But, as tribal members, we do not believe you can put a price tag on our subsistence rights. We want to continue our whaling tradition, not discuss how much each whale killed by an oil spill might be worth. We Inupiat rely on the ocean and its life for our food and our culture. Our way of life is tied to the health of the land, the coast and the ocean, and the animals that live there. The Northstar project jeopardizes our independent lifestyle which relies on the harvest of birds, fish and mammals, including bowhead whales, to give us our food, clothing, boots, artifacts, and boats.
Whales are the centerpiece of our culture and tradition.
The bowhead whales could be decimated, or forced to migrate farther offshore, by an oil spill or even routine activities from the Northstar project. Conflicts with the Inupiats may increase as BP expands its offshore operations into the traditional subsistence areas. Both Mr. Tegoseak and Mr. Akpik felt frustration at the inhospitable treatment by BP and law enforcement officials. When the two Eskimos arrived in Deadhorse on their way to the Northstar site, they were intercepted by police who had detailed knowledge of the pair's travel plans. Both Eskimos were handed papers describing the crime of trespass on their traditional hunting grounds of the Beaufort Sea at BP's Northstar site.