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 Native Village of Barrow

Monthly Tribal Council 

Special Meeting

 June 7, 2013 2:25 p.m.

Minutes 

1. Call to Order: Thomas Olemaun called the meeting to order @ 2:20 p.m.

2. Invocation: George Olemaun gave invocation.

3. Roll Call: Jaime Hopson called roll-call, Present: Thomas Olemaun, Fannie Suvlu, 

Marjorie Solomon, Dorothy Edwardsen, George Olemaun, Doreen Adams Ahgeak, 

Doreen Lampe 

Guest: Michael Haller, Mike Routhier, David Johnston, Tommy Beaudreau, Lakeisha 

Harrison and Pat Pourchot 

Staff: Jaime Hopson & Martha Koonaloak 

4. Approval of Agenda: Dorothy Edwardsen moved to approve agenda, seconded by 

Fannie Suvlu, Question called by George Olemaun. 

5. Meeting with DOI Assistant Secretary Tommy Beaudreau

Thomas Olemaun said I will pass this on to Tommy Beaudreau.

Tommy Beaudreau said thank you very much setting aside some time for us this 

afternoon, we had a Public session in Anchorage yesterday and then we had a 

Public session that ended just a few minutes ago over at the Assembly center and 

then were going to have another session for the General Public again this afternoon 

at 5:00. The purpose of our visits and our discussions over the last couple days has 

been focus on following through on our experience and observations coming out of 

shells operations last summer as you know coming out of Shell’s 2012 drilling 

program and all the problems that they experience, bringing the containment 

system online, problems with the Noble Discover Drill ship, problems with the 

Kulluck and the grounding off of Kodiak.

Secretary Salazar asked me and our team here to do a review of Shells 2012 

program and pull out of that experience the lessons learned and what we should be 

doing going forward to make sure that any off-shore Oil and Gas activity in Alaska is 
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done safely and responsively that is the report I have prepared and delivered to the 

Secretary and it contains including the account Shells experience and the most

important part in that report is really the set of observations and recommendations 

that we included in it and fundamental to those recommendations was that DOI 

needs to take the standards that came out that we imposed on Shell as well as think 

about additional Arctic specific standards put them in regulations make them 

applicable not only to any future activity, Shell might propose but we know, Conoco 

Phillips is out there, Stat Oil is potentially out there we need to codify and establish 

in our regulations standards specific to Alaska so that is what we have been talking 

about in Anchorage and then today in Barrow as well what were peoples 

experiences with Shells program.

What are the types of standards we should put place through this rule making 

placed on those experiences and try to get early input into it were not required to 

have sort of outreach like this but in a place like Alaska and in a place like North 

Slope our thought is it is extremely important to engage everybody very early to get 

thoughts and comments very early that we can keep in our mind as we shape 

propose rules and then come back with a proposal that people can look at and give 

us reaction to but we want to have everyone’s thoughts in our minds as we are even 

setting these rules down on paper so that is where we are. 

The last time I was in Barrow was in February and met with number of folks while I 

was up here, I participate with Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission Convention at 

the time that fed into the report we prepared and this is really a continuation of all 

of that work and all of that effort and I really appreciate everyone in the room 

willingness to continue working with us stay with us as we try to go about this in the 

right way, fundamental and most important to everything that we are doing in my 

mind we knew Secretary Jules certainly feels this way is if Oil and Gas activity goes 

forward it has got to be done safely it has got to be done responsibly and up here 

that means that it protects in particular subsistence so our new Secretary gets that 

she is very supportive just as Secretary Salazar was that is what we’re doing and 

that is why we’re here and again I really appreciate how participatory everyone has 

been every step of the way with this. 

Dorothy Edwardsen said you’re talking about Arctic Specific Standards? I this going 

to be something written in? Tommy Beaudreau said yes, just to give you an example 

with Shell we put a lot of requirements and conditions on Shell through the 

Exploration plan. For example the containment system that we required Shell to 

have which it failed to test and deploy, Mark was down in Washington and observed 
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the test that failed and because that test failed we did not allow them to drill 

Dorothy Edwardsen said where did they do the test? Tommy Beaudreau said in 

Bellingham Washington so for that reason we did not allow them to drill 

hydrocarbon other examples were back up here in the Beaufort during Whaling 

migration for the hunt the shorten drilling season in the Chukchi to allow time for 

open water response if there was a late season activity there is a lot of concern 

obviously about the ability to respond or recover oil in the water in icy conditions I 

share that concern and frankly I think part of the answer is you got to be able to deal 

with oil at the source if you have a loss of oil control and you have to have time in 

open water to respond not in the situation, mean stop trying to respond in ice so 

there are other sort of examples like that but what we want to do is we want to take 

those out of the conditions in the Exploration plan and then writing in the 

regulations so that were not doing it on a plan by plan or operator by operator basis 

but rather have a set of standard specific to working in Alaska that apply to

everybody.

