Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic

Our mission is to create space for healthy communities, spiritually, mentally, and physically; fostering the connection between people, culture and land. We are empowered as frontline communities and those who have inherent connection with the land and what it provides.

Alaska Native Communities Celebrate New Protections for Teshekpuk Caribou Herd, Tribes in the Western Arctic

After Calling For More Protections, Co-Management and Tribally-led Stewardship, Alaska Native Communities Are Welcoming Measures to Prioritize Subsistence Activities and Wildlife

(Nuiqsut, Alaska) – Today, Alaska Native communities are welcoming new measures to protect their subsistence, cultural, and traditional activities. In an announcement today, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)’s recognized significant subsistence resource values, the need for co-management, and the importance of establishing new Special Areas to protect subsistence use in the Western Arctic.

This decision comes after the administration’s efforts to protect more than 13 million acres of land in the NPR-A last year. As a part of their announcement today, the DOI released a report publishing the results of their Request for Information (RFI) and commenced a process, that will include tribal consultation, to formally recognize subsistence values, establish new Special Areas, and ensure their maximum protection. The administration also directed BLM to consider and apply interim mitigation measures to provide maximum protection for subsistence use and access.

Today’s announcement aligns with local calls for stronger subsistence safeguards and a new subsistence special area which were outlined by Grandmothers Growing Goodness, Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic (SILA), and Native Movement during the Request for Information public comment period last fall.

We celebrated NO BIDS in the Refuge (ANWR) lease sale!! This was one of two required lease sales from Donald's 2017 tax act. The first sale was held in 2021 and was also a colossal failure. The claim (to get Alaskan's buy in) was that this sale would generate billions for Alaska, instead it put us in the red as our own fringe agency, AIDEA (Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority) was the main bidder. The second lease sale scheduled January 10th, 2025, generated NO BIDS.

This video contains the testimonies from leaders and community members who will be directly effected by the Willow Master Development Plan that Biden just came out in support of. This goes against the fight to slow down climate change and create a livable earth for all. Please share this video and let Biden know he cannot sell our future!