Episode 4: Do It In A Good Way, Pt. 1
Episode Length: 36:23
Focus
Life in Arctic Village, Alaska, and Gwich’in culture; occupation of Alcatraz and the Bureau of Indian Affairs attempts to assimilate native people; protection of the Porcupine caribou herd and the Gwich’in stance on drilling
Location
Arctic Village, Alaska
Keywords
Gwich’in, caribou, oil development, Bureau of Indian Affairs, native activism, Porcupine herd
Episode Outline
These outlines are intended to help you locate ideas and topics more easily, but these are narrative episodes with many interlocking themes and ideas, so you may want to share segments that cross multiple points in the outline.
MINUTES: 00:00 - 04:07
Introduction to the Gwich’in people and their spiritual connection to the caribou:
US/Canadian border that runs through the middle of their traditional lands
Gwich’in Steering Committee has been trying to protect caribou and the coastal plain for decades
04:08 - 09:24
Arctic Village is a Gwich’in community in NE Alaska just across the river from the Refuge:
Alaska is home to 32 different caribou herds
The Porcupine herd is one of the biggest, named after the river
People in Arctic Village rely on caribou to sustain themselves—they are a community defined by hunting
09:25 - 13:59
Story of Arctic Village resident Sarah James begins:
Grew up on the land, and learned to respect land and animals
Her parents tried to keep them immersed in Gwich’in way even as many things changed around them
BIA threatened to remove children from their parents if they didn’t send them away to school
14:00 - 18:02
Sarah moved to San Francisco as part of the government relocation program in the 1960s:
She found she could keep her native clothing and way of life there because many White people in San Francisco were appropriating native culture
18:03 - 24:44
Native American activism heating up across the country, especially in San Francisco:
Nov. 1969: Indigenous people and activists decided to takeover Alcatraz, an island indigenous people had used for centuries before it was taken by the US
Sarah joined the occupation but went back to Alaska after her father died
BREAK
24:46 - 31:49
Sarah returned home to Alaska right as the state was about to be transformed by oil development in the 1970s:
Sarah served on the tribal council and started working on environmental issues
1987 treaty created protections for the caribou but lacked an enforcement mechanism
1988 Gwich’in gathered to figure out how to deal with oil development on their traditional lands
31:50 - 36:23
Control of the narrative is part of the story of oil development:
Gwich’in determined to oppose drilling to protect caribou and to “do it in a good way”
Sarah was chosen at 1988 gathering to serve as an ambassador for her people and she continues to work in that role