Uploaded January 2013 | Updated September 2026, 38 minutes ago
Is it worth spoiling this sacred place for several months supply of oil? David Radcliff, Director of the New Community Project has been taking learning tours to Arctic Village, Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the past 10 years. It's an experience to learn about the Native Gwich'in people who have lived off the land for thousands of years.
The Porcupine Caribou Herd is the central feature in the Gwich'in way of life. The caribou birthing grounds on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is where the oil interests of the U.S. government are wanting to drill for oil. For the Gwich'in, this area is the "Sacred Place Where All Life Begins." It's a sacred site and the birthing place for the caribou and many other animal species. Oil drilling would damage both the plain and the herd, violating the fundamental human rights of the Gwich'in to culture subsistence, health and religion.
"According to the authorities, the refuge may hold 2-4 billion barrels of oil (several months supply of petroleum for the U.S.) but, at what devastation and cost to the ecosystem and the Native Gwich'in? Is it worth spoiling that wonderful place for several months supply of oil, when there is so much to do to improve transportation efficiency, mass transit another ways of living less on petroleum and being more in tune with the planet?" -- David Radcliff
Tags: Brethren, New Community Project, Arctic Village, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Porcupine Caribou Herd, Gwich'in, Oil Drilling, Planet, Ecosystem Devestation
Is it worth spoiling this sacred place for several months supply of oil? David Radcliff, Director of the New Community Project has been taking learning tours to Arctic Village, Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the past 10 years. It's an experience to learn about the Native Gwich'in people who have lived off the land for thousands of years.
The Porcupine Caribou Herd is the central feature in the Gwich'in way of life. The caribou birthing grounds on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is where the oil interests of the U.S. government are wanting to drill for oil. For the Gwich'in, this area is the "Sacred Place Where All Life Begins." It's a sacred site and the birthing place for the caribou and many other animal species. Oil drilling would damage both the plain and the herd, violating the fundamental human rights of the Gwich'in to culture subsistence, health and religion.
"According to the authorities, the refuge may hold 2-4 billion barrels of oil (several months supply of petroleum for the U.S.) but, at what devastation and cost to the ecosystem and the Native Gwich'in? Is it worth spoiling that wonderful place for several months supply of oil, when there is so much to do to improve transportation efficiency, mass transit another ways of living less on petroleum and being more in tune with the planet?" -- David Radcliff
Tags: Brethren, New Community Project, Arctic Village, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Porcupine Caribou Herd, Gwich'in, Oil Drilling, Planet, Ecosystem Devestation
