Cookie Control

This site uses cookies to store information on your computer.

Some cookies on this site are essential, and the site won't work as expected without them. These cookies are set when you submit a form, login or interact with the site by doing something that goes beyond clicking on simple links.

We also use some non-essential cookies to anonymously track visitors or enhance your experience of the site. If you're not happy with this, we won't set these cookies but some nice features of the site may be unavailable.

By using our site you accept the terms of our Privacy Policy.

(One cookie will be set to store your preference)
(Ticking this sets a cookie to hide this popup if you then hit close. This will not store any personal information)

UN Urges Probe of Trump Arctic Drilling Plan for Human Rights Abuses

"The Trump administration’s plan to lease Alaska’s coastal plain for oil and gas drilling has hit a tiny snag: It could be a human rights violation. The United Nations is calling for an investigation into whether the policy violates the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination due to its impact on the Gwich’in people.

The coastal plain is a key piece of Gwich’in cultural identity. It’s so important to the Gwich’in that they refer to it as the Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit, or “Sacred Place Where Life Began.” That importance comes from the fact that the Gwich’in—who call themselves the “Caribou people”—depend on the Porcupine caribou for sustenance and culture, and Porcupine caribou use the coastal plain as their calving grounds.

“It’s considered so deeply sacred that the Gwich’in refuse to set foot in that area, even in times of famine,” said Carla Fredericks, Director of First Peoples Worldwide and the American Indian Law Clinic at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who has worked with the Gwich’in Nation to contest development plans for a year and a half."

Dharna Noor reports for Earther September 2, 2020.

Source: Earther, 09/03/2020