Caribou, Red Dog mine and Maniilaq Crisis Center: These are the three focuses the Northwest Alaska Leadership Team highlighted during the first day of the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention.
Representatives from most Alaska regions came up on stage Thursday during the Native to Native Leadership Panel, speaking to almost a full room at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center about priorities and the importance of working together. Speaking for the Northwest Arctic region was NANA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Elizabeth Saagulik Hensley.
For decades, NANA works together with the Maniilaq Association, the Northwest Arctic Borough and the Northwest Arctic School District, forming the Northwest Arctic leadership team to address such issues as housing, the high cost of energy, the home heating crisis, climate change and erosion, Hensley said. But some issues are higher on the list of priorities than others.
“I’ll just talk about three things: Advancing our Inupiaq way of life, Red Dog Mine life extension and healthy people,” Hensley said.
The Northwest Arctic region — which spans 30,000 square miles and is home to about 8,000 people and 11 villages — has an abundance of marine and land mammals, fish and birds.
“I understand why our ancestors settled in our area 10,000 years ago: There’s so many options. If you like caribou — caribou. If you’re more of a seal gal — seal. Or you could do both,” Hensley said. “We hunt, we fish, we gather, we share. That’s our way of life.”
This is why supporting the subsistence way of life is one of the biggest priorities for the Northwest Arctic leaders, especially in light of the declining Western Arctic caribou herd.
“We’re concerned about the caribou population,” she said. “And we really look to our Elders and our hunters and our Indigenous knowledge holders to help come up with the solutions and figure out what’s going on.”
Giving more power to the people who have been managing and living off caribou for so long is the way to address to issue, or at least to understand its roots better, Hensley said.
“Local management and co-stewardship as the most promising path forward,” she said.
Supporting subsistence hunters also means providing them with jobs and economic opportunities, Hensley said, and this is why the leadership team is looking for ways to extend the life of Red Dog mine. The development supports 80% to 90% of the Northwest Arctic Borough government, and hence the education, public safety and other important services, Hensley said.
“Today it employs 1,700 people every year, which is a really important source of jobs for our people,” she said. “It allows people to work in our region and have the wherewithal to purchase the ammo, boats, four wheelers, snow-gos, gas which cost, you know, 18 bucks a gallon in some communities — to practice that subsistence way of life.”
Prioritizing healthy thriving communities in Northwest Alaska also means working to prevent suicides and helping residents address their mental health and substance abuse issues, Hensley said. That’s why local leaders are focused on building the Maniilaq Behavioral Health Crisis Center.
“That’s the capital priority that NWALT has this year,” Hensley said, “the place that people can go when they’re having a mental health crisis or a detoxification. They need a place to really center themselves.”
Hensley said it is important for local organizations to collaborate to locate funding and achieve their goals.
“We’re all part of a family working together to rally around our priorities and help ensure our people have the opportunities that they need to have fulfilling lives, to have enjoyable lives,” she said. “Moving forward together,” she continued, “this is our strength, always has been, always will be. And it’s one thing to be part of this region where we’re born and raised to work together to cooperate, to consult, to collaborate.”