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Caribou No Oil and Gas Drilling The Sacred Place Where Life Begins The Gwich’in people call the calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou herd Izhik Gwat’san Gwandaii Goodlit—“The Sacred Place Where Life Begins.” The place where conditions are perfect for giving birth lies within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Sarah James, Gwich’in Nation elder, has been speaking for the caribou for many years, speaking out against allowing oil and gas drilling in the middle of this sacred area. “I was a participant in the Peace and Dignity Run in 2000, and Sarah James hosted us as we flew in from Denver to Arctic Village, which is a community with no road going in or out, only accessed by bush plane out of Fairbanks, Alaska. While there, I was fortunate to be along on a caribou hunt with the elder named Moses Sam. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I feel honored to put together this ledger on behalf of the caribou and the Gwich’in Nation. The ledger came into being when Sa...

Robert “Running Fisher” Upham is a mixed-blood Indian, (enrolled member of Lake Traverse Sioux, community member by blood from Salish, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, and Pend Oreille tribes). He has a history of social justice activism combined with being a chronicler and artist. At age 32 , he walked across the United States with American Indian Movement founder Dennis Banks. He produced a winter count on elk hide in support of the freedom of Leonard Peltier as part of that walk. In 1998, at age 36, he led a 35-mile march about genocidal legal practices in Indian Country. The march was from Denver to Boulder, to the headquarters of one of the institutions that has failed to change these practices. In 2014, his cousin requested that he...