399 



first line of defense for North America against the former Soviet 

 Union. 



First, it was the Eskimo scout battalion of the Alaska National 

 Guard. And now ironically it is our people again as the first line 

 of defense against the results of the military and industrial buildup 

 of the former Soviet Union and the contamination that has resulted 

 fi-om their single-minded domination of the Russian north. I was 

 startled to learn today fi*om Director Gates about the dumping of 

 radioactive waste off the Kamchatka Peninsula. This has imme- 

 diate implications for the people of Western Alaska. But there also 

 should be concerns fi'om the vast fishing fleets on the Bering Sea. 

 The report on the increase of cancer among the people in 

 Chukotka, which is only a few miles fi*om my home, has scared the 

 hell out of me. I wondered why from the last panel EPA has not 

 put one of their monitors in Western Alaska, the place that is clos- 

 est to the nuclear plant at Bilibino. 



The Inuit Circumpolar Conference has dedicated numerous years 

 in establishing cooperation between the indigenous people of the 

 Arctic, especially in the protection of the environment and its habi- 

 tants. Since 1983 extensive research and in-depth work has taken 

 route in implementing the guiding principles of an Arctic policy. 

 This policy has recently been ratified by the General Assembly of 

 the Inuit Circumpolar Conference delegate members in Inuvik. The 

 reasoning for a comprehensive Arctic policy to be implemented was 

 to protect the environmental integrity of the northern regions to 

 ensure the survival of Inuit identity and the cultures, and as stated 

 in the introduction to the Comprehensive Arctic Policy, from an 

 Inuit viewpoint, Arctic policies must provide more than a pre- 

 scribed course of action. They must reflect a vision of the Arctic 

 that promotes fairness and social justice for northern peoples. Arc- 

 tic policies must support the aspirations of indigenous peoples and 

 nurture their cultural development. 



Equally important, Arctic policy must fully recognize and respect 

 fundamental indigenous rights. With a concern for our environ- 

 ment, we have created a comprehensive project called the Inuit Re- 

 gional Conservation Strategy, which is ongoing, and where govern- 

 ment agencies can work cooperatively with the Inuit Circumpolar 

 Conference. This project has gained international recognition and 

 has earned the United Nations Environmental Protection Global 

 500 Award in 1988. To date, we have established regional projects 

 in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and the thrust has been to collect 

 data on the use of our animals, plants and other resources fi-om the 

 traditional knowledge of the elders. We are also collecting data on 

 our environment. 



One of the main obstacles facing the Inuit Regional Conservation 

 Project is the fiscal constraints of inadequate funding. An ambi- 

 tious project without adequate funding hampers the coordination 

 on research on species and resources. But underljdng the need for 

 protecting our environment is to realize that people by nature need 

 a wholesome environment to live from. Therefore the need to gath- 

 er scientific data on possible health pollutants being transferred to 

 our animals and in the end transferring as polluted harvested food 

 to the industrial people becomes paramount. 



