WHEREAS, the State House of Representatives acknowledges the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination and self-sustainability; and

WHEREAS, the self-determination and self-sustainability of indigenous peoples in the Pacific Islands and polar regions are dependent upon access and control over ancestral lands and resources; and

WHEREAS, the United States Congress established the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to conserve Alaska's natural diversity of fish and wildlife populations and their habitats, to provide for subsistence uses, and to fulfill international treaty obligations with Native Alaskans; and

WHEREAS, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge contains the greatest diversity of animal life of any conservation area in the circumpolar region; and

WHEREAS, the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge, where oil drilling has been proposed, is home to the largest concentrations of wildlife in the refuge, including 135 species of migratory birds, polar bears, musk oxen, and the Porcupine caribou herd, the largest international herd in North America, which migrates to the refuge during calving and post-calving season; and

WHEREAS, for thousands of years, the Porcupine caribou herd has been essential to the subsistence, cultural, and spiritual needs of the Gwich'in people, whose name translates as the "Caribou People"; and

WHEREAS, the survival of the Gwich'in people depends upon their access to and the health of the Porcupine caribou herd; and

WHEREAS, oil development in the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge threatens the coastal plain ecosystem, the Porcupine caribou herd, and the existence of the Gwich'in people whose survival depends upon the resources of this fragile ecosystem; and

WHEREAS, oil exploration within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge perpetuates an unsustainable national energy policy; and

WHEREAS, such an energy policy contributes to global warming, which can raise sea levels and increase storm frequency and intensity, threatening native Pacific Islanders' lives, the land base on which they depend, and their ability to sustain their people and culture; and

WHEREAS, oil development in the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge also threatens the right to self-determination and self-sustainability of indigenous peoples in Alaska and the Pacific Islands; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has made promoting the welfare and cultural survival of the native people of Hawaii, the Kanaka Maoli, a constitutional priority, and in so doing supports the rights of native peoples beyond our islands to self-determination and self-sustainability; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that the United States Congress is hereby urged to prohibit oil development, exploration, and production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Congress is urged to designate the 1002 area within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as Wilderness to achieve the ends for which the refuge was created; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and the members of Hawaii's Congressional Delegation.

Report Title:

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; oil development and exploration