Sheenjek River II: A Gwich’in Homeland | Oil and the Caribou | 2002 | 68 in. x 86 in.

Early May 2002, Sheenjek River valley, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Framing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as “the last American frontier untouched by man” is a myth. The Sheenjek River, one of the three designated Wild rivers in the Arctic Refuge, has been immortalized with the biological expedition of 1956 led by legendary biologist Olaus Murie. The expedition later led to the establishment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 1960. Sarah James, a Gwich’in elder and a leading Native American activist shared with me that Sheenjek in Gwich’in means “salmon river.” She also showed me a hand–drawn map that shows numerous Gwich’in families, including Sarah James’ that lived along this river until they were encouraged to take up village life in Arctic Village as recently as in mid–twentieth century. The conservation movement has obliterated the Gwich’in history of the salmon river. American land conservation movement from its inception separated human from nature, which has proven to be cruel to the Native American people. The American public was told that areas of the Yellowstone Plateau “have never been trodden by human footsteps.” On the contrary, the Crow, the Shoshone, the Bannock, the Blackfeet, and the Nez Perce—five tribes actively hunted in these areas. In 1872, the first National Park was established—the Yellowstone National Park. The United States military was called in to ensure safety for the tourists from the threat of the Native American people. Back then, the government and the conservationists protected the land from the people of the land. Today, the Gwich’in Steering Committee and the conservation organizations are working collaboratively to protect the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge against oil and gas development. The gap between the two conceptions of nature and culture, however, remain vast: “I learned by living out in the wilderness” (Sarah James), and “Man himself is a visitor who does not remain [in a wilderness]” (Howard Zahniser, The Wilderness Act, 1964).