The Gwich

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The Gwichin Case

• PADM 524Dr. Rivera

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Background (Location) The Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is located in the
northeastern part of Alaska. It shares a border
with Canada. The entire refuge is within the
Arctic Circle. It spans 200 miles north to south,
comprising 19 million acres. It is about the size
of South Carolina.
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In 1968, Exxon discovered a vast oil field at
Prudhoe Bay. This was the largest domestic oil
discovery in the US and is currently the largest
oil field in the United States. Prudhoe Bay is
located in the northern coast of Alaska next to
the ANWR, so it was expected that the ANWR must
also have large oil reserves. However, enormous
cumulative biological consequences of oil field
development may be expected there, including

• loss of wildlife and of subsistence hunting
  opportunities
• increased predation by arctic fox, gulls and
  ravens on nesting birds and other disturbances to
  the ecosystem
• alteration of natural drainage patterns,
  threatening vegetation
• deposits of alkaline dust on tundra along roads,
  altering vegetation over large areas
• local pollutant haze and acid rain
• contamination of soil and water from inevitable
  fuel oil spills

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National Policy/Legal Reference Points

• Public Land Order 2214 created the Arctic
  National Wildlife Range in 1960
• Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
  renamed the whole area the Arctic National
  Wildlife Refuge in 1980
• Section 1002 of ANILCA leaves the door open for
  Oil and Gas exploration

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National Policy Drilling in the Arctic

• In November 1986 a draft report by the United
  States Fish and Wildlife Service recommended that
  all of the coastal plain within the ANWR be
  opened for oil and gas development
• 1987 a legislative environmental impact statement
  was submitted to congress
• 1989 a bill permitting drilling in the reserve
  had gone through the Senate and was up for a vote
• March 24, 1989 The Exxon Valdez oil spill
  derailed the process

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the Gwichin

• Social History For thousands of years the area
  has been the land of the Gwichin people their
  name literally means "one who dwells. The
  Gwichin are also known as the People of the
  Caribou, because they rely on the Caribou to
  survive. They were once nomadic people who
  followed the Caribou migration. They use the
  animal to obtain food, clothing, and shelter.
  Almost every part of the animal is used by the
  Gwichin. They are the First People to arrive
  in this Northeastern region, according to
  archeological evidence. Today, there are fewer
  than 7,000 Gwichin, largely living in
  settelements. The only other Native culture in
  the area is a small population of Inupiat Eskimos
  in the northern coast.

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International Context The Arctic Council

• The Arctic Council is a high-level forum for
  political discussions on common issues to the
  governments of the Arctic States and its
  inhabitants. The Arctic Council is the only
  circumpolar forum for political discussions on
  Arctic issues, involving all the Arctic states,
  and with the active participation of its
  Indigenous Peoples. It was established in
  September 1989, on the initiative of the
  government of Finland, officials from the eight
  Arctic countries met in Rovaniemi, Finland, to
  discuss cooperative measures to protect the
  Arctic environment. The initiative culminated in
  the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy
  (June 1991) - a declaration on the protection of
  Arctic environment. The Arctic council signatory
  member states are Canada, Denmark (including
  Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, The
  Russian Federation, and The United States.

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The Arctic Council

• Established in 1996 at the initiative of Canada
  as an intergovernmental high level forum. It
  has two pillars

(1) protection of the Arctic environment
and (2) sustainable development engaging
indigenous peoplesSocial-Ecological Resilience

• Knowledge building - influential policy
  assessments
• Arctic Climate Impact Assesment 2004
• Arctic Human Development Report 2004
• Arctic Oil and Gas Assessment 2007
• Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment 2009

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History of Tribal/Non-Tribal Government
Relationships in the United States

• Historical Tribal/non-Tribal Government Relations
• Assimilationist Policies
• Resource Confiscation or Eradication
• Forced Migration
• Disregard of Treaties
• Deception
• Exploitation
• Effects of these Relational Patterns Historical
  Trauma, Imbalance and Misuse of Power, Mistrust,
  Frustration, Suspicion

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Human rights and multi-dimensional
equalitySusanne Baer

• We need doctrine that allows us to convincingly
  respond to claims of self-determination, be it
  religious or otherwise, and ensure equality . . .
  Therefore, I suggest employing an understanding
  of human rights based on equality and liberty and
  dignity, in a triangulated perspective of
  recognition. In other words, recognition entails
  and cannot be extended independently of response
  to claims to equality and liberty, and these
  defined as human rights. The Gwichin (1)
  defined their struggle in their own terms, and
  (2) did so in relation to their human rights
  under international law, not in relation to any
  lesser or more parochial reference points for
  claims to equity.

