“Drill baby drill”; a slogan from the 2008 Republican National Convention, conveys support for the drilling of petroleum and gas as key sources of energy, at the expense of not only the climate and environment, but also the Indigenous American community. 

According to the Alaskian Wilderness League, this campaign is a program that “prioritizes fossil fuel expansion, climate denial, and political theater over meaningful governance”, which directly threats the Indigenous American community and their land, where steps have been taken to preserve their land for generations. 

An executive order was made by the White House under the Trump administration, and was released on 20th January. It directs federal agencies to remove restrictions on natural resource development in Alaska, which reverses policies from the previous administration/s. It also aims to ‘boost economic growth, national security, and energy independence’ by expanding oil, gas, mining, timber, and seafood industries. 

Some key actions that will be implemented shortly include:

• Lifting bans on drilling and leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and National Petroleum Reserve.
• Expediting permits for energy projects. 
• Revising environmental regulations to favor resource extraction, rather than the protection of the land that’s left, and preserving what is left.
• Restoring state control over certain lands and waterways.

This order emphasizes prioritizing Alaska’s economic development ‘for the benefit of the whole country’, while reviewing and overturning prior environmental protections. The Alaskian Wilderness League describes how “it aims to sacrifice lands and waters for short-term profits, environmental degradation, and an unchecked fossil fuel agenda.”

Policies implemented during Trump’s first term disproportionately targeted Native American populations. His support for the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, which were both strongly protested against by Native American tribes, were one of the most controversial policies against the Indigenous American community. They aimed to transport vast amounts of crude oil from one place to another. However, the problem was that building these pipelines would mean that sacred places were to be destroyed in the process. Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline were organized by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, who claimed that their sacred grounds and water supply were under danger. The administration disregarded their objections in favor of business interests and economic benefits. 

Trump also diminished safeguards for Native holy places by reducing the size of national monuments, which many Native leaders viewed as a violation of their sovereignty. In order to facilitate businesses’ ability to avoid Indigenous resistance when pursuing resource extraction projects, his government also deliberately undermined the Tribal Consultation process, which “is a formal, two-way, government-to-government dialogue between official representatives of Tribes and Federal Government agencies to discuss federal proposals before the federal agency makes decisions on those proposals.” This consultation process was a legitimate and effective solution implemented by administrations before Trump; this is also an example of how the Trump administration reverses the policies implemented by previous administrations, making it overall ineffective and harmful for the Indigenous peoples wanting to rightfully advocate for themselves and their rights. 

The Alaskian Wilderness League responded to the executive order from 20th January in their article, by saying “Trump’s first day in office and his subsequent actions, despite not actually accomplishing much besides just headline actions, are setting the stage for a presidency defined by a relentless push for extraction, climate denial, and an unwavering commitment to corporate interests *cough* Elon Musk *cough*.”, which outlines how vocal the Indigenous American and overall Indigenous communities have been and will continue to be, in order to raise awareness and fight for what is rightfully theirs. Before our ancestors ever realized that land existed, the Indigenous communities had been residing there for many years. It is their utmost right to continue residing on that land, seeing as they are indigenous to that land. It is important to fight collectively to protect the lands of Alaska, as well as the lands of all Indigenous communities. Furthermore, it is a battle for the resources we should preserve for the planet’s future, for the rights of Indigenous peoples and their future generations, and for the climatic sustainability that mankind should strive for.