THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM

INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

SPEECH BY TARA M. SWEENEY

1/16/02

I am Tara Katuk Sweeney. I am a lifelong Alaskan, raised in the Arctic region of Alaska. I am also the sister of a Teamster in local 959. My people are Inupiat Eskimos. We comprise 8,000 of the over 90,000 Alaska Natives that are indigenous to the State.

In my professional capacity I work for the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, or ASRC, as its shareholder and government relations manager. ASRC is an Alaska Native corporation established through federal legislation in 1971. Instead of the commonly known Indian reservations prevalent throughout what we Alaskans call the lower 48 states, Congress mandated that Alaska establish regional corporations based on aboriginal, ethnic and linguistic boundaries.

My people, the Inupiat, comprise the membership of ASRC. We hold title to 92,000 acres of privately owned land in the middle of the controversial Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, also known as ANWR. We believe that responsible development of this area is our fundamental human right to economic self-determination.

However, before I get started, I wanted to say that it is an honor for me to share the podium today. My familiarity with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters began ten years ago as a student in Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. More recently I have had the honor of working with Jerry Hood in supporting a crucial plank of our President’s national energy policy, which is the responsible development of our homeland, the Coastal Plain of ANWR. This issue strikes to the very core of my Inupiaq people and our country’s future. Thankfully, we, along with a majority of Alaskans are on the side of the Teamsters.

Through the leadership of Mr. Hoffa, President Bush’s energy policy has traveled far. Working with the Teamsters on the national energy policy, doors that would otherwise have remained closed to us were opened. Mr. Hoffa’s leadership was a key element in forging the alliance of Alaska’s Native people, the majority of Alaskans, organized labor and common sense people nationwide. Through this alliance I believe we have been brought together to fight for the same human right. That human right is freedom.

Freedom means recognition of certain rights: the right to choose religion, free speech, to bear arms, even the right to organize. These rights and others are embodied in our country’s declaration of independence, constitution and bill of rights. The familiar documents are naturally called to mind when Americans ponder the subject of freedom. Who in here can think of freedom, of America’s great history, without thinking of the great westward expansion that accompanied the birth of our nation? Images come to mind: the open country, trails westward, a relatively remote government, plentiful game, clean water and the feeling of boundless opportunity.

For America’s indigenous people, the Indians of North America however, the same image invokes far different feelings. To the Indians of the Lower 48, America’s westward expansion represents-to paraphrase author Dee Brown-not how the west was won, but how it was lost. Where other Americans see the birth of the nation, the Indians see the taking of the land, broken treaties and the establishment of reservations.

For my people, the Inupiat, the effects of America’s westward expansion are far different. We’ve had no wars against expansion, and we have no treaties. We do not have reservations. Our land has never been ceded to anyone in battle.

Truly our history was different. Yet we still struggled for freedom. Our struggle was not on the battlefield or on the ripped pages of broken treaties. Our struggle was in courtrooms and capitol buildings and it continues to this day. It is not a struggle of Eskimos against the world. Our struggle, happening as we speak, going on nationwide, is between the informed and the uninformed, and it is happening today in the halls of Congress.

Within those halls there is a debate on the most controversial element of the President’s national energy plan. This element is the responsible development of oil and gas on a tiny parcel of land within my region; it is the Coastal Plain of ANWR. Again, my people hold title to 92,000 acres of land within the Coastal Plain. We cannot develop our privately owned land unless Congress authorizes development within the Coastal Plain.

The uninformed will tell you that the Coastal Plain is untouched by man; that it is America’s Serengeti; the last great wilderness on earth; or that it cannot be developed responsibly. I am here to tell you the truth. In short, the Coastal Plain of ANWR is not untouched by man, nor is it the last great wilderness on earth. Finally, we believe that ANWR can be developed responsibly.

For thousands of years the Inupiat people have occupied the Arctic region of Alaska called the North Slope. This area is 89,000 square miles in size, equivalent to the size of the state of Minnesota. We have eight villages scattered throughout the North Slope. One of our villages is Kaktovik, the only village within the recognized boundaries of the entire 19.6 million acres of ANWR.

Kaktovik is situated within the 1.5 million acres of the Coastal Plain. To put this in perspective for you, Kaktovik is the only village within the boundaries of an area the size of the state of South Carolina. The Inupiat people of Kaktovik own the surface rights to the 92,000 acres while ASRC owns the subsurface rights to that land.

Kaktovik residents support responsible ANWR development, as do 75% of all Alaskans and the Alaska Federation of Natives, an organization that represents all Alaska Natives.

To allege the Coastal Plain, or ANWR as a whole, is untouched by man is incorrect. Kaktovik has a population of roughly 260 people. Personally, I know the Coastal Plain is far from untouched because my great grandfather was commissioned by the U.S. Government in 1920, to conduct a census along 400 miles of coastal tundra between my hometown of Barrow and Demarcation Point which is on the U.S./Canadian border. When pressured to join the ministry he packed up his family and moved to a riverbank on the Coastal Plain just outside of Kaktovik.

This area is not the last great wilderness on earth. ANWR, especially the Coastal Plain, was utilized by my ancestors and it is currently inhabited by only my people; the U.S. Government even established DEW line radar sites within the Coastal Plain; and, in the southern portion of ANWR where development is strictly prohibited, nor desired, America’s wealthy and elite disrupt wildlife when they charter their helicopters in to hike the mountains or float the river. An average of 100 Americans a year visits the southern portion of ANWR that will never be open to development.

The decision of my people to support development was not made in haste, nor were we pressured by the industry. Our decision is rooted in our knowledge of the environment, stewardship of the animals and history with the Prudhoe Bay development.

