The record is clear — in their zeal to approve the Ambler Road, federal agency leaders in the Trump administration cast aside concerns expressed by tribes in the Koyukuk River region about the 211-mile industrial Ambler Road that would slice through the hunting and fishing lands that our people have depended on for thousands of years. They distorted a process that was supposed to disclose and minimize the harmful impacts of building this road into one that rushed permit approval and postponed any meaningful analysis until after the main decisions were already made. Whether or not you think the road is a good idea, it is evident that this project would fundamentally change the traditional homelands through which it passes. This is true even if you ignore the mining activity that the road is intended to enable and that the federal agencies recklessly chose to exclude from their evaluation of impacts.
This is not how good decisions are made, and it also violates several laws that require informed decision making. The Alaska Native communities that depend on these traditional homelands deserve a process that fully evaluates the impacts and includes robust consultation with tribes. This is why our tribes have challenged those decisions in court and asked the Biden administration to vacate the previous administration’s decisions.
Unfortunately, to date our concerns have not been addressed by the new federal administration, which made a commitment that respect for tribal sovereignty and environmental justice will be hallmarks of their work. This commitment is not being adequately implemented by the regional offices of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Army Corps of Engineers. BLM, for instance, is allowing Ambler Road proponents to dominate key committees that are supposed to protect subsistence and cultural resources. These people are blatantly excluding Tribal representatives from participating in the very processes meant to protect our interests.
The situation came to a brazen head at a recent meeting of the Ambler Road Subsistence Advisory Committee. While we oppose the Ambler Road, and will not cease in our efforts to invalidate the decisions that approved it, we will also exercise our right to be in the room where the future of our ability to subsist on our lands is at issue. Yet when we showed up for this meeting, only the Alatna tribe from the Koyukuk River region was able to participate. Tanana Chiefs Conference was excluded from the meeting despite its status as a sovereign tribal consortium comprised of dozens of tribal governments. Moreover, the officially-delegated representatives of Allakaket attempted to participate on their behalf, but were ejected from the meeting, with no explanation or justification other than “you are not invited.” Further, the Huslia tribe was also precluded from appointing its delegate to the committee.
Tribes have every right to send representatives to speak on their behalf, especially considering the fact that many tribes are not traveling due to the ongoing pandemic and do not have adequate access to broadband in their communities. Meanwhile, representatives attending on behalf of the project proponents — Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, NANA Regional Corp., Ambler Metals LLC, and others — stayed in the room, behind those closed doors. Blatantly excluding tribes from these conversations is unethical and shuts out an essential voice in these discussions. BLM must provide better oversight for these committees and mandate proper inclusion of tribal leaders and their officially-delegated representatives.
The Biden administration has stated, “President Biden’s relationship with Native Americans is built on respect for tribal sovereignty and self-governance, honoring federal trust and treaty responsibilities, and conducting regular, meaningful and robust consultation with tribal nations.” However, the administration has failed to uphold this commitment to our tribes by denying them meaningful consultation on issues that will critically impact their way of life. The Biden administration should vacate the unlawful Ambler Road decisions, support tribes that want to participate in good faith in government-mandated processes intended to protect tribal interests, and stand up to those who try to silence our voices. Anything less is mere lip service and the perpetuation of age-old injustices that could well lead to the end of our way of life.
Harding Sam, First Chief, Alatna Village Council
Clinton Bergman, First Chief, Allakaket Tribal Council
Frank Thompson, First Chief, Evansville Tribal Council
Brian Ridley, President, Tanana Chiefs Conference