The Last Hunters

(Page 5 of 5)

October/November 1996
by Scott Patterson 
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Snake Oil While environmentalists claim the Inupiat are under the thumb of Big Oil, the Inupiat claim that environmentalists and liberals have used the Gwich'in for their own agendas. Either way, the 1996 elections may decide whether drilling in he refuge will go forward in the next four years.

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Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska is slated to chair the powerful Appropriations Committee after the 1996 elections. Stevens intends to wield the power this position carries to open the refuge for oil exploration. Should Bob Dole win the election, the path would be clear for the refuge's metamorphosis into the National Oil Reserve.

The Clinton administration has sworn to oppose drilling in the refuge. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in October 1995, Vice-President A1 Gore blasted the Republican party for its position on the opening of the refuge to drilling. "Their extremist, radical, and reckless agenda is completely out of touch with the desires, wishes, and opinions of the American people:'

At least a handful of Republicans may agree. In 1997, legislation will come before Congress which would permanently protect the 1002 area from oil development. The Wilderness Bill is sponsored by Senator William Roth of Delaware, a Republican. In the House, the bill has 80 sponsors; eight are Republicans.

Whatever happens in November, the Gwich'in and the Inupiat will struggle to maintain radically different lifestyles, the Gwich'in dedicated to preserving their traditional culture, the Inupiat forging into the millennium embracing its technology. Both are taking enormous risks. Let us hope that each may pursue its dreams without destroying the other's.

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