Of course, there are residents other than Eskimos within the Borough, but these residents are essentially transient and can be classified within four broad categories. F irst are residents whose purpose for being within the Borough is associated with providing services to the local Eskimo population. The second group is associated with the military complexes. The third group is the scientific community who is studying the Arctic, and the fourth group is associated with natural resources extraction principally oil and gas resources. A lthough considered residents, few of these people can be considered permanent residents of the North Slope borough.
Most governmental employees providing services on the North Slope remain a limited number of years.
Those associated with the military either directly or by contract normally are rotated after a year or two at their station in the North Slope. Individuals in the scientific community remain only on a project basis or until their field data are collected or in other instances, seasonally migrate to the north to do research of limited duration. The employees of the petroleum industry are rotated from their permanent homes outside the North Slope on a still shorter basis. Therefore, over the years it is the Inupiat of the North Slope and only the Inupiat who must live with the local creations of the petroleum development. L et me stress the importance of the environment to our people, the Inupiat of the North Slope Borough.