Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Preservation or Plunder for Oil?

Bretton Pratt ’27

19.6 million acres of untouched land. One home. 2 diverging opinions. The deliberation continues as politicians question whether the journey to conserve Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should be continued, or if one of the remaining natural places on earth should be raided for its gas and oil. 

In 1980, a section of the northeast region of Alaska was converted into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to preserve the ecosystems that have thrived for millennia. The waterways and land–home to musk oxen, wolves, and polar bears, as well as the summer breeding grounds for many birds and sacred Porcupine caribou–are vital to animal and human survival. 

The decision being made on this region of land, being one of the world’s last places free from development, is integral in the process of halting the climate crisis. Enabling drilling in the ANWR encompasses much more than just the dig for rich oil. Development will ensue by bringing roads, airstrips, and heavy machinery, as well as light and sound pollution. These disturbances will then disrupt the migration patterns of wildlife. This wildlife is the root to many native tribes in the ANWR region, like the Gwich’in tribe.

Kristen Moreland, the executive director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee, which is an advocacy group to fight against the demand of drilling in the ANWR, is eager to protect the sovereignty of Alaska’s indigenous tribe. While not all of the Gwich’in communities call the land in the ANWR home, the refuge sits on Gwich’in and Iñupiat ancestral land. “For thousands of years, the caribou have provided us with food, clothing, tools, everything,” Moreland said. “Protecting the caribou is a matter of basic human rights for us.” The way of life for the Gwich’in people has been threaded and entwined into the natural world around them, something that can not be ripped apart. Moreland informed that many of their ancestral stories detail how sacred the land is that the ANWR sits on, as well as the Porcupine caribou being “at the heart of [their] culture, [their] spirituality, and [their] survival.” 

Moreland makes clear that the federal drive to implement drilling reflects the government's misunderstanding about the Alaskan Natives way of life. The Gwich’in people's connection to the wildlife refuge is more than just a home. They call the coastal plains “Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit,” meaning “The Sacred Place Where Life Begins.” 

While there are 229 federally recognized tribes in the state of Alaska, not all indigenous people share one unified voice. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat is an organization in favor of responsible, culturally respecting development in the ANWR. This group of people is located on the North Slope, which is a potential drilling site for the country. The Voice president responded to the call for drilling with a welcoming embrace. Nagruk Harcharek, born and raised in the North Slope Borough says, “We want to advance self-determination for our communities, and the way that’s been done since the 1970s is through development on the North Slope.” Moreover, Harcharek reasons that the money profited off of past oil development has been reinvested into the communities, “so that the people can live here safely and comfortably.” 

The controversy over the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge persists today. The heart of many indigenous tribes are at the core of the ANWR, and still others believe that drilling could enhance the way of life for some natives. Whichever way the political leaders fall, the continuation of the climate crisis is subject to the government's decision or the natives' protest. 

References

Inside the Debate to Drill at the Nation’s Largest Wildlife Refuge | Atmos. (2025, March 10). Atmos.

https://atmos.earth/inside-the-debate-to-drill-at-the-nations-largest-wildlife-refuge/

Palmer, B., & Greenfield, N. (2022, June 8). The long, long battle for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. NRDC.

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/long-long-battle-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge

The Wilderness Society. (2017). Oil Drilling: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Wilderness Society. ‌

https://www.wilderness.org/wild-places/alaska/oil-drilling-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge