On April 28, 2026, the Executive Director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee sent letters to executives of eight major oil and gas companies, formally requesting a meeting to discuss the opposition of the Gwich’in Nation to oil and gas exploration and activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The following letter was shared:
The Gwich’in Steering Committee, founded in 1988, is the unified voice of the Gwich’in Nation speaking out to protect the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We represent the communities of Arctic Village, Venetie, Fort Yukon, Beaver, Chalkyitsik, Birch Creek, Canyon Village, Circle, and Eagle Village in Alaska, and Old Crow, Fort McPherson, Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik, and Inuvik in Canada. We are a voice for the Porcupine Caribou Herd and for our future generations who rely on the land and on the animals for not only food security, but also our cultural identity. We oppose any process that may allow or facilitate oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Refuge, because we know that it would negatively impact the caribou, and therefore our way of life.
Protecting the Porcupine Caribou Herd is vital to our human rights and our food security. We have worked for decades to protect the Coastal Plain and plan to engage all Gwich’in people and our allies in this process to speak out to protect our way of life. We call the Coastal Plain “Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit” — “the Sacred Place Where Life Begins.” This name demonstrates the great significance of this area to us as Gwich’in.
We understand that the Department of the Interior, under the direction of the Trump administration, has initiated the process of holding an oil and gas lease sale on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge on June 5,2026.
We are writing today to make it clear that the Gwich’in Nation continues to stand firmly in opposition to any form of development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Coastal Plain is sacred land to our people, and any development on this fragile landscape would have irreversible and dire consequences.
As representatives of sovereign Indigenous Tribes, we formally request a meeting to share our position and our knowledge about the importance of not pursuing development of any kind in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Mahsi Cho (thank you very much) for your time,
Kristen Moreland
Executive Director
Gwich’in Steering Committee