Biden administration cites 'Indigenous knowledge' to cut Alaska drilling, but some tribal leaders are ready for Trump — does Watt support it?

From the Daily Caller

Nick Pope
Contributor

The Biden administration has defended a major crackdown on fossil fuel and mineral development in Alaska by touting its commitment to Native American tribes, but some community leaders interviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation said they feel disrespected by the administration

Over the past four years, the Biden administration has halted drilling on tens of millions of acres in the National Petroleum Refuge in Alaska (NPR-A) and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), retroactively canceled lease sales and effectively blocked A large-scale mining project in the state, the government's commitment to protecting the environment of Aboriginal communities is often touted in official statements and press releases. However, these actions have left some Alaska locals deeply disappointed, who told DCNF that the administration appears to have largely ignored their desire to allow development to generate revenue for the community, and that they are prepared to work with the incoming Trump administration to make this happen Target. (Related: Tribes demand 'a seat at the table' amid Trump's national monument decision)

Biden takes another move to crush economic development in Alaska https://t.co/84KbcDHO3Y

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 1, 2024

“With climate change warming the Arctic at more than twice the rate of the rest of the planet, we must do everything we can to meet the highest standards of care,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a September statement. , to protect this fragile ecosystem. “President Biden is implementing the most ambitious climate and conservation agenda in history. The steps we take today further deliver on that commitment, are based on the best available science, and Protect our public lands for future generations by recognizing the Indigenous knowledge of the area’s original stewards.

However, the government's respect for “Indigenous knowledge” means little to some tribal leaders and officials, as the government clearly has no intention of meaningfully engaging with them on key issues related to resource development.

Nagruk Harcharek is president of Voices of the Arctic Inupiat, an organization that represents the interests of numerous First Nations communities in Alaska’s resource-rich North Slope region. In his view, the Biden administration is not particularly interested in hearing how his organization assesses the value of the economic benefits resource development provides to its communities.

“I started working here in 2022. The first thing I did was try to get in there and make sure our voices were heard, because what we heard from the government was that we were the most tribal-friendly government in history. America, right?” Harcharek told DCNF. “That's not our impression, at least from our perspective.”

“We have always tried to emphasize that we are part of the environment. We use it for subsistence hunting and our culture, which is extremely important to us. We do not need to be protected from our own environment,” Harcharek continued. “We can make decisions and help governments make decisions that are good for the region, good for the environment, good for the country, good for the nation. But that’s not the case. There’s a lack of engagement, a lack of meaningful engagement. Often, we are Hearing about policy changes on the news, not from people calling us, even though everyone has our phone number. (Related: 'Silence, Stonewalls and Contempt': Native American groups sue Biden administration over crackdown on massive oil reserves)

Biden administration hopes to open up 31 million acres of solar land after locking up oil and gas in swaths of Alaska https://t.co/C3AUKnGG4o

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 31, 2024

Khazarek said his organization tried to meet with Haaland on nine different occasions but was only given an opportunity in June of this year. Other times, the Department of the Interior (DOI) sends staff or other officials to meet with them if their connections to the government pay off.

“Sometimes we don't even get a response to these emails, so saying they're the most tribe-friendly and then not speaking to the majority of our tribe or us in a timely or meaningful way, the only question is, who are you? Who are you? Think you're the most tribe-friendly organization? Because that's certainly not us, or we don't get that sentiment,” Harcharek said.

Doreen Leavitt, secretary of the Inuit Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS), also criticized Haaland for lackluster interactions with the community since 2021 and expressed hope that Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum Burgum (Trump's choice to replace Haaland) will be a better leader at DOI.

“Secretary Haaland's leadership of ICAS and our region is not only deeply frustrating, but sad because as an Indigenous woman I want to see other Indigenous women succeed and grow in leadership, but her The lack of respect for the region is frustrating, to say the least, and despite her recognition of tribal stewardship, our requests for consultation on critical issues have been ignored or dismissed,” Levitt told DCNF. “I don’t know much about Secretary Burgum other than that he is from the Dakotas, but we are hopeful that the incoming secretary will provide meaningful consultation, a transparent process, and respect for our tribal sovereignty and self-determination and the things that matter to us. .

Levitt also explained that resource development has provided her community with the funding it has needed over the past 50 years to build and maintain basic facilities such as running water, school systems, clinics, emergency services and more.

Without taking a political stance, Levitt noted that she and her organization “especially look forward to the right to intergovernmental relations being respected by the incoming Trump administration.”

Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation President Charles Lampe said he and his people are looking forward to Trump's return to power because he realizes that much of his community's concerns about a crackdown on resource development have been “thrown aside by Biden.” Side”. administrative.

“We're very excited about the next four years. We had a great relationship with the previous administration, the Trump administration. During that time, we felt like our voices were really heard.

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