Dorothy Edwardsen said so when will those standard come out as trial?

Tommy Beaudreau said what we would like to do and the reason why were 

engaging early we would like to have those standards out as draft by the end of the 

year so again everyone can look at those and react to them, the reason why we want 

to do that Shell has not said when they want to resume activity were presuming 

although they have not said this were anticipating they may propose activity for 

2014. Conoco Phillips is out there they said they are not going forward in 2014 but 

they are still out so we want to have these proposed standards out and in the Public 

by the end of this year so that if we get proposals for new activity early next year we 

got those on the street so that is part of what is driving our timing. 

Thomas Olemaun said I know you have the 2013-2017 for both Chukchi & Beaufort 

everything always happen after the fact without brainstorming together , have BSEE 

BOEM all the agencies together, we as a Federal recognized tribe, the Borough, State 

municipal government everything is on Federal waters and as a Federal recognized 

tribe we have that authority to work Govern to Govern relations and over the years 

we keep telling this generations MMS back then about traditional knowledge all 

these harvesting about our marine mammals, half our marine mammals are 

threaten or endangered already and Industries keep saying they bought leases out 

there in our Federal waters and it is better to have everybody at one table looking at 

the scope of work, what is happening and have a five year plan but yet were talking 

about all this stuff by end of the year, yes we have a deadline for the five year plan 

and you have the five year plan but yet you’re going to talk about the outcomes of 

Shell 2012 , it is like working backwards we would rather have everything on the 
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table before all the Industries, Governments approve the five year plan, over the 

years as a Federal recognized tribe it is nice to have a govern to govern consultation 

like this, were elected by our Tribal members and were the voices of our Tribal 

members, we are the elected Tribal council for the members of Native Village of 

Barrow.

Over the years we need more communication from the Federal agencies because 

assessment and all these other stuff, State municipal Governments, Corporations 

they have it made with all revenues from Prudhoe Bay but us as a non- for profit 

tribal government we just survive by compact funds, program dollars, were 

program services basically for community of Barrow and Barrow is growing but yet 

were limited funds for services but if there was an assessment impact study all these 

stuff that would bring in revenues economically as Barrow being the Hub of the 

North Slope we need more facilities, Daycare, Theatre, But (inaudible) this 

afternoon, it was a test and error for Shell Oil if we’re going to talk about the 2012 

incidents and we keep hearing in the news they want to get out of that area so they 

won’t get taxed and all that other stuff you read on a paper, they rush, rush, rush 

without making sure everything is going to be alright but yet you have incidents

nationwide and it is sad to say that happen but yet if it is going to happen up here in 

the future you’re dealing with currents, ice and all these other stuff and when 

Industries do their testing there is no currents, land lock islands all these Oil 

industries clean up.

Stat Oil they go to Norway and think it is Arctic waters, any place they go its 

different no place in the world it’s the same and when they do all these testing’s it is 

all different, our elders and Captains they talk about the ice current, it is just 

common sense that when they do the EIS there needs to be more traditional 

knowledge in that area, you don’t need no company to do your homework talk with 

the real people up here on the North Slope, were going to live here forever we 

depend on our ocean for harvesting were seasonal hunters up here but yet in the 

future ten to fifteen years from now were going to have rigs up here, what is going 

to be the assessment? What is going to be the accumulative impact so it is nice to get 

ahead of ourselves instead of after the fact and making sure everyone is on the same 

page because every organization you meet has their own Constitution and Bylaws 

and we as a Federal government and the jurisdiction is Federal waters, we have that 

jurisdiction too, not the State, not the Municipal Government, it is not State waters it 

is Federal waters so as a Federal tribe we need to work and see what the pro’s and 

con’s are. 

Dorothy Edwardsen said because Shell is not coming back guess who is not coming 

back the Coast guard is not coming back and we thought they were coming up here 

for the people of the North Slope but No they are tagging along with Industry so it 
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kinds of tells us their hearts are not here in the coastal waters not unless there is 

industry around so we see true colors of the Coast Guards and who their really 

protecting, it is not the people it’s Industry.

