I had the opportunity of listening to this woman’s story in 2018.
I am constantly reminded of this conversation as it is one of the most striking examples of the clash between the environment and modern science.
Demientieff is the executive director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee which was formed in 1988 in response to proposals to drill for oil in the Sacred Place Where Life Begins, the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. These are the caribou calving grounds and considered the very heart of the Gwich’in people. They work to keep these lands untouched, the tribe themselves never step foot in the grounds.
The knowledge that the indigenous Gwich’in people have gained throughout thousands of generations of living on the land is vast and valuable. In the fight against the oil industry they have encountered unethical practices within the scientific community that have threatened their cultures practices and existence.
When indigenous people’s knowledge challenges “scientific truths” they are dismissed as myth. Science is promoted as objective, quantifiable, and the foundation for “real” knowledge creation or evaluation while indigenous knowledge is dismissed as anecdotal, imprecise and unfamiliar in form.
As the indigenous people’s concerns were cast aside, the data collection process for this project became a race and fight between environmental groups, industry and the government for the highest quantity of data trying to prove their own self interests.
When the data was analyzed and reviewed by the industry, it was concluded that the caribou would not be affected by pipelines or the oil drilling, however the tribal groups are more than sure that these conclusions are wrong.
What is the role of science?
In this struggle it has been used by the oil industry as a weapon for destruction and a tool to silence marginalized voices.
Science also came as the living embodiment of practices from peoples who have inhabited the land for centuries. A form of science and knowledge not recognized by many institutions and industries.
In January 2021, just days before Joe Biden was to take office, the Trump administration held an auction for the right to drill in the refuge. No oil major participated. This was primarily due to the work of Bernadette Demientieff and their campaign to protect human rights, indigenous culture and the sacredness of their landscape.
Read about their most recent standoff with the Trump Administration here.
