30 Days of Action #ProtectTheArctic #DefendTheSacred
The Bureau of Land Management announced their rushed lease sale in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge kicking off 30 Days of Public Comment before the sale on January 6th.
TAKE ACTION || Send your Letter to Congress today and share this opportunity to take action with your social networks this week during our #30DaysofAction to #DefendTheSacred and #ProtectTheArctic #InupiatGwichinSolidarity
It’s clear that as we advocate for long-term protection, we should look beyond the next few decades and envision a time when protection no longer requires continuous political battle. In order to accomplish this, lawmakers need to proactively enact policies that redefine our nation’s relationship to public lands.
President-elect Joe Biden has stated that his administration will halt new drilling on public lands. But as his team transitions into power, it must view places like the Arctic Refuge not only as public lands, but as sacred lands. Stopping oil exploration and extraction in the Arctic Refuge may require a complicated process of halting seismic testing and reversing lease sales, and must be a day one priority for our new president.
These desperate efforts to advance oil drilling before Trump leaves office highlight the damage that can be done to the Refuge in just four years, despite generations of stewardship and decades of legislative protection.
The administration should also take long overdue steps to incorporate local traditional knowledge and practices of original Land Protectors in ongoing land-management plans. The global burden of fighting extractive industry has fallen on grassroots Indigenous organizers for far too long — while these communities face the greatest impacts of the climate crisis, they also lead the charge to combat it. It is time for a dramatic shift.
To ensure the wellness of our nation’s lands and waters for the next generations and beyond, let’s begin by implementing and uplifting Indigenous knowledge and worldviews, which have sustained ecosystems for thousands of years. Original land stewards should be in positions to make land-management decisions at every level, including the Department of the Interior. The federal government must prioritize the rights, sovereignty and health of Indigenous tribal nations in order to combat the climate crisis, and complete a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuel dependency.
For over 40 years, the Gwich’in Nation has fought tirelessly alongside allies, from Alaska to Canada to Washington, D.C., and across the world, working to defend the Arctic Refuge from oil extraction. Today, Gwich’in and Iñupiat Land Protectors are working in solidarity with allies to lead efforts — from direct actions to corporate campaigns — that are instrumental in preventing drilling on the coastal plain. Looking forward to a better future for the next generations, we must look for long-term solutions that will create lasting change.
We know that Indigenous land management is key to long-term ecological health: current Indigenous land stewardship accounts for 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity. Indigenous knowledge systems can show our government how to create a more sustainable future for Arctic communities, the coastal plain and the planet. We hope the incoming administration and the American people will stand with us in ensuring lasting protection for the next 60 years, and beyond.
