For Gwich’in on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border it’s a major victory, even if it isn’t set in stone.
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced it’s cancelling seven oil exploration leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an area that includes the breeding grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd.
Gwich’in people consider the area “the sacred place where life begins.”
“It’s a step in the right direction for this administration to make,” said Bernadette Dementieff, executive director of Alaska’s Gwich’in Steering Committee. “We still have a lot of work to do to permanently protect [the refuge], but I’m really enjoying the news.”
Pauline Frost, chief
