The Refuge: Fighting for a Way of Life (The Gwich'in People / Patagonia)

“What we’re up against is a mentality that puts money above everything else.”

This short film shares the story of the Gwich’in peoples’ struggle to protect their homelands and the sacred life within them.

"On December 3, 2020, the United States Bureau of Land Management gave notice of sale for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) with a livestream video. Drilling rights lease sales were scheduled for January 6, 2021. The Trump administration issued the first leases on January 19, 2021. On January 20, 2021, President Biden’s first day in Office, the Biden administration issued an executive order for a temporary moratorium on drilling activity in the ANWR. On June 1, 2021, US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland suspended all Trump-era oil and gas leases in the ANWR, pending a review of how fossil fuel drilling would impact the remote landscape." - Wikipedia

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Thanks to Patagonia Films for allowing us to share this video. Learn more and help the Gwich’in people protect their homes here. This video is part of our Fall 2021 collection, Sacred Relationship, exploring the Native American sense of sacred relationship with Earth’s other living creatures.

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