ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – For many, President Trump’s inauguration is a cause to celebrate, but one Indigenous-led group in Alaska is watching the proceedings with caution.
Enei Begaye is Executive Director of Native Movement, a statewide non-profit organization with offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks that focuses on community organizing over issues like social justice, community health, and climate change.
Begaye said the group has concerns about human rights under the new president as well as both President Trump and Governor Mike Dunleavy’s support for expanding resource development in the state. Begaye said the worry is over potential impacts on the environment and the acceleration of climate change.
“These are things that concern the communities that we work with, a lot of communities who live off of hunting and fishing, live off those lands that their ancestors have lived on,” Begaye said.
Begaye acknowledged the group doesn’t speak for all Native people. Some villages and Native Corporations support oil exploration …