Episode 8

Oil and Water

What happens when the thing you can’t live without in the short term is the same thing that threatens your very existence in the long term? That’s our question for this episode, viewed through the eyes of two whalers from Utqiagvik, Alaska.

Transcript

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Signs of subsistence hunting are everywhere northern Alaska.

Signs of subsistence hunting are everywhere northern Alaska.

Utqiagvik, Alaska. Photo credit: Amy Martin

Price Leavitt is the executive director of the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope.

Price Leavitt is the executive director of the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope.

Utqiagvik, Alaska. Photo credit: Amy Martin

Sign for the North Slope Borough

Sign for the North Slope Borough

Utqiagvik, Alaska. Photo credit: Amy Martin

Bowhead whale skull

Bowhead whale skull

Utqiagvik, Alaska. Photo credit: Amy Martin

David Leavitt looks at family photos in his home.

David Leavitt looks at family photos in his home.

Utqiagvik, Alaska. Photo credit: Amy Martin

Stained glass window

Stained glass window

Utqiagvik, Alaska. Photo credit: Amy Martin

Gordon Brower is the director of the planning department of the North Slope Borough and a whaling captain in Utqiagvik, Alaska.

Gordon Brower is the director of the planning department of the North Slope Borough and a whaling captain in Utqiagvik, Alaska.

Photo credit: Amy Martin

Signs of subsistence hunting are everywhere northern Alaska.

Price Leavitt is the executive director of the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope.

Sign for the North Slope Borough

Bowhead whale skull

David Leavitt looks at family photos in his home.

Gordon Brower is the director of the planning department of the North Slope Borough and a whaling captain in Utqiagvik, Alaska.

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Learn more

Map of the North Slope Borough

This map shows the boundaries of the North Slope Borough in northern Alaska. Note: the map shows the northernmost city as Barrow. Several years ago the community voted to return to the original Iñupiaq name — Utqiagvik. The North Slope Borough Petroleum and Mineral Resources map can be found here.

The Liberty Energy Project

On October 24, 2018, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced plans for an oil and gas production facility in federal waters off Alaska. More information is available in the press release, and at this website.

What is the National Petroleum Reserve?

This in-depth look at the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska has some very helpful maps and other information.

Next episode:

Episode 9: Who Asked You?

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