Oil on Ice
Documentary (60 min.)

Oil On Ice examines the the battle over oil development within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This is a classic struggle in a stunning place, featuring the dramatic wildlife that adapted to this environment and the cultures of the Gwich’in Athabascan Indians and Inupiat Eskimos that rely on this wildlife for their subsistence.

The film exposes the risks of oil extraction in this extreme environment. What happens if another oil spill occurs on the coastal plain or under an ice-covered Beaufort Sea? How can one rationalize development of irreplaceable wilderness areas or ignore the cultural survival of indigenous populations? Already, Eskimo residents and leaders of the North Slope Borough are criticizing the impacts of oil development to their lands and their seas. Gwich’in Indian residents of Arctic Village, on the southern boundary of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, fear their community’s caribou hunting will be severely impacted by oil development in the Refuge.