Activity Report Explorer

Rio Grande Valley Broadband • Entered by Susan Ostlie on March 31, 2022

Alaska Wilderness league – Webinar

January 25, 2022

Key Issue: Public Lands Health & Protection
Activity Type: Grant Funded Climate Education & Stewardship Program
Key Partners: Alaska Wilderness league

Short Description of Activity

Alaska Wilderness League and author Seth Kantner read and discuss stories from his new book, a stunningly lyrical firsthand account of a life spent hunting, studying and living alongside caribou. “A Thousand Trails Home” encompasses the historical past and present day, revealing the fragile intertwined lives of people and animals surviving on an uncertain landscape of cultural and climatic change sweeping the Alaska Arctic. Seth’s stories vividly highlight the interconnectedness of the Iñupiat of Northwest Alaska, the Western Arctic caribou herd, and the larger Arctic region. This tale has global relevance as it takes place in one of the largest remaining intact wilderness ecosystems on the planet and ground zero for climate change in the U.S. Audience members will hear about the politics of caribou, race relations, urban versus rural demands, subsistence versus sport hunting, and cultural priorities versus resource extraction.

Reflection/Evaluation

This was a very effective motivator to advocate for protection of Alaska’s public lands and traditions.
Yesterday, the group journeyed virtually to the Western Arctic with author Seth Kantner, experiencing life off the grid while gaining insight into the people and wildlife living through the cultural and climatic change sweeping through Alaska. Unfortunately, Seth lost his connection at the end of the program, but as promised we’re sharing his belated message of hope with all of you now:
”I wanted to bring [hope] up because it’s as important as anything else I discussed. Maybe more so. And because much of what I relayed certainly could be construed as depressing or unhopeful, I wanted to explain that I don’t see it that way, at least I don’t feel that it has to be that way. In ”A Thousand Trails Home” I convey information I’ve learned in my life BECAUSE I feel things can be improved. I feel we are living in a time of heightened everything; the speed and volume is cranked up on everything. That includes stupidity, danger and despair, but can include opportunity and hope, too. More than any other time in history, this is the time for us as humans to use the incredible information available to us — mixed with our intelligence (I hope!) — to move past our past and into new territory.”