Thomas Olemaun said (inaudible ) Continental Shell it is the whole State of Alaska 

all the continental Shell yes three miles is State but after that it is all Federal so 

you’re not just speaking about the North Slope it is the whole State, Western, North 

Western, South East so each organization you meet with is different they live off the 

waters too. Here we have North Slope Borough, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, 

Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, Native Village of Barrow and City but yet it is 

to put everybody on the same page, we keep saying this over and over you’re going 

to hear the same stories over the years and we live off the ocean but yet when 

something drastic happens what is going to happen.

Dorothy Edwardsen said I think something drastic has happen, the government says 

there is safe drilling in Prudhoe but they don’t see the impact it has on our people, 

they don’t see, there is studies on how many young kids especially the Nuiqsut area 

dying of cancer at twenty years and under and the Federal government has not 

come up to do the study it is going to take an Erin Brockovitch to maybe get money 

from the Federal Government and do that. We have high rates of Asthma, high rates 

of respiratory illness, different types of cancer and as we speak there are more 

people and families that are in the Seattle area, young kids, we even loss a young 

man who was nineteen who had been battling cancer for many years and there is 

another one who was two or three who just died early this year, every summer we 

see this big yellow cloud when we have prevailing winds from the east this turning 

greenish. I’m sure the Community of Nuiqsut gets the brunt of it.

Tommy Beaudreau said I have heard from Nuiqsut on that issue especially Air issue, 

Asthma, Respiratory issues especially with kids. Dorothy Edwardsen said they never 

had that growing up it was after Industry came.

George Olemaun said thank you for coming and listening to everybody I know we 

had all these other people doing all these research they have always wanted to 

know how long we have been here and how do we use our land offshore use 

occupancy and that is one thing that the Interior needs to understand is that we 

have been here since we can remember and even beyond that but our use 

occupancy is online, offshore up to two hundred miles at least because at times in 

the past with our oral history they have gone quite a ways down up to three days of 

going down to get what they need, you will see the wooden ship when you cross 

town over by the lagoon those were what they built and used so you can imagine 

they used those to go out at least two hundred miles out and it took them a week I 

remember and we would wait for them, it is like the conditions they had to deal with 

was they had to tie everything down and they were bailing water all the time and at 
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that time basically was to go out and get the walrus for the community they took 

three or four boats that went out but they came back I don’t remember of anyone 

not coming back in the open water or in the summer ice free and that is what that 

they had to do up to the fifties but the use and occupancy is not just here , it is all the 

way to Canada as you know we’re same people, same language, same value, same 

culture. Dorothy Edwardsen said same family.

George Olemaun said same family but the Canadians they have the (inaudible) is 

what they have the tribal’s out there the Inugialiutsthey model the North Slope but 

they did better whenever anything comes up, they have to deal with them any issues 

or anything that they need to address the subsistence or the environment they have 

to work with them as Co-management which we don’t have we have AEWC but that 

is another one as with other issues we had to fight for to prove we were right 

nobody has taken to consideration, well with the scientist they finally realized that 

our traditional knowledge is better than scientific because it is proven through 

millennium through observation so that is one issue that with the co-management if 

there is a way to address that so that were partners if you want to be partners with 

your statement and we should be true partners in that we have co-management 

with that and then with Industry again with the Canadians side when the Industries 

comes they have to work with the local corporations instead of using others from 

outside that is there stipulations they work with the local corporations and the 

Canadian standards as you know are different then our government standards and 

the Canadian government acknowledge that they abused the tribal natives whereas 

our government states that but yet they have not stated that we did wrong but that 

is the mentality we deal with but that is the way it is, there is the other one the Law 

of the sea before the government can say yes we own this and that again with our 

peoples knowledge of offshore with use and occupancy and what we subsisted off 

the land and off water as I stated yesterday were Tagiuqmuit were ocean people 

that is our sustenance and we will fight to the end to keep that and if there is a way 

to work together and in regards to Law of the sea I understand that has to be done 

our government cant (inaudible) more than two hundred miles if the issue comes 

up, we have our oral history and that is something you need to understand or get

something from our books and tapes that we have and something you need is we 

have our maps that show off –shore, we don’t have them here but I think the North 

Slope Borough has these, BLM might have them but also with use and occupancy of 

our land it happens everywhere, where traditional land use, we go camping every 

year, spring summer fall were seasoning, especially with co-management if that 

could be done it would benefit you and benefit us because I have stated and Thomas 

Olemaun has stated we do need funds to help with what we need up here, federal 

regulations they need to adhere to the State, State will not acknowledge us as Tribal 
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they say they do they have the constitution stating that they should but because of 

politics or whatever then they don’t necessarily help with the issues that we need to 

address.

