President Obama’s commitment to protect the sacred place where life begins

By Lorraine Netro

President Barack Obama recently traveled to Canada to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico. While there, the President made a strong proclamation about combatting climate change and standing with Alaska Natives to protect the Arctic.

As a Vuntut Gwitchin woman from the Yukon Territory in Canada, which abuts Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, I was thrilled to hear President Obama call for the protection of the Arctic. This announcement, made in solidarity with Prime Minister Trudeau, gave hope to thousands of indigenous peoples like me who rely on the Arctic Refuge and who are increasingly seeing their way of life threatened by climate change and by oil drilling threats.

The Gwich’in are residents of both Canada and the U.S. We are a caribou people and rely on the Arctic Refuge to sustain our culture. We call the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge “Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit,” or “the sacred place where life begins.” The Coastal Plain is the biological heart of the Refuge and provides calving grounds for the Porcupine Caribou Herd. We rely on the caribou and have a spiritual connection to them. They have been at the heart of our subsistence way of life for thousands of years — giving us the food and clothing we need to continue our rich tradition since time immemorial.

The Arctic Refuge nurtures Gwich’in life. It is also the home to wolves, foxes, musk ox, polar bears and grizzlies and over 250 species of birds, including birds that migrate to Canada and to all 50 states in the United States.

Despite its importance, the Arctic Refuge has been under threat from oil and gas development for over 30 years. For much of that time, I have worked alongside fellow Gwich’in and diverse voices across the U.S. and Canada to stop Big Oil and its allies. Together, we’ve shared stories of the Arctic Refuge and highlighted the need to protect it for future generations.

Our growing coalition is committed to protecting this irreplaceable place and to making our voices heard. This year, I traveled to Yosemite in California to meet with African-American leaders and discuss how communities of color can support one another through protecting places like the Arctic Refuge. I also journeyed to Grand Tetons in Wyoming to meet with Latinos to discuss how protecting the Refuge is a human rights issue. I’ve also traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak with outdoor advocates, people of faith and veterans. Each time, the American people with whom I speak recognize that together, we are the Arctic.

President Obama’s statement last week shows he is taking notice, and we are making our voices heard. He is already taking action. Last year, President Obama showed great leadership by releasing a Comprehensive Conservation Plan that for the first time called for the permanent protection of all of the Arctic Refuge, including the Coastal Plain. It’s time we finish what this announcement started.

I pray that President Obama continues to speak up in support of the Arctic, and specifically the Arctic Refuge, so we can protect it once, and for all.

Our children and children’s children are counting on him to fulfill the promise he made with Prime Minister Trudeau this March in Washington, D.C. and this June in Ottawa, Canada. It is time we protect the Arctic Refuge for all time, for future generations as a legacy of both leaders of our beautiful countries in the name of reconciliation, trust and love for seven generations from now.