Yukon Legislative Assembly ~ Thursday, December 18, 2014 TRIBUTE ~ In recognition of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Mr. Elias: It is my pleasure to rise and pay tribute to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s birthday in this month of December. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is an irreplaceable, unspoiled wilderness and home to millions of birds, bears, fish, muskoxen and many other species of wildlife. The refuge is made up of soaring mountains, verdant valleys, lush wetlands and majestic rivers and lakes. It is an unspoiled wilderness. The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the birthing and nursing grounds of the 197,000-strong Porcupine caribou herd, the herd that the Gwich’in Nation depends on for food and which is the foundation of our cultural traditions and is central to the social, economic and spiritual fabric of our being. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is sacred, not only to the Gwich’in but to millions of North Americans who have, time and time again, voiced their steadfast support of permanent protection of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Arctic refuge was established in 1960, but it didn’t happen easily. Throughout the 1950s, powerful interests opposed the conservation area, while many others worked in support of its creation. Eventually, widespread public support persuaded the Eisenhower administration to establish the nine-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska. This 1960 protection of the land and its wildlife in Alaska was a momentous achievement, but there was another purpose in the minds of those who worked to create the refuge in the Arctic, and it had to do with the second value — the value of wilderness. I take this time to thank those many thousands of Yukoners and our First Nation governments, our Yukon government and the Canadian government for their support of the Gwich’in efforts to protect the Arctic National Wildlife coastal plain and the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd in Alaska from industrial intrusion. Mahsi’ cho, shuluk naii for the hundreds of times the people of Old Crow have travelled to Washington D.C. to help protect the Porcupine caribou herd’s calving grounds in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain. It is the holiday season and we have much to be grateful for and much to celebrate this year. This December, we also celebrate the 55th birthday of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and what it means to our Yukon citizens. It was on this month in 1960 that President Eisenhower established the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to preserve its unique wilderness, wildlife and recreational values. In 1980, the United States Congress expanded the refuge to encompass more winter habitat of the Porcupine caribou herd, and the refuge’s purpose to provide continued sustenance and subsistence uses was very specifically mentioned at that time. Each spring, between 40,000 and 50,000 caribou calves are born there. It is because of the vadzaih — the caribou — that we as Gwitchin people have been able to maintain and thrive in our way of life. For thousands of years we depended on this herd for our sustenance, for our clothing, for our shelter, for tools, medicine and even games. In 1988, in Arctic Village, Alaska, with an increased threat of oil and gas development in the birthplace and nursery grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd, the Gwich’in nation came together and agreed unanimously to speak with one voice in opposition to oil and gas development on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — a very specific mandate, Mr. Speaker. I was there in 1988 as a teenager and to this day, it was the most powerful and life-changing political event I have ever attended. I will always remember the oldest Gwich’in elder spoke to the Gwich’in nation and he said, “When you speak around the world to protect our caribou, you do it in a good way and you don’t harm anyone.” To accomplish this task, the community has established the Gwich’in Steering Committee. Today I recognize the Gwich’in Steering Committee’s tireless efforts to protect the arctic refuge and our Gwich’in way of life. My journey with the refuge began in my mother’s womb, and it continues today with so many thousands of international Arctic residents. I will tell a quick story, Mr. Speaker. I was once camped right beside the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in my former job as a senior park warden for Vuntut National Park. One morning, I was walking toward the refuge in a mountain pass, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and I heard a rumbling, so I stopped and I saw a cow caribou and a calf come over the pass and, in just minutes, I was surrounded by about 20,000 caribou and a sight, experience and a power that I will never forget. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service received close to one million comments in support of wilderness declaration for the Arctic refuge, and we remain steadfast on this side in our country. If I had an audience with the President of the United States, Barak Obama, my one and only ask would be for him to designate the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as wilderness and protect it for all time before he leaves office. This month is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge birthday, and we, as Yukoners, celebrate all that it supports and protects for our citizens as well. It is the sacred place where life begins, and I say to my fellow Yukoners today: Long live the Porcupine caribou herd. Applause
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 17:48:31 +0000
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