Tommy Beaudreau said yes I think someone put that really well in the hearing we 

had this afternoon saying she found it ironic that the State complaints about how 

the Federal government does not treat them as a partner yet local communities on 

the North Slope aren’t treated as partners by the State I had never heard anyone 

quite put that way before but that drove point home for me. Doreen Adams Ahgeak 

said were always outnumbered in that area we only have one representative. 

Dorothy Edwardsen said I think there is a group of tribes that are encouraging 

regional leadership to see what it would take to become our own State, I remember 

one time that was brought up to the State level they were listening to a point and 

then we brought that up, the leaders brought that up and their ears opened up 

because they saw monies going down. Marjorie Solomon said most of things they get 

they use for Anchorage and our schools suffer, our housing is really bad, we have no 

housing for our families. Dorothy Edwardsen said there are multiple families in one 

household, in my household there is at least four families. Marjorie Solomon said 

and mine. Dorothy Edwardsen said same with Doreen Lampe, Housing shortage.

George Olemaun said with the Industry since they started at Prudhoe Bay Dead

Horse I understand they have made over a trillion and if you look at trillion and you 

break it down I think 1 % is like two hundred million or two or three billion and that 

is just 1% of what they made in thirty years, thirty plus year it goes out and the State 

takes their share and our Federal Government takes a share and again we have to 

fight for ours, it is our land and our resource again I would like to say it is our 

resource but a byte on that pipeline and make them understand. 

Dorothy Edwardsen said do you know anything about NPRA? Tommy Beaudreau 

said so in my role as Acting Assistance Secretary for Mine and Minerals I’m 

responsible for BLM and NPRA as well. Dorothy Edwardsen said do you know how 

much we would get from NPRA if you ever control NPRA. Tommy Beaudreau said no 

it does through the State. Dorothy Edwardsen said because they don’t trust the 

people up here that kind of slaps our leaders in the face. Marjorie Solomon said we 

don’t ever see anything. Dorothy Edwardsen said yes the tribe doesn’t get nothing.

Marjorie Solomon said any of the NPRA. Dorothy Edwardsen said yes, a lot of our 

Native allotments are in the NPRA but nothing goes to the tribes, the city gets it. 

Thomas Olemaun said the City and the North Slope Borough gets it and then they 

share with the three other outline villages but as a Federal Lands and Federal 

government we don’t get a dime but yet we have all these issues that are happening 
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housing, health. Dorothy Edwardsen said they get stripped of that land first and they 

say you’re not going to get any of it, it is going to these other organizations, the State 

Organizations.

Thomas Olemaun said that is why we have legislatures and it has been like that for 

so long but in order to betterment or get all parties together is to see what can we 

overcome that.

Tommy Beaudreau said in the revenue issue it is a real interesting one Secretary 

Joule testified in the Senate just yesterday coming from State slate Louisiana they 

talk a lot about revenue sharing and Senator Murkowski from Alaska talks a lot 

about revenue sharing and they are really talking about revenue sharing with the 

States and we were just talking this morning and I talked with Secretary Salazar 

about this in the past and little bit with Secretary Joule about the concept of revenue 

sharing and the notion that especially on the North Slope it is not like Louisiana and 

Gulf of Mexico where you grow up there you go to LSU you become controlling 

engineer you have a job for life owning a gas industries that is what their entire 

economy is centered around Offshore Oil & Gas down there, up here you have 

something different you have establish people the way of life that is connected to 

the ocean but connected to the ocean based on subsistence, based on hunting and 

fishing and then from the outside you have Oil companies coming in and doing 

exploration activity and it is the residence of the North Slope who are bearing a lot 

of the Environmental risk and with that activity but not having a direct economic 

benefit like you would someplace in Louisiana so that is a very complicated issue 

but one that I can tell you I have already started talking with the Secretary about 

and say look just in the matter of fairness lets think about the people who are 

potentially affected by this activity and what benefit if any they get from it I don’t 

have any answer for that now but let me just say I’m quite sympathetic to the point, 

