To drill or not to drill--it's not just about the environment.

By David Radcliff

The debate over whether or not to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge often centers on environmental concerns. The narrow coastal plain of the 19-million acre preserve--where the drilling is proposed--is summer home to 130 species of birds, as well as mammals as diverse as musk ox and polar bears.

And there's the Porcupine Caribou Herd. The herd, numbering some 130,000 animals, heads to the coastal plain each spring to give birth to as many as 40,000 calves. As a maternity ward for caribou, this is an ideal spot: flat so as to give warning of predators, with wind to keep mosquitoes at bay, and with plenty of tender plant shoots to nourish calves for their end-of-the-summer departure on a 400-mile migration south.

Arguments for and against drilling turn on how much oil is there (some say as little as six-months' worth of US demand), whether there are better ways to reduce our energy dependence (raising the fuel efficiency of the US vehicle fleet, which remains at 1980 levels), and what the impact will be on wildlife and the pristine nature of the area--the last five percent of the northern shore of Alaska that hasn't been opened to oil exploration.

Over the past several years, I have been learning about another dimension of the debate: the effect drilling may have on people 100 miles south of the coastal plain. The Gwich'in people of Arctic Village, Alaska, who host New Community Project delegations, have lived in this part of the world for thousands of years. They are Native American by birth, Episcopalian by baptism, and caribou by culture. In other words, their life revolves around the Porcupine Caribou Herd as it migrates past their village, and others like theirs.

Caribou is a central part of the Gwich'in diet, providing as much as 75 percent of their food. In earlier times, and to some extent today, clothing and tools were derived from the animals. An equally important feature of the Gwich'in relationship with the caribou can be said to be spiritual. "We have always been here," says Gwich'in leader Sarah James. "The Creator put us here to take care of this part of the world."

According to skilled hunter and community leader Charlie Swaney, his people won't go up on the coastal plain to hunt even if they're starving. "We call it `the sacred place where life began.'" There are rules for hunting: not taking the female caribou with calves, and not killing the herd's leaders. Many members of the community take part in the hunt itself, setting up camps on the mountainside nearby. Being in camp provides an opportunity for tribal elders to pass on hunting skills as well as stories of their people to the next generation.

In an action reminiscent of Paul's admonition to the Corinthians concerning the Lord's Supper, the food that the hunters get is shared with others in the community. One of our delegations was with a young hunter named Danny Gemmil when he managed to bag five caribou in one lucky afternoon--just what his growing family needed to make it through the winter. When the animals were taken back to the village, however, they didn't end up in his smokehouse alone. Before the end of the day, people from around the community had stopped by to congratulate him, and take home a portion for themselves.

To drill or not to drill--that may be the question. But it's about more than oil, and our nation's insatiable appetite for it, and the impact drilling is bound to have on the ecosystem. It's also about our neighbors the Gwich'in, the life they have lived for millennia, and what they may have to teach us about community and the sanctity of God's creation.

Want to do something to preserve the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? Write Congress to oppose drilling in ANWR and support higher mileage standards for vehicles (House: Washington, DC 20515; Senate: Washington, DC 20510). Cut down on your oil consumption--driving a hybrid vehicle will save 3,500 gallons of gasoline in ten years, a bike will save lots more. Visit the Arctic to learn about the Gwich'in and their way of life.

--David Radcliff directs the New Community Project, a Church of the Brethren-related nonprofit organization. He has led delegations to the Arctic each summer since 2002. This year New Community Project will hold an Arctic Village Learning Tour Aug. 20-29. See www.newcommunityproject.org.

Source: 03/30/2005 Newsline