ONEOFMANYFEATHERS'
The Ocean Is Not For Sale!
For the record, my name is Kristi Frankson. 
I came to Point Hope to live in January of 1978.
My husband, a native of Tikigaq, was always a hunter and I learned everything I know from him, his family and all of the people of Point Hope.
Tonight we are being asked to make comments on the lease sales of the ocean that the people of Tikigaq hunt from. It isn't easy for me to talk about this issue because I love this life very much and having come from another place far away, I have an understanding of how things work in the world of development and big business, where natural resources are discovered and then exploited.
The way our lives naturally revolve around the seasons and the many animals that are in this area for subsistence use is the reason for living here. The highly sensitive environment we live in is the home for us and the many animals, fish and birds that we thrive on and is not fit for development because it is too precious for that purpose. There is no higher calling than to be home to the whale, the ugruk and polar bear, the walrus and seal, the ones who depend on the sea, and the ice for a place to live.
There is no other place on earth where we could enjoy this life, it is special and needs protection. We want to have a clean place so the animals and the relationship that we enjoy with them is unaffected by noise and pollution, traffic from ships and helicopters, ice cutters or barges, drilling rigs that fuel a world that seems out of control with its hunger for a kind of energy that many people agree needs to be replaced with technology for the future. We love our wildlife and respect and honor
the entire process of our hunting and sharing the catch, we use the skins that we get and even with the disruptive influences from the outside world, we try to pass these thoughts and practices on to the younger people. Sometimes they follow, sometimes they are distracted with ideas from other places but there are always enough who listen to carry on the traditions and keep us strong and united.
The climate change is one threat we cannot stop no matter how much we object, and we see impacts already from that on our environment and effects on the animals, birds and fish.
Even small changes have an impact, so how can we believe that drilling for oil in the ocean or the land for that matter, will not have an impact on our way of life?
People here have been passing on this lifestyle to their younger generations for thousands of years. Yes, the world changes and adaptations occur as we go through time, but what ties an Inupiaq to his rightful place in the world is the ability to hunt on his ancestral lands and oceans, provide for his family and continue his cultural responsibilities. Everything else is connected from that, the way people see themselves or their identity is as a hunter and provider to their families and the wellness of what they are consuming and the thankfulness we 
have for the way God has provided for us. We are concerned about the contaminants that work their way into our food chain now, even without our being within close range of oil or gas development and coal mining. These enterprises are in the planning stages and we have no idea, nor will we have any control over how overpowering they many become in our near future if someone doesn't stop this madness.
There is not only the prospect of exploration and drilling but then the transit and delivery of the product that is being sought after will also have more impacts on our eco-system. The world of the Inupiat is a beautiful place because of the people who came before and what ingenious methods of hunting and surviving they developed. There were incredibly strong and let nothing stand in their way. We have the same responsibility to carry on for our children and grandchildren to see to it that they have the same opportunity to enjoy the life we have here and they will keep their identity strong. I don't think anyone here tonight would agree that our way of life must stop, change or be threatened for someone else's idea of what is right to do. Money can only buy things. It cannot take us back into time or make clean what has become ruined. Some of us believe that there is NO reason to take a risk like that. No amount of money, no amount of reassurance by you or the oil companies will make us believe that this idea of development in the arctic waters is a good idea and that nothing will happen that you cannot deal with.
We already know the answer to that and the answer is: THE OCEAN IS NOT FOR SALE!
We need the new United States administration to review everything that has taken place, the way the rush to find oil has pushed rights and principles aside. The people have the right to maintain their lifestyle. Much was already taken away from the Inupiat and what remains, the people are dedicated to protecting and keeping for the many generations coming. If this is taken away due to some mishap, a spill or that the disturbances in our oceans and lands is too great for the wildlife to endure, what will be done?
Nothing can be done. We will have to wait for the earth to clean herself of the mess, but there will never be an acceptance of the selling of the ocean we live from. Thank you for listening.
Inuit on sealing:
Mary Simon: We want your mind, not your money
March 11, 2009
Sunday will mark another annual day of protest against the Canadian East Coast seal hunt. In various countries, anti-sealing protesters will urge their governments to ban the seal hunt and the import of seal products.
This year, protesters will no doubt take satisfaction in knowing that Belgium and the Netherlands have already defied world trade laws to ban the import of seal products and that the European Union Parliament is being pressed to do the same. Last week, an EU commission voted to amend the proposed legislation so it would, in effect, be a total ban on the import of seal products. Canadian Fisheries Minister Gail Shea reacted by vowing that Ottawa would take immediate action at the World Trade Organization in the event the amended legislation is passed later this year by the EU Parliament. I commended Canada's strong statement and repeated our intent to continue our traditional hunting practices.
While the target of animal-rights protesters is the seasonal killing of seals by commercial fishermen on the ice floes around Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the impact of the protests threatens, once again, to have painful consequences on Inuit communities scattered throughout the Canadian Arctic. Inuit in Greenland will also feel the pain.
Inuit are a maritime people. The sea and sea ice are our front yard. They are as much a part of our way of life as the family farm has been for the agrarian societies of this world. For most of us, the most important and reliable food since our arrival in the Arctic in ancient times has been the seal. We have hunted seals to sustain life itself in a world that is as harsh as it is beautiful.