Dorothy Edwardsen said I think the Government heard that we were going to the 

United Nations it is because of the way the Government treats us because we know 

revenue sharing we do as Arctic Slope Regional Corporation as the seven nine we 

share with the other eleven corporations of our profit , we know about revenue 

sharing we don’t keep it to ourselves and what the State does to us is robbery , they 

gave us Native Allotments we don’t even have mineral rights, we don’t have sub 

surface rights they give us the top soil and we don’t even get those certificates for 

those Native Allotments unless a person dies maybe you will get a certificate for that 

Native Allotment, some of us are still waiting, some of our parents did not even 

apply because they did not believe that the Government owned the land to begin 

with.
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Tommy Beaudreau said why would you apply? Dorothy Edwardsen said yes why 

would you apply for something you owned so there was a lot of people that did not 

apply for the Native Allotment because they did not believe in it because they 

thought where ever they want it was their own, it was communityowned. Doreen 

Lampe said Native Village of Barrow is the largest tribe with over three thousand 

membership and this is a small office for our membership for our three thousand 

members and they provide food bank service they provide the Child in need of Aid 

service and about two to three years ago they had the NALEMP grant where they 

cleaned out the Eielson Lagoon when the military came and created NARL and just 

dumped all their fifty five gallon drums out in the Eielson Lagoon and there was tons 

and tons of steel metal that they removed with that little barge sitting out behind 

the Native Village of Barrow office and that little barge pulled out all that debris left 

by the (inaudible) military construction wise, they even did the Valley of ten 

thousand drums when they created the airport and hospital on that side so we have 

cleaned up quite a bit where Government and contractors came in develop left a big 

mess and were still there.

Dorothy Edwardsen said were still cleaning up. Doreen Lampe said we care for our 

land, we care for our ocean, we care for our Environment and we need some 

revenue sharing to continue for the work that we’ve done, we really need that 

revenue sharing going directly Federal to Federal never mind State. Dorothy 

Edwardsen said we have pieces of pipe this tall sticking out of the ground in certain 

areas which makes it a real hazard for snow machine’s all along the tundra.

Thomas Olemaun said BLM’s property. Tommy Beaudreau said I’m aware of that 

issue too.

George Olemaun said with BLM that is another thing that they do, they do it left and 

right issue permits for guides basically to go anywhere regardless of whose land it is 

we went down to Kotzebue area we have all these federal reserve’s from the BLM 

and they have guides that come up and just take over the land built what they need 

as a business and were limited to because of the funding resources or for that 

matter have an airplane to take them out there, it was done in the past they used our 

people as guides for Polar bear hunting I know in the Canadian side they did the 

same but again it seems they seem to randomly give permits whenever they want to 

and then the planes come in especially with Anaktuvuk pass where the people just 

drop by to get a plane load of trophies they don’t have the meat their suppose to 

they don’t do it all the time they just leave it and if we do that they say it’s want and 

waste then our people are fined.

Dorothy Edwardsen said our people are put in jail.George Olemaun said that kind of 

leads as Department of Interior BIA your trust responsibility, were told were works 

of the Government I don’t know why that is. Dorothy Edwardsen said we did not 
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work it out like that the government did. George Olemaun said but that is the 

mentality they have that they have in D.C and anywhere else in State, they say don’t 

worry about them they don’t need money they live off the land and things like that 

but again like I mentioned last night with the cost of gas it is here but we can’t get it 

here we have to get when it comes back wherever it comes from California or 

Washington where it is refined, whereas even our corporation has a refinery and 

they say the cost will be the same I don’t understand that or how that would be and 

the Industry makes their I worked out there they make their topping plant they 

make Gas and Diesel whatever they need for their use but It is not regulated because 

it is just for their use but again it is theirs and it is not shared to anyone else just for 

their use in the past we tried to get our government, pass government or State 

governors to at least put an and they have agreed to it put a million to two million 

container with their diesel surplus at least that for the home heating that has never 

come about the diesel with my understanding in Anaktuvuk for home heating is 

fifteen dollars a gallon and their gas is nine sixty a gallon so their if they want to go 

out it limits how far they can go or where they can go whereas in the past because 

they were nomads more like as we were they settle where we are I guess were 

limited because of western standards it is good but again I can’t understand why we 

have to pay $6.70 a gallon and then $9.00 in Anaktuvuk, the villages vary and it 

does not matter what part you are and I understand Kaktovik pays less I don’t know 

how.

