It is too bad the Alaska Legislature can't come together on coastal zone management and will lose a program that helps the development process, brings in federal money and creates jobs.
It seems unfortunate that state coastal zone management legislation imploded over the lack of agreement on "a provision to allow local knowledge to be considered alongside scientific evidence," as I've seen reported in several articles.
Most of the time, indigenous or traditional knowledge and scientific knowledge don't compete and conflict -- they complement each other. Our hunters and people get their knowledge by observing day-in and day-out how our environment works. Scientists also gather their knowledge by observation -- usually during an eight-week field season.
The goal is the same -- we all want to know the truth to better make decisions.
Our knowledge has credibility. Since Inupiat people have lived here in the Arctic for many centuries, our people have learned much about sea ice, snow, ocean currents, and the behavior of wildlife. Traditional knowledge of the physical environment is knowledge passed down between generations of Inupiat people -- elders, hunters, gatherers, and whaling captains. This body of knowledge increases through the experience of each and every North Slope resident whose life goes into working in and observing the environment.
Local input is and has always been vital and useful for coastal issues. I hope it continues. Most decisions that affect our development and the management of our lands are made in Juneau, Anchorage, Houston or Washington, D.C., and many of these decisions are made without consulting us.
As indigenous people of the U.S. Arctic, we want our opinions heard, and we also want traditional knowledge to be respected -- just as people everywhere want to be heard and respected.
In the past, unfortunately, there have been many instances where representatives from Outside have come to us with the attitude that they know everything and that our traditional knowledge is of little significance. While we can view the attitude of ignoring traditional knowledge as simply being insulting, this attitude ignores knowledge about the environment and its wildlife we have collected from direct observations over many lifetimes. We also see ignoring traditional knowledge as an approach that gives poor results for everyone.
George Ahmaogak Sr. has been a whaling captain and worked in private industry. He is a former North Slope Borough mayor and current candidate for mayor. He lives in Barrow.
By GEORGE AHMAOGAK SR.