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Right now, the Trump Administration is pushing hard to drill for oil and gas in places that were previously off-limits. One of those places is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and in June, the administration took another step forward in the process of opening this enormous protected area for drilling.
Season 3 of Threshold is actually all about this controversy: it’s called The Refuge, and today, we’re sharing a bit more from one of the most memorable people we spoke to back then. His name is Trimble Gilbert, and he’s a traditional chief and a deeply knowledgeable elder from the Gwich’in community of Arctic Village, just over the Refuge’s southern boundary.
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Credits: This extra was produced by Sam Moore, with music by Todd Sickafoose and Travis Yost. Amy Martin is our host and executive producer.
Resources and Links:
Amy’s Substack, Letters to Earthlings
A profile of Trimble Gilbert from the Tanana Chiefs Conference
Harvard Law School’s effort to track the political football over the Refuge across the past four administrations
Trump’s Executive Order: Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential
More about the Gwich’in, from the Gwich’in Tribal Council Dept of Heritage in Canada (Check out their “elder of the month” feature).
Recent related stories from the Alaska Beacon about the Trump administration canceling its support for the Arctic Report Card and relaxing rules for offshore drilling in Alaska.