Dorothy Edwardsen said they are subsidized by their Corporation., Doreen Adams 

Ahgeak said that is subsidized by the borough and then given to the community and 

the corporation (inaudible)George Olemaun said and then the fuel is subsidized by 

the borough because of the high cost in the villages were lucky in Barrow we have 

natural gas. Dorothy Edwardsen said we had to fight for that one too from the 

government. George Olemaun said yes, that we have enough in Barrow to last us a 

hundred years Okay we build a Gas line where they propose the power plant at 

Walakpa to electrical and power to Atqasuk and Wainwright which will help but 

with natural gas just as well built a gas line to Atqasuk and Wainwright and if there 

was a way to address cost of living, cost of fuel it would go a long ways. Marjorie 

Solomon said I think it is the transportation because we have one plane Alaska 

airlines and Era their both one it cost nine hundred dollars to go to Kaktovik that is 

what three hundred miles how far can you go with the road with nine hundred 

dollars.

Tommy Beaudreau said I seen the cost of fuel is the impact on whether it be for 

travel I even heard it affects the hunts when you got to buy fuel and how far out you 

can go but also heating as well. Marjorie Solomon said there was no caribou last 

year nothing we hardly caught any because of the Coast guard. Dorothy Edwardsen 
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said and Shell. Tommy Beaudreau said with the helicopter. Dorothy Edwardsen said 

nobody regulates them when they are up here, nobody watches over them. Thomas 

Olemaun said nobody regulates air traffic, ships. Dorothy Edwardsen said what we 

can recommend for Industry but recommend is a loose word I could tell my kid I 

recommend that you come home at ten a.m. I mean what kind of rule is that there is 

no consequences. Tommy Beaudreau said that is the process were engaged in now 

so that report was it was really recommendations to the Secretary about Industry it 

wasn’t us recommending to industry and then there was recommendations direct to 

Industries and Recommendations to the Secretary with respect to Government 

oversight and so the process were engaged in now is taking that and changing those 

from recommendations to the Secretary to rule some standards on Industry.

Doreen Adams Ahgeak said from all that we heard yesterday and the concerns we 

brought out and we were listening to you on the radio it came to mind that capacity 

not only in Housing but our own local water plant, electrical plant the capacity can 

barely fill our community and there was an notice just recently like a couple of 

weeks ago that we need to start conserving water in order to keep it going for only 

Barrow residents and I think that giving us only five year sequence of trying to plan 

it does not take five years until something happens we know that assembly might 

see it but it has to go through a long process and if you’re going to come up here and 

there is no housing and you know that, the stores can only fill for our community 

and barely get good produce once in a while and it runs out just like that, were 

growing, all ethnicities here are growing, regardless not just us as tribe all other 

ethnicities are coming our way and they are still coming were still going to keep 

growing that is what is that I would request that you help us the municipal 

government, the tribal government and the local government to help build on what 

capacity we can use if you’re going to come in here like Tommy said you are going to 

be here no matter what, I want to comment on Doreen Lampe’s comment but it just 

slipped my mind.

Tommy Beaudreau said she made a lot of good comments. Doreen Adams Ahgeak 

said and about Marie Carroll’s comment about being here and that is what we forgot 

and that was a good point that you involve the community because we might forget 

something I really believe you need to visualize how long you will be here instead of 

bringing these plans we need a long term. Tommy Beaudreau said it suppose to be 

project by project. Dorothy Edwardsen said Wainwright felt it last summer where 

they really had to ration on water because there was so much Industry coming in 

they were using up their water. Doreen Adams Ahgeak said what I was going to 

bring up is the Drill that is what Doreen Lampe mentioned and what we heard 

yesterday about the scenario of the Drill, if you’re going to go do it only in 
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Wainwright. Doreen Lampe said it is not them it is the Coast Guard. Doreen Adams 

Ahgeak said yes I know, how much do you know about the Coast Guard and their 

plans but we heard that from her and it is not documented, it is not on black and 

white to say and to prove that they are going to be here we just heard only words,

we need a full detail report if you’re going to go do a scenario in Wainwright you 

might as well involve Barrow and all the coastal villages including the inland villages 

that need jobs also, I mean who is first to respond in any incident, we are, the 

government waits for us well they wait for the commanding call of who so ever 

needs to make that decision. 