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The Gwichin Tribes and Their Role in the
National Policy Debate

• Leadership challenge faced by the elders
• The defining moment that caused the group to
  decide to act was news of the proposed opening of
  the Coastal Plain to drilling
• Tribal Elders seize opportunity and call for
  action, with the first multi-tribe gathering in
  100 years
• A strategic approach used to seize that moment
• They developed partnerships and strategic
  leadership on the basis of a reassertion of
  cultural identity, transformation of a people,
  call to action

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Building an International Alliance

• Native American Tribes and Organizations
• The Arctic Council
• Religious Institutions
• Environmental Groups

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The Gwichin Nation is Endangered

• Tribal elders determined that we need to
  gather.
• First gathering of the Gwichin Nation and 15
  tribes from U.S. Canada in 100 years led to the
  Gwichin Steering Committee
• Mobilizing the Nation first the elders, the
  traditional leaders, and then youth leaders.
• To be heard on a national stage, they had to
  build strategic alliances beyond the Steering
  Committee Were fighting multimillion dollar
  corporations. So we have to get it out there and
  teach the world. (Sarah James, International
  spokesperson for the Steering Committee).
• The coalition that arose from these efforts
  amounted to a cross-sector, international
  emergent organization.

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What is required for emergent organizations to
obtain and to be sustained?

• Emergence is likely when members perceive a
  present threat, when the social climate is
  supportive of emergence, when social ties are in
  place at least to some degree before the
  mobilization, when the social setting legitimizes
  the groups, and when resources are available
  (Quarantelli et al., 1983). Compare conditions in
  the Katrina, Integrating Housing, and Drilling
  cases. Did networks emerge to address the
  challenges that arose. What conditions fostered
  and constrained this emergence?
• Quarantelli, E.L., with K.E. Green, E. Ireland,
  S. McCabe, and D.M. Neal. 1983. Emergent Citizen
  Groups in Disaster Preparedness and Recovery
  Activities An Interim Report. Newark DE.
  University of Delaware, Disaster Research Center.

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Developed a Strategic Plan

• Crucial first step was the representative
  steering committee
• Broaden the message to a global human rights
  message beyond environmental protection.
• Form strategic alliances with leaders far beyond
  the Arctic Circle.
• Decrease Tribal dependence on oil with
  sustainability in areas such as energy and waste
  disposal
• Train and mentor young people to carry on the
  fight
• Mission Statement Its our belief that the
  future of the Gwichin and the future of the
  Caribou are the same. (Steering Committee, 2003)

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An Instance of Distributed Leadership

• Distributed leadership, drawn from information,
  educational, and cognitive theories, is based on
  the notion of multiple leaders, and
  leaders-as-catalysts. Analogous to parallel and
  distributed data processing in computing, which
  allows for the integration of complex
  information.
• In a study of leadership in American Indian
  culture, Warner and Grint (2006) define such
  leadership as diffuse, fluid, and marked by
  humility. It entails belief in the power and
  wisdom of the many, in empowerment.
• In distributed leadership, one needs senior
  leaders who are comfortable with sharing power,
  with relinquishing control, and with creative
  conflict. One also needs to be comfortable with
  multi-level governance, a feature of IGR.
• Warner L. and Grint K. (2006), American Indian
  Ways of Leading and Knowing. Tennessee Board of
  Regents

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Native American ethical outlooks

• Land is inalienablepeoples belong to their land
  land cannot be parceled out for individual
  ownership
• Much more than an interpersonal system of norms,
  ethics is about the irreducible obligations of
  tribal members to their community as a whole
• A sense of the sacred is essential to moral
  perspective
• Decisional leadership entails shared wisdom
  (which privileges elders but does not exclude
  others)
• The value of humility is important. One truly
  listens to others in making important decisions,
  out of a sense of mutual deference. The
  Gwichins intergenerational alliance
  demonstrated this mutual respect, and it made
  possible the reclaiming of an encompassing sense
  of tribal identity.

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Sarah James is a Strong Advocate

• Native of the Gwichin Tribe, tiny town of Arctic
  Village, Alaska
• Received Ford fellowship as one of Emerging
  Leaders in a Changing World.
• Picked as one of 3,000 because of her ability to
  skillfully build consensus by mobilizing
  grass-roots organizations.
• Believes in skillfully mentoring younger members
  of the Gwichin Tribe with pride in their roots.

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The Key to Survival

• Activists believe that the key is to keep telling
  the story of their survival.
• Point to studies that show that impacts of oil
  development reduced herd health and reproduction
  rates.
• Point to the both US and International Law as
  protections for indigenous peoples rights
• Protect the subsistence uses of the Porcupine
  Caribou Herd

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Evaluative Strategies

• Critical self-reflection, openness and commitment
  to balanced approach
• Co-construction of evaluation relationship to
  self-determination and sovereignty
• Community involvement and inclusion
• Individual tribal community is context
• Maintain continual communication
• Development of new, culturally-sensitive,
  participatory evaluation models
• Awareness of irreducible value conflicts

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Core Message
The Gwichin people have relied on these caribou
for a thousand generations, so we will suffer too
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Community-Based Participatory Research

• CBPR is alternative orientation to research
• Collaborative approach to research
• Equitable involvement of all partners in research
  process that recognizes unique strengths of each
• Research topic of importance to community
• Community-based, not community-placed
• Combines knowledge and social action to improve
  community well-being and eliminate disparities
• Balances research and action
• Empowering for participants