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Oil Patch Insider Indigenous Russian leaders take lessons from Alaska Natives; Ahmaogak sees stint with Shell as beneficial
Shell President John Hofmeister wasn’t the only visitor to Alaska’s North Slope Borough in the last month.
Pacific Environment, an environmental organization based in San Francisco, brought a delegation of four Russian indigenous leaders from the resource-rich Sakha Republic to Barrow and Nuiqsut in late March to meet tribal leaders, organizations and local residents. According to an Arctic Sounder article by Tamar Ben-Yosef, the purpose of the visit was to learn the Inupiat’s methods for protecting their culture in the face of resource development. The delegation also made stops in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Chickaloon.
The Russians were particularly interested in learning about how “community organizing in Alaska is used as a tool to gain leverage when dealing with resource extraction companies and government bodies,” the article said.
“There are virtually no functional rights that exist for the Russian indigenous people,” Pacific Environment’s Meerim Kylychbekova told the Arctic Sounder.
“It’s not for us to say, here it is good, there it is bad — it’s our job to learn to identify common lessons and also see what has been happening here is what awaits us,” said Yury Vasilyev, a forestry specialist and an environmental studies teacher.
Pacific Environment’s Rachel James told the Arctic Sounder that the delegation was able to speak to elders and young people about the changes they face.
Ahmaogak sees stint with Shell as beneficial George N. Ahmaogak Sr. wants his old job back. On April 1, he filed a statement of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission to run for mayor of the North Slope Borough, a position he held for 15 years, his last term ending two and a half years ago when he went to work for Shell Oil in Alaska as its community affairs manager.
He resigned from Shell on March 17.
In an April 11 Arctic Sounder article by Tamar Ben-Yosef, Ahmaogak said his stint with Shell was something borough voters should see as an advantage because it has given him an inside knowledge of the oil and gas industry.
“The borough is at a critical crossroad with development, and the future of the borough is at stake,” he said in his statement of intent.
Ahmaogak was also operations coordinator for Shell, a position that allowed him to become familiar with the company’s day-to-day operations, including hazard surveys, seismic testing and pipeline issues, giving him “good insight into how Shell management operates during the exploration phase.”
On the top of Ahmaogak’s priority list is instituting a public policy to deal with offshore exploration and development, which the borough already has for onshore. He told the Arctic Sounder he wants to see direct benefits from royalties, as opposed to just contracts and property taxes, starting with the proposed natural gas pipeline.
Ahmaogak, a whaling captain, also wants to make sure his culture and lifestyle are not harmed by industry. He said the lawsuits and appeals currently filed against offshore exploration will only go so far.
“It is only a stalling method. Suits are lost and dismissed all the time,” he said. “With oil at $105 a barrel, the government will get what they want.”
Editor’s note: Oil Patch Insider is compiled by Kay Cashman, who can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]. Find The Arctic Sounder online at www.thearcticsounder.com.
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