But were not going to stand here and wait for something to say we need help were 

the ones that are just going to go, were just going to do it as a community so you 

need to prepare and to help prepare our people and not only the Government and 

the contractors that hire the people , I can’t recall what the number was for the 

MMO’s and the spill response the team that is under ACS (Alaska Clean Seas) I mean

they need to involve all the communities and people that were in that system there 

now in their forties and fifties and their not as capable of going in the water as they 

were back then but they are part of the team, the training needs to continue I mean

we have young talented people and their crying for jobs and I just want to repeat 

that our low income residence are the ones that really want to do things but there is 

really no jobs out there and they are always told to go to Ilisagvik to get training and 

were seeing more and more of that and they depend on our scholarships that are

provided by our Corporations and the services really the Government should be 

giving more If you’re going to be here you need to look at our numbers and how 

much were going to grow.

Our Ipalook school is going to be smaller in under ten years the capacity is just going 

to keep growing and growing we need to recognized those you need to foresee the 

long term statistics that they have in their class and then the Borough because the 

Borough is the ones that has the water plans they contract out to the Cooperative , 

the Coop that is local and in all the other villages there is no Coop only Barrow has 

that so the Borough controls how much they spent in their homes or they set the 

dollar amount for the diesel and the gas but they leave that to the Corporations for 

delivering the service so that is a additional cost to the residence if the North Slope 

Borough can just sell it their selves, they might not be able to make money but yet 

they want to create jobs for the Corporation which most intends to hire local people 

and I think that is what was missing is capacity not only in Housing (inaudible ) 

Tommy Beaudreau said that is really useful to hear. Thomas Olemaun said what is 

up BSEE give us update while you’re here.

Mark Fefmire said as you know we’re here to talk about the new regulations and 

BSEE and BOEM be right there in the regulations. Thomas Olemaun said from the 
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incident for 2012, Mark Fefmire said not from the incident it is a lot of inputs 

coming from investigations that inputs things that went wrong, how to find things 

that went right and how to find things that we would like to see, basically I’m here to 

listen to what your all saying too, Assistant Secretary Cottrell he is the one 

responsible for the work were going through now the one piece of information that 

you all probably aren’t aware is that we did finish a successful test on Shells 

containment system in March.

Dorothy Edwardsen said where at. Mark Fefmire said in Puget Sound but it was not 

a calm night there was about five to six foot seas and it performed very well. 

Dorothy Edwardsen said what about the current. Mark Fefmire said the current in 

the sound was pretty healthy. Dorothy Edwardsen said when you say healthy what 

do you mean? Mark Fefmire said a knot and half to four through the test.

Thomas Olemaun said we double that up here we go eight to twelve knots. Dorothy 

Edwardsen said sometimes it goes twenty. Mark Fefmire said and during the test it 

did reverse on us and they handled it very well. Thomas Olemaun said but yet your 

Coast Guard facility is there, I mean the nearest Coast Guard from over there is eight 

hundred some miles, based and when your speaking about the Arctic going eighty 

miles Northwest of Wainwright, west of Wainwright and anything happens the 

nearest Coast Guard base is Kodiak and these are the stipulations we have to go 

through because there is no harbor up here, our harbor is just for small boats up 

here that is a big issue too in all the villages I could just go on and on but the nearest 

Coast Guard is eight hundred miles if anything happens we have the Choppers. 

Dorothy Edwardsen said they would not be able to land on the gravel anyways the 

Choppers. Thomas Olemaun said yes, that is another issue too, I will let everyone 

comment too, we have our minutes and we will pass them on to you. Mark Fefmire 

said this is never a speak now or forever hold your peace type conversation this is 

just that were up here I want to spent some time together and you will always have 

access to us and you can always provide input to us either formally inviting or just 

pick up the phone and contact us.

Doreen Lampe said we would like to invite President Obama and his staff to Barrow,

we need Arctic strategy and he would say there is no Arctic strategy Barrow, Mark 

Fefmire said that would be something, I agree.

Dorothy Edwardsen said he would come and see our houses and say you’re not even 

in Mexico, Mark Fefmire said that would be something. Doreen Lampe said Native 

Village of Barrow cordially invites President Obama.

Mark Fefmire said and we’ll get Secretary Joule up here. George Olemaun said that 

was the next one but then Doreen Adams Ahgeak mentioned about the ethnics 

groups were getting a lot and one thing we don’t have is customs too, because we 
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don’t know, people up here they just come up and they want to put up a tent in the 

parking lot it come to that because they know something is coming up here and they 

want to be here when things start, as it was done in the past people just come up get 

off the plane and they have anywhere to go but they know what is coming up and 

they apply their skills to it and they become rich, we have terrorist and things like 

that I’m sure they go to where the action is and right now it is going to be here in 

the future and also with NPRA they have the two Wells on the other side of Alpine 

on NPRA so that proves what they have known the Oil is here they just need to keep 

going west towards Barrow again it is just hat were being affected especially 

Nuiqsut and we know Anaktuvuk because the cost of living the guides and the 

pipelines that are upcoming roads that go into Umiat because it will divert the 

caribous that they rely on in regards to that maybe that is something that as trust 

responsibility , they been talking about the people, they been talking about the 

reindeer herd inland maybe that is what they need to do up there so they keep the 

area, the herd or the reindeer within the area.

