Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 12, 1 December 2001 — Page 6 Advertisements Column 1 [ADVERTISEMENT]

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» I eall on Senator Akaka to protect the birthplace of the caribou and the right of the Gwich'in People to live the life of their ancestors. As people of Hawai'i, we know the suffering that comes from the loss and destruction of our sacred lands. The fate of the Refuge, the animals and the Gwich'in People is in his hands. — Dana Naone Hall

Gwich'in leader Norma Kassi with Dana Naone Hall on Maui.

My name is Norma Kassi and I am in Hawai'i as a representative of the Gwich'in People, to ask for your kokua. Our people have lived in the Arctic for 1,000 generations. On this land there is a great herd of caribou that has sustained us from the beginning. We are the Caribou People. Now the Bush Administration is trying to gain public support and congressional approval for oil drilling in the coastal plain, the very heart of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. This huge industrial development on public lands, for the profit of mutli-nationals British Petroleum, Chevron and Phillips, will destroy the birthplace of the Porcupine River Caribou Herd, whieh is essential for our survival. And the cycle of life we have always been a part of will be lost forever. A provision in the energy bill allowing oil drilling has passed in the House of Representatives. The Senate is our only hope for protecting the Refuge. On November 18, 2001 Senator Akaka made a public declaration of support for oil drilling in the Refuge to provide a better life for the Inupiat People and claimed, "...the use of state of the art technology and strict regulatory oversight will safe guard the Porcupine Caribou Herd." The oil industry's "state of the art technology" has failed on the North Slope. • The Central Arctic Caribou Herd at Prudhoe Bay has abandoned its traditional calving ground. • Between 1995 and March 2001 1.5 million gallons of oil and other toxics were spilled — this year alone there have been 4 major oil spills.

• London based British Petroleum, whieh operates the Prudhoe Bay industrial complex is under criminal probation for illegally dumping toxic waste. Three decades of oil industrialization on the North Slope has severely altered the life of the Inupiaī People. Our people have seen access to traditional subsistence hunting areas reduced, the behavior and migratory patterns ofkey subsistence species changed, increased incidence ofcancers and other serious health ailments [and] disruption of traditional social systems... [T]he oil industry derive[s] tremendous revenues from... the North Slope, while it is our Borough residents alone who bear the risks and suffer the impacts. — Mayor George N. Ahmaogak, Sr. North Slope Borough, Jan. 8, 2001 More than 90% of Alaska's North Slope is open to oil industrialization, only the Refuge has been protected, but the oil companies want it all. Contact Senator Akaka and ask him to oppose drilling in the birthplace of the Caribou. Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

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Senator Daniel K. Akaka P.O. Box 50144, Honolulu, Hawaii 96850 Oahu Tel: (808) 522-8970 / Fax: (808) 545-4683 Washington, D.C. Tel: (202) 224-6361

Eaeh spring the largest herd of migratory animals in North America, the Porcupine River Caribou Herd, travel from the southern forests over the mountains and out onto the coastal plain of the Refuge to give birth as they have for 20,000 years.

Charles Pe'ape'a Makawalu Kekuewa Burrows, Ed. D., President, Ahahui Malama i ka Lokahi • Lynette Hiilani Cruz Pacific Women's Network« Eric M. Enos kupa 'ai au o Waianae A. Frenchy Keanuenueokalaninuiamamao DeSoto, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee, 1980-2000 • Lou Ann Ha'aheo Guanson, Member, United Church of Christ, Hawaii Eeumenieal Council of Churches, HAUKEA Allianee • Rev. Dr. Kaleo Patterson, U.C.C., Hawaii Eeumenieal Coalition, Kaumakapili Church • Rev. Darrow Kanakanui Aiona, Rector, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Chair, Commission on Native Hawaiian Ministry • Maleolm Naea Chun, Secretary-General, Anglican lndigenous Network • Kahu Tom Van Culin, Vicar, St. Matthew's Episcopal Church HAUKEA • Hawaii-Alaska Ulili & Kolea Emergency Allianee • P.0. Box 27705 • Honolulu, Hawaii 96827 • Rosemary Alles, Canada Liason Gwich'in Steering Committee • P.0. Box 122 1st Ave Ste. #2 • Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 »761: 907-458-8264 • Fax: 907-457-8265» www.alaska.net/~gwichin