The Prudhoe Bay oil fields lie within our regional boundaries. When oil was discovered in our region in the late 1960’s, we were fearful of development. It represented the abolishment of our traditional way of life; we feared development would drive out the caribou that we depended on for sustenance. Concerns of the care for the environment were raised, and the industry was viewed as an incompetent steward of our homeland.

Those issues were and still are very important to my people. The land and sea bear the fruits of our garden. We depend on both to provide us with food, to carry on our ancient traditions, to live, to exist. Safeway, Wegmans or Kroger stores are not present in our region. Therefore, we feared development threatened our very existence. To exist without the bounties of both land and sea was to not be Inupiaq at all. So, we opposed development.

Over thirty years later we have changed our opinion. Development has not adversely impacted our ancient traditions or our food supply. The caribou population that we feared would be abolished as a result of development has thrived since the Prudhoe Bay discovery. What was once a meager population of 3,000 caribou in the late 1960’s, is now flourishing to numbers over 27,000. The population increase is a result of our careful stewardship over the land. Not because of lack of predators, as the environmental industry would have you believe. Our regulatory powers over the oil industry safeguard our wildlife and protect the environment.

When oil was first discovered our great leader Eben Hopson, Sr., had some foresight to organize our people and form a home-rule government called the North Slope Borough. Eben Hopson, Sr., represents to our people what James R. Hoffa is to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The North Slope Borough has broad powers of permitting, taxation, zoning and education. It is the country’s farthest north municipality, all in a land with no agriculture, no commercial fishing, minimal tourism, no road system, and weak federal and state programs. The industry was moving into our region, despite our objections. We chose to organize a government to help our people.

From the outset, the North Slope Borough took strong local control of the growing development industry. The goal was to protect the environment and our traditional lifestyles while balancing the nation’s need for energy.

The North Slope Borough allowed development within the region, but had the power to regulate when and how. Today, development activity occurs only in the winter, when few animals are present. To minimize impact on the land, the industry is required to create ice roads. When the ice melts in the spring, all activity ceases. The pipeline was built to accommodate the migration of the caribou, high enough for them to cross under and ramps for those who feared the pipeline overhead. The same restrictions, if not more, would apply to ANWR. What we’ve learned is the caribou will cross either way.

The uninformed proclaim that at least 400 oil spills occur on the North Slope each year. What qualifies as an oil spill? Thanks to the environmental standards enforced by the North Slope Borough, the industry is required to report and clean up an oil spill when one tablespoon of oil spills on the ground. If the industry fails to report a spill, they run the risk of having heavy fines levied against them.

In addition to the strict environmental regulations enforced by the North Slope Borough, our own residents and the workers in Prudhoe Bay are trained to respond to any accidents that may occur. Similar to a fire department, we are available to respond twenty-four hours a day.

My people were the aboriginal environmentalists of our region, long before it was trendy to become a member of the Sierra Club. We would not support responsible development if it compromised our ancient traditional practices and values that make up who we are as a people.

We believe, as illustrated with the current Prudhoe Bay production, that development and wildlife can co-exist. It is with that belief that we are fighting for our human right to survive. Responsible ANWR development means energy for America, roughly 750,000 jobs for Americans and a healthy existence for my people.

As stated earlier, the living conditions on the North Slope were harsh. With no heat in our homes, children were forced out into the cold to gather driftwood to burn—all in a land with no trees. Diseases were high as the living conditions were unsanitary with no running water or flush toilets. People perished due to lack of localized health care. Children were sent thousands of miles south for school because we did not have local high schools, and some villages did not have elementary schools. Therefore, some children were sent away as early as six years old.

The taxation powers exercised by the North Slope Borough over the oil industry created a revenue base for our people. As a result of Prudhoe Bay development, we now have heat in our homes, most villages have running water and some even flush toilets. The water and sewer project in Kaktovik will be the last for our region but the project start date is not scheduled for another two years. All villages now have local health clinics, with one hospital in the entire 89,000 square miles of our region. Fortunately, each village has both an elementary and high school to educate our children.

However, as the production in the Prudhoe Bay fields decline so do our financial resources to maintain our infrastructure and social programs. Responsible development of the Coastal Plain of ANWR is our only hope in sustaining the luxuries of heat in our homes, running water and flush toilets, health care facilities, schools, police and fire protection, as well as social programs needed for a healthy, thriving society.

As Inupiat people we are proud and hard working. We want to become productive members of society, independent of state and federal programs. We want to determine our own future, instead of having uninformed politicians over three thousand miles away champion our causes to boost their public approval ratings.

Due to the remoteness of my region, the cost of living is almost unimaginable. A gallon of milk costs just under $6.00, a box of cereal costs $7.00, a pound of fresh bananas costs $10.00 and when the finally arrive they’re not so fresh. Gasoline prices are roughly $2.50 per gallon in Barrow and higher in the other villages.

We are fighting for our human right to economic self-determination. This is our image of freedom. This freedom was not put in history books or written down on paper. It was inscribed in the hearts of my Inupiaq people.

Although our reasons for forging ahead may be different, we can agree that responsible ANWR development not only makes sense for my people, but for the nation as a whole. We are humbled by the support of the teamsters and grateful that you have joined the battle. Our people usually carry this message of gratitude in our Native language.

Quyanaagivsigin Uummatiptiinnin Ikayugavsigut. Siggaqutikput Uvagut Innunailuataqluta Nunaptinni. Teamstaruasi Sanigaptinni Ittuasi QUYANAPIAGATAGIVSIGIN.

Thank you. From our hearts we thank you for helping us. We, who are striving to live right on our land, to you Teamsters we thank you for being by our side. Thank you, thank you, thank you.