Impacts on the Native People
“We had an Alaskan dream, and that dream was intact for several thousands of years. And our relationship was with that land and sea and all of those animals … And so when that was disrupted, that fabric of our way of life and our Alaskan dream was also stolen from us.”
Dune also talked about how a majority of people in Alaska made a living from the ocean. His town was a huge fishing community. This was their way of life and the only way they knew. The harm to the marine life as a result of the oil spill caused many Alaskans to move away. The spill also led to an increase in drug and alcohol abuse as well as higher suicide rates. Marriages were also impacted by the spill, with an increase in the number of divorces.
A study done by Dyer showed that native traditions were highly important to the Alaskan Natives around Prince William Sound just as Dune talked about in his interview¹. When the disaster of the oil spill happened, these traditions were altered or even diminished from the loss of natural resources. Many Alaskans around the bay relied financially on fishing and other wildlife activities. The invasion of “outsiders” and the disruption of commercial fishing in local communities around the spill were immediate and still ongoing outcomes of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.
Some Natives helped with the cleanup of the oil spill and got benefits from this. The Natives that did not help felt betrayed and many important friendships were lost entirely. Many Natives today are still suffering from the spill mentally, physically, and emotionally. Community services immediately after the spill were unable to deal with the increase demands of the residents. Since traditions were lost due to the spill, many Natives needed to find a "way out". This often times lead to an increase in alcohol and abuse rates.
The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill connects to the Environmental Justice Movement in many ways. Reading through the Principles of Environmental Justice, the spill relates best to principle number 11 stating, "Environmental Justice must recognize a special legal and natural relationship of Native Peoples to the U.S. government through treaties, agreements, compacts, and covenants affirming sovereignty and self-determination." The Native people of Alaska were greatly affected by the oil spill without receiving any kind of compensation for their loss. Like mentioned before, many of them could no longer make a living and were forced to move away from the only place they had ever known as home.
¹ Dyer, Christopher L. "Tradition Loss as Secondary Disaster: Long‐term Cultural Impacts of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill." Sociological Spectrum 13, no. 1 (1993): 65-88.