Dorothy Edwardsen said it makes it hard for them because the Federal Government 

built a Wildlife refuge right there in their back yard. George Olemaun said it is right 

there. Thomas Olemaun said any kind of refuge or anything like that it is harder for 

the individual for harvesting because it is restricted, anything like that up here on 

the North Slope, nationwide whatever refuge they built they put so much 

stipulations, as for future plans on your topics it is nice to meet and nice to have 

Coast Guard here too everybody on the same page because we have questions and 

answers, we pass it to you and you pass to SUTI or Alaska Growth Office or what not 

I mean these are issues and yet they will be here, and it is nice you come to Barrow 

it be better if you came every other month but future planning with North Slope is 

huge and each community is different, each organization is different but we as a 

Federal recognized tribes it is good that you came to hear our comments and it is on 

record with our minutes, we will email you the minutes and more comments before 

the deadline.

Dorothy Edwardsen said somebody was talking about the (inaudible) shouldn’t be 

telling the Industries to be good neighbors. Thomas Olemaun said good neighbor 

policy. Dorothy Edwardsen said yes but you got to be more than good neighbors and 

they shouldn’t have to be asked I mean it is not in our cultural, if we saw a Drill out 

there floating around loose we would not just watch it and let it float away we 

would try to help so we expect the same thing from Industry, we don’t want them to 

come up here and leave a big footprint like they did for Exxon Valdez, they took no 

responsibility, we want responsible drilling if they are going to drill and we don’t 

want just to leave without leaving something behind like a Tribal College that is 

struggling with Infrastructure and a training center for responders. Marjorie 
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Solomon said a recreational center for our kids. Doreen Adams Ahgeak said when 

doyou expect for your report to be done, make sure you set a time and date so we 

can review it we might see what you’re missing. Tommy Beaudreau said yes 

absolutely we will be in touch when it is close to being ready. George Olemaun said 

because of ANCSA our tribal are No and Void, we don’t have land but we deal with 

all the issues if we want land we have to go to our local corporation to get land but 

we have land here with all that federal land right here in town and it is empty now.

Thomas Olemaun has been trying this because if it is federal land it should go to the 

tribals instead of how it is now with ANCSA where it goes to the land manager more 

less our local corporations. Dorothy Edwardsen said State corporations. George 

Olemaun said if something should be given we tried building a youth facility and we 

still have to get land or buy the land or have an agreement with our local 

corporation it should not be because this is the Native town site. Dorothy 

Edwardsen said somewhere the trust responsibility failed us.

George Olemaun said yes we do have jurisdiction with our children and in the past 

we had jurisdiction to people that came to town we would tell them to get back on 

the plane and get out of town we don’t need you here, some of the villages now 

exercises and that is something I understand is there and whatever rights they have 

you just can’t tell people to leave but we did in the past what we called the blue 

ticket and sent them out of town it was done and it has been done within the other 

communities within the State the tribes know their rights which we do yet again it 

is because of the government and then the Borough, the ANCSA all those putting 

Federal and State regulations but that kind of makes it hard for us to do what we 

need to do if something comes up ,regardless if something comes up we have done 

in the past the planes get in the water and ships go wrong in the past we have 

always help that is who we are and that is what we do we just don’t stand by if there 

is help needed we will help but yet again now we need help and that is your trust 

responsibility to help us to get the things that we need. Dorothy Edwardsen said 

when Congress forced ANCSA on us we voted against ANCSA in our region it was 

forced upon us and BIA did not do their trust responsibility to speak with us or to 

give us other options and I think they set up Corporations to failed but they forgot 

who taught them. 

6. Adjournment: Doreen Adams Ahgeak moved to adjourn, seconded by Dorothy 

Edwardsen to adjourn 3:30p.m.

Adopted this _____ day of _____________, 2013 with a quorum present with a vote of 

_____YES and _____ NO.

ATTEST:

____________________________ _________________________

Thomas Olemaun, President Mary Sage, Secretar