Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org, 914-261-4626
Michelle Piñon, michelle.pinon@sierraclub.org, 562-445-6568
Houston, TX -- On Monday, January 14 at 10am CT, a group of Indigenous activists will join representatives from the Gwich’in Steering Committee for an in-person delivery of more than 100,000 letters from across the country to SAExploration’s Houston office urging the company to stay out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. SAExploration is the only company that has applied to do destructive seismic exploration in the refuge’s coastal plain, with plans to begin as soon as next month.
One of the world’s last intact ecosystems, the Arctic Refuge is one of the few places in the United States that has never been developed or industrialized. Seismic exploration in the coastal plain -- considered the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge and sacred to the Gwich’in people -- would bring industrial vehicles and equipment to this sensitive and pristine area, threatening wildlife including denning mother and baby polar bears, and leaving permanent scars on the landscape.
In spite of the partial government shutdown, the Trump administration is rushing forward with plans to open the Arctic Refuge for drilling.
WHAT: Indigenous activists hand deliver 100,000 letters to SAExploration: the sacred coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge is no place for destructive seismic exploration
WHO:
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Bernadette Demientieff, Executive Director, Gwich’in Steering Committee
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Frankie Orona, Executive Director, Society of Native Nations
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Cherri Foytlin, Organizer, Indigenous Environmental Network
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Juan Mancias, Tribal Chairman, Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas
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Arthur Redcloud, Native American Actor
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Dave Ortiz, Director, American Indian Movement of Central Texas
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Indigenous leaders from Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, Lipan Apache, Coahuiltecan, Purepecha, Chumash, Tongva, Tewa, Cherokee, Oglala Lakota, Navajo and Purepecha
WHEN: Monday, January 14 at 10am
WHERE: SAExploration office - 1160 Dairy Ashford Road, Houston, TX 77079
VISUALS: Crowd of Indigenous activists, signs, banners, drums and traditional songs, 20 bins containing 100,000 letters to SAExploration
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.