or state sales tax.

Religion:
Gwich’ins believe they were created from caribou; songs, religion, ceremonies, dances centered around the caribou

Protecting the Caribou:
International Porcupine Caribou Commission [IPCC] –comprised of Venetie, Fort Yukon, and [Inupiat] Kaktovik in Alaska; and Old Crow in the Yukon Territory.
Major statement of IPCC-“In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence." Proposed Common Areas for Porcupine Caribou Herd in Canada and Alaska, with firm protection for the calving and post-calving grounds, and other critical wildlife habitats.
160,000 caribou migrate to ANWR

Position on Drilling:
Financially beneficial, but would sacrifice their way of living
150 tribal representatives addressed Bush admin (Secretary of Interior Gale Norton) in 2001 on their opposition to drilling
Norton, "If the group's goal is to continue their subsistence lifestyle for generations, that is certainly their choice. But that choice also impact others."
Alaskan Native Oil and Gas Working Group formed to oppose oil companies
Here is a slide show by the Gwich'in Steering Committee on the Gwich'in Perspective:
Land of the Gwich'in

Organizations:
Regional Native Corporation: encompasses Doyon Tourism, Inc., Doyon Drilling, Inc., Doyon Universal Services J.V. (catering, security, construction, mining), Doyon Properties, Inc., Doyon Land and Natural Resources Department (increases exploration and jobs, promotes shareholders' use of lands), Doyon Foundation (manages health, education, social and economic development)
Chalkyitsik Regional Corporation
Gwitchyaa Zhee Corporation

Sources:

www.anwr.org/people/people.htm

alaska.fws.gov/nwrO/arctic/people.html

www.fcnl.org

www.okit.com

www.indiancountry.com

www.native-voice.com

www.kaktovik.com

www.boston.com

www.alaska.net/~gwichin/

www.oldcrow.yk.net/

www.beringsea.com

Kaktovik Subsistence: Land Use Values through Time in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

http://www.dced.state.ak.us

www.doyon.com

9/28/03
Right now I'm in the information collecting stage/web design development stage. After all, the web design must be the most technically sound piece of html possible. It must be clean, compatible with different browsers and settings, look nifty cross-platform, not contain junk coding, make rational sense in its setup, and then of course have awesome content. So I'm still working on logistics as far as web development (view my source code!) and scanning photocopied papers from the library into a text editor. Phase II, posting the relavent research I've collected, will commence soon.