Every year, the porcupine caribou herd embarks on the longest land mammal migration in the world, covering over 2400 km from the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and into Alaska. Oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge threatens the food security, spiritual and cultural foundation of the Indigenous Gwich'in Nation of Alaska and Canada.
This week we talk to Lorraine Netro, an Elder of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, who serves on the Board of Directors of the Gwich’in Steering Committee. We talk about the advocacy campaign to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Porcupine Caribou from development, the importance of the Porcupine Caribou to the Gwich’in, and the impact development would have to the culture and food security of the Gwich’in Nation.