Canadian activists recently staged a Walk to Washington cross-country tour to raise awareness about the importance of the refuge for the survival of the Porcupine caribou.

William Greenland

Inuvik resident William Greenland, 43, was one of the Northern Gwich'in delegates informing Americans of how drilling in the refuge would affect the Gwich'in.

News/North: What was your main purpose going on the tour?

William Greenland: We educated American people on the importance of protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and how it affects not just the animals and the environment, but also the aboriginal way of life for the Gwich'in.

N/N: What kind of questions did you get from people?

WG: For me, it was like, "Are your people still living a nomadic way of life?" Things like that. "Do you guys have cars and trucks? How do you get to your communities (They call them villages)?" I tell them, "We live in today's society, we have planes and computers and DVDs. We've got everything you've got down here but we still practise our traditional lifestyle." Another question was, "Do you live among the polar bears?"

N/N: Did you get any questions about why Canadian Gwich'in are supporting a pipeline while at the same time lobbying against oil and gas development in the refuge?

WG: Yes. I said there is development in our area but it has nothing to do with the caribou migration of the Arctic Refuge. Another question was `Why are you Canadians so concerned about this?" I say, "Because what happens in the Arctic Refuge affects us as well. It's a big issue to us."

The thing is, also, Canadians have to be more educated on this issue. We got to bring it to the schools and let the young people know what's going on.

N/N: Lenny Kohm, who retired recently, has been doing his slide show tour of states with Gwich'in delegates for a decade and a half, yet many people are still not aware of the issue. Does it get tiresome to keep repeating the same message, knowing people like yourself have been at it for so long?

WG: I was getting tired. After 10 days I was ready to come home, but then I was asked to stick around for another two more weeks. This issue is very important to me and I wanted to stay and continue the work. There are people down there who have no idea this issue exists and the Bush government wants to develop this area. There's one guy who said, "I've always thought it the environment and the caribou that was what was going to be affected." When I spoke to this guy, he stood up and said, "I didn't know this was going to affect people as well. How come we haven't been told earlier?"

I said, "I've been at this since '91 and we've been at this for years."

In a way, it's discouraging. It shows that people aren't really paying attention to what's going on.

N/N: You were in the U.S. when the election took place.

The results must have felt like a real blow to the campaign.

WG: Yeah, we were hoping the Democrats were going to make it in, but now the Republicans are in.

The way it was heard on the news, Bush is saying it gives him more strength to open the Arctic Refuge to development. But what we have to do is look beyond that and look to the people themselves because it's they that elected the politicians into office.

N/N: Was there anything that most stood out for you on your tour?

WG: What stood out the most for me was having people come up and shake our hand with tears in their eyes, saying, "We didn't realize. What can we do to help you in your position?"

It made me feel good. Every time I heard that, I wanted to go further.