Alaska, United States - Obama Presidency Oral History Alaska, United States Index / Locations Transcripts (105) Bill McKibben ...the only comparable battle was over the Alaska pipeline in the 1970s, and obviously... ...there's a big pipeline up there [Trans- Alaska Pipeline]. So it was a very unlikel... Carol Browner ...me regularly. He wanted me to go to Alaska with him, to see—I don't know—to se... Don Verrilli ...up oil spills. But it was all up in Alaska , because that was the most likel... ...ships and the military equipment from Alaska down to the Gulf, so they coul... Frances Beinecke ...in the Arctic, it was in southern Alaska . We did make a commitment to addres... Heather Zichal ...Palin, who was chosen from the state of Alaska , which is very much an oil-producin... ...and the Gulf of Mexico” as well as in Alaska . He also promised to protec... ...NPR-A [National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska ] done,” or “We're going to get thi... ...Palin, who was chosen from the state of Alaska , which is very much an oil-producin... ...and the Gulf of Mexico” as well as in Alaska . He also promised to protec... ...NPR-A [National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska ] done,” or “We're going to get thi... Show more... Kate Orff ...the United States, from Shishmaref in Alaska to Isle de Jean Charles in Louisiana... Lisa Jackson ...[oil spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska , March 24, 1989]. So the last reall... Steven Chu ...Coast and Hawaii—already, Hawaii and Alaska were picking up some of this stuff... Melanie Bahnke ...in the Bering Strait region of Alaska . She grew up in Savoonga, and he... ...Yupik. She is a vocal advocate on Alaska Native and arctic issues and a leade... ...with President Obama during his trip to Alaska as part of a roundtable of loca... ...on the Council of Advancement for Alaska Natives and on the Alaska Redistrictin... ...for Alaska Natives and on the Alaska Redistricting Board in 2021. She'... ...from? I'm calling in today from Nome, Alaska , also known as Sitnasuak. Sitnasuak i... ...key to you when you were growing up? Alaska Native culture—there are many differen... ...Yupik is very distinct in itself in Alaska . Like I said, our relatives are on th... ...I said, a lot of it has to do with our Alaska Native cultural values growing up—yo... ...on. Her father was one of the first Alaska Native certified teachers and taught i... ...last two years, I guess—I served on the Alaska Redistricting Board, and that did hav... ...the proposed maps around the state of Alaska and that involves a lot of flying t... ...But that time spent on that Alaska Redistricting Board meant a lot of tim... ...the United States of America. And as an Alaska Native person, it just was thi... ...change. And up here in northwest Alaska , we're the canary in the mine. We se... ...Commission has a list of communities in Alaska that are in imminent danger because o... ...we're living with up here in northwest Alaska . And now we're seeing increase... ...that before or after Obama's visit to Alaska ? Before, definitely. I think, mayb... ...maybe two years before his visit to Alaska we started coming together. There wer... ...When the missionaries came up to Alaska and mandated education, they chos... ...competitive grants, but, unfortunately, Alaska wasn't one of the states that wa... ...There's still Italian culture. But if Alaska Natives from this part of the world... ...now, about President Obama's visit to Alaska . I know that a lot of what you've bee... ...that he intended to meet first with Alaska Native leaders before going on stag... ...priority of his to meet privately with Alaska Native leaders. And just knowing that... ...importance of meeting with leaders from Alaska 's first people before addressing th... ...It was a priority of his to meet with Alaska Native leaders. And that in itsel... ...people.” So, for him to recognize that Alaska Native leaders play an important rol... ...a state fair going on in Palmer, the Alaska State Fair, and my family and I took ... ...to charge my cellphone—this is at the Alaska State Fair—so that I can be part o... ...Who was communicating with you? The Alaska Federation of Natives did play a rol... ...They were the liaison between the Alaska Native leadership community. Juli... ...Julie Kitka is the president of the Alaska Federation of Natives. She was ou... ...of preparing for this meeting with Alaska Native leaders. She's the one tha... ...some humor. That's another big part of Alaska Native culture that has sustained us... ...The US government is seriously giving Alaska Natives, Native Americans, green cards... ...I just think it's funny that, as an Alaska Native, Native American, that I'm bein... ...the genuineness of the welcome from Alaska Native leadership. And I want him t... ...feel nervous meeting with all of these Alaska Native leaders right off the bat.” So... ...Yes, I did. A majority of us are—the Alaska Federation of Natives is made up o... ...is made up of thirty-six board members, Alaska Native leaders, from throughout th... ...and then the leaders of the for-profit Alaska Native Claims Settlement Ac... ...basically twelve geographic areas of Alaska , large geographic areas. And we hav... ...each of those geographic regions on the Alaska Federation of Natives board. ... ...table were probably also sitting on the Alaska Federation of Natives board, althoug... ...met her. So there was a mix of seasoned Alaska Native leaders and young up-and-comin... ...who identified voices from throughout Alaska that she wanted to see around tha... ...the fact that he chose to meet with Alaska Native leaders before any worl... ...the importance of meeting with Alaska Native leadership first. It wasn't s... ...validating for me as representing Alaska Native people from my region. Th... ...part of the U with him, several of us Alaska Native leaders. That made it into th... ...being carried forward today through the Alaska Native Education Program and th... ...opportunities. Through the state of Alaska right now, some important work tha... ...major priorities, and one of them was Alaska 's Native people and protecting Alask... ...Alaska's Native people and protecting Alaska Native—I think that was down at th... ...great, but people, we're a species too. Alaska Natives have lived in this area fo... ...in my region, and my little corner of Alaska , but on a statewide level I hope t... ...and I'm cochair of that, so not just Alaska Natives, but Native Americans from th... ...from the lower forty-eight and Alaska Natives together. I'm in a positio... ...Don Young's term. And so to see an Alaska Native woman, our first female—not onl... ...our first female—not only our first Alaska Native, but our first female in th... ...then, on top of that, to have her be an Alaska Native is really thrilling. Politica... ...like we're on an upward trajectory. Alaska Natives have a lot to offer, in an... ...And we've had salmon crash in western Alaska , not just our region, but down in th... ...at the Elders & Youth Conference at the Alaska Federation of Natives on climat... ...to advocate for her people, for Alaska Natives in general, and climate change... Show more... Christy Goldfuss ...[Jr.], because he protected so much of Alaska that it would be impossible, so w... ...helped to plan that whole trip to Alaska that the president went on for thre... ...[read: Coming into the Country] book on Alaska , and then we gave to him a fly-fishin... ...the American people. You mentioned the Alaska trip. Two-part question: One, how wa... ...Two-part question: One, how was the Alaska trip perceived as being a climat... ...any good stories or anecdotes about Alaska ? Yes. The trip to Alaska was nothin... ...about Alaska? Yes. The trip to Alaska was nothing short of historic. N... ...that yet, and I really think this Alaska trip helped to get the press corps, an... ...to many of the stunning places across Alaska ; because you can't travel Alaska an... ...across Alaska; because you can't travel Alaska and not. But then, he also went t... ...do that—he also went up to Kaktovik [ Alaska ] to see the community that wa... ...the impacts of climate change, but in Alaska , it's not coming; it's there. Th... ...to fix that was to do things like the Alaska trip, where you could show the impac... ...you can offer? My first trip to Alaska really just overwhelmed me. I had neve... Show more... 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