As someone who lived on a reservation for a time, I can attest that many non-Indians (their phrase, not mine) make this mistake of stereotyping native people, either with ill or ostensibly good intentions. It is all too easy for people to see native people as irresponsible wards of the state or mystical earth fathers who have daily, in-depth philosophical discussions with pine trees.
In truth, the native population of the U.S. is as diverse in thought, politics, goals, and aspirations as any other group. They do the same things other people do, use the same products, and have the same concerns as anyone else. And their kids pester them for the same expensive, stupid crap as other people's kids. This may come as a surprise to some, but I've known Native Americans who are staunch conservatives and were avid listeners of Rush Limbaugh.
With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that the Daily Caller is reporting that a coalition of native Alaskan communities and companies has come out in tacit support of Trump's plan to ramp up drilling in the Last Frontier, in this case, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
The group is called the Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat. Its president, Nagruk Harcharek, says that despite characterizations that the group is pro-oil and gas, the nonprofit advocates for economic development to support native communities. He says the group is cautiously optimistic about the administration's reinstatement of drilling in ANWR.
Harcharek told the Daily Caller, “We feel like we’re going to be able to get some things done with a more favorable administration, but we’re also being careful about it because we don’t want to threaten that cultural base and lifestyle that we rely on every day.”
The Daily Caller said:
Harcharek noted that 95% of the North Slope budget comes from oil and gas infrastructure taxes. “The economy in the North Slope is oil and gas activity,” he said. Schools, healthcare, roads, and running water all came from the “economic base our early leaders ensured that we had access to,” Harcharek said, expressing concerns that without access to oil and gas resource development, their community is forced “to rely on the state and the federal government.”
Harcharek said that the Biden administration billed itself as friendly to native tribes, but tribal needs and goals were often ignored, and his organization had to find out about policy decisions through the press.
Harcharek signaled that the Biden administration promised “meaningful consultation with the Indigenous communities who stand to be most affected by policy decisions” on paper and that they “were hopeful that it would be included in those dialogues” surrounding the National Petroleum Reserve. He said there was “very minimal consultation,” though this impacts his communities’ “backyard.” “Oftentimes, we were finding out policy changes in the news,” Harcharek said. “Which is not ideal when they have our phone numbers.”
Not all tribal groups share the same view as the Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat. According to The Blaze, Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic and Native Movement are very much opposed to reinstating drilling in ANWR. This is fine; that is a discussion for members of various tribes to have among themselves.
Drilling can be done responsibly, and the tribes who would benefit from Native Movement's positions that “We can make a living without cannibalizing our lands” need to take a long, hard look at the options and seriously crunch the numbers. They also need to pay serious attention to the fact that the previous administration paid lip service to the idea of honoring tribal interests while almost immediately and conveniently forgetting they were even there.
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