Alaska Native elders in the Bering Sea region are condemning a decision by President Trump to revoke an Obama administration executive order giving them a voice in how the federal government manages those waters.
The protest by the Bering Sea Elders Group, represented by the Native American Rights Fund, came on April 28, in the wake of Trump signing an executive order implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy for Arctic waters.
In signing that order, Trump revoked another executive order that 40 of Alaska’s coastal tribes had advocated for. Executive order 13754, Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience, issued by President Obama on Dec. 9, 2016, created the Bering Sea Intergovernmental Tribal Advisory Council. That council, the elders group said, gave local Alaskans who use the waters of the Bering Sea every day, a say in how the federal government managed those waters.
Trump has now taken away, along with all other key components of Executive Order 13754, a provision to include traditional knowledge in federal decision-making.
“Now there is no seat at the table for Alaskans or our local knowledge,” the elders group said in a statement released by the Native American Rights Fund. “Alaska’s own congressional delegation stood by as local Alaskan voices were removed from decisions that affect our lives, and now we are at the mercy of federal decision-makers only.
“This does not benefit Alaska,” they said. “Rather, it only benefits the federal government and private interests who will financially benefit from silencing our voices and taking or polluting the resources that we, as Alaskans, rely on…
“The message is clear: the agendas of the ‘existing regulatory authorities’ are more important than our way of life.”
“The elders do not plan on giving up on this,” said Natalie Landreth, an attorney at the Native American Rights Fund office in Anchorage. “They want to go to the administration, and the delegation and say there must be some misunderstanding. There is nothing to target in this executive order. Please put it back.
“We don’t understand what is going on,” Landreth said. “The Bering Sea order has nothing to do with Arctic oil. The Bering Sea has no viable oil deposits. This order was not about that. It was about community involvement.
“Why would anybody target that?” she asked.
Alaska’s congressional delegation was there when Trump signed the order in Washington D.C. The order directs Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review five-year plans for offshore oil and natural gas, as well as certain regulations for oil, gas and renewable energy leasing in Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
“After the last administration spent eight years systematically closing off access to the Arctic, this executive order puts us back on track to explore and ultimately produce the prolific resources in that region,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in a statement approving of Trump’s executive order. “Alaskans broadly support offshore development in the Arctic.”
The senator said she believes the order will put Alaska “on a better path to create jobs, generate new revenues, refill the Trans-Alaska pipeline system, and strengthen our leadership in the Arctic.”
The Bering Sea Elders Group condemned the Trump Administration for its actions and said it is deeply distressed by the lack of communications from Alaska’s congressional delegation.
“The Bering Sea Elders Group, that worked long and diligently to protect our 40 tribes along the Northern Bering Sea, are shocked and appalled by the action of President Donald Trump to eliminate the protections extended by President Obama under Executive order 13754,” said Chuck Degnan, of Unalakeet, who was one of the elder representatives that advocated for Order 13754.
“This is not good,” said elder Frank Oxereok, of Wales. “Everything we have worked for has pretty much gone out the window. Indigenous people rely on resources in areas that we live. This may destroy our way of life and I’m really disappointed in Lisa Murkowski who was standing next to the president when he signed this order.”
“We have depended upon our legislators for help and they did not do their job,” said Harry Lincoln, of Tununak, chair of the Bering Sea Elders group. “I feel like they are retaliating against us for getting this order through the previous administration.”
The complete statement from the Native American Rights Fund is on their website, www.narf.org
After hearing criticism from the Bering Sea Elders Group, Murkowski responded to a inquiry from The Cordova Times, saying that she “supports a fair and open federal decision-making process that seeks input from all affected stakeholders.”
“She believes the Bering Sea Elders Group and other local stakeholder groups should be consulted by federal officials, and that both their views and traditional knowledge should be incorporated into federal decisions affecting the region,” said Nicole Daigle, communications director of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which Murkowski chairs.
“The Senator expects that to be the approach taken by every administration—but recognizing that local voices have not always been heard and respected, she has been working and continues to work on legislation to ensure sufficient consultation, greater engagement, and the incorporation of local knowledge,” Daigle said.
