FAITH GEMMILL & PRINCESS LUCAJ on an Arctic Untouched by Oil [ENCORE] /196

This week, the U.S. Department of the Interior formally opened up Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, an unprecedented decision that threatens Gwich’in lifeways and sacred lands, while exacerbating both climate and extinction crises. In recognition of this, we are choosing to re-air our critically relevant conversation with Faith Gemmill and Princess Lucaj, originally aired in September of 2016. The fight to protect these life giving ground has been going on for decades and will continue to do so as the first leases to drill for oil and gas could be sold by the end of this year. As the decision to open up 1.57 million acres of the refuge’s coastal plain was only formalized this week, protectors of place are rallying to stop this move, and so we are asking you to remain vigilant for calls to action over the coming months. Faith Gemmill is a Pit River/ Wintu and Neets’aii Gwich’in Athabascan earth defender from Arctic Village, Alaska. She is a part of REDOIL (Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands) and has worked on behalf of the Gwich’in Nation for over a decade as a representative, public spokesperson and Gwich’in Steering Committee staff to address the potential human health and cultural impacts of proposed oil development in the birthplace and nursery of the Porcupine Caribou Herd in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Princess Lucaj (Neets’aii Gwich’in) is a writer, actor, and activist based in Alaska. Princess is the former Executive Director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee. She was a Production Manager with Native Voices at the Autry National Center and a member of the Board of Dancing with the Spirit. Music by Willie Dunn, Teahawk (ft. Redhawk Woman), Beau, and Kate Wolf. Visit our website at forthewild.world for the full episode description, references and action points.