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Pebble opposition finds religionIn January, three clergy members from the Orthodox Church of America traveled on a plane owned by one of Alaska's wealthiest, most prominent citizens to various villages in Southwest Alaska. When they disembarked they headed to frozen waterways in each community. There they stood on the ice and dipped their hand into a hole -- carved out of ice and in the shape of the Cross -- and blessed the water, an annual ritual celebrating the sacredness of the natural world. Among the group was Bishop Benjamin Peterson of San Francisco, interim leader of the Alaska diocese. Two Alaska-based priests joined him. One of them was Father Michael Oleksa, among the most well-known and beloved religious leaders in the Last Frontier. Some of the trip was videotaped and is now being used in an anti-Pebble mine campaign. Oleksa, chancellor of the Alaska diocese, oversees 95 churches and of late has been the public face for a group urging Lake and Peninsula Borough residents to vote yes on an initiative that would hurt Pebble's prospects for development. The Pebble deposit sits several miles from a couple of rural villages. It's the biggest undeveloped gold and copper deposit in the world, according to the geologists working to bring online a Pebble mine. It happens to be in the Bristol Bay watershed of Southwestern Alaska -- one of the largest commercial fisheries in the world. Critics say that if built, the pristine area would be forever changed, its prized salmon fishery downstream from the deposit possibly decimated. Proponents say a future Pebble mine would bring economic development to an impoverished region; that the ore can be mined responsibly and without impacting Bristol Bay's salmon or Pacific herring populations.
The Great Blessing of Water in Bristol Bay from Renewable Resources Foundation on Vimeo.
The stakes have been high and the fight dirty since 2004, when Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals entered the scene purchasing development rights to the fortune that is the Pebble deposit: more than 100 million ounces of gold, now valued at close to $2,000 per ounce, along with more than 80 billion pounds of recoverable copper resting deep under the tundra and billions of pounds of molybdenum. But the most recent Pebble political fight -- over a local vote that has the potential to mothball the mine -- is even dirtier. This time, the Orthodox Church, the most powerful church in the area, has gotten involved. And accusations are flying against Oleksa, the beloved priest. On one side of the fight, Pebble supporters are accusing Oleksa of leveraging the issue to financially benefit his church. An email that's been leaked to the media proves Oleksa's motivations, Pebble supporters believe. For his part, Oleksa is accusing pro-Pebble forces of potentially hacking into his emails, and trying to co-opt him with a job offer so that he wouldn't fight the anti-mining initiative. One thing is for sure: the fight is not about to let up anytime soon. Fortunes are at stake. A subsistence way of life could potentially be at stake. And neither Oleksa nor the pro-Pebble forces are going to go down without a big, bruising battle. Everyone has a right to thier opinion. It is surprising this opposition isn't just Father O, but he seems to be speaking for the church. A rare and misguided choice on their part if it is the case. Awww. I can't believe this nonsense. It just saddens me. All the way around - from every perspective. Donlin Creek. Good question. It's not a "Native thing". Definitely the same concerns and worry for contamination. Biggest difference - size and scale. Main difference - location. Koktuli River, Nushagak drainage. Bristol Bay salmon industry is greatly different than the Kuskokwim, no insult or offense intended, and the mine isn't right in it. Donlin is roughly halfway between Bethel and McGrath. Donlin: Pebble: Russian Orthodox Church of Alaska has always been a part of native life since the Russian occupation of Alaska except at the very beginning when the Russian traders were abusing the natives and one of the reasons the Russian Church was established in Alaska , to stop the abuse. But they also abused the natives. How low can Pebble go. The Russian Orthodox Church is an essential part of the Bristol Bay residents way of life, to blaspheme the church is a demeaning attack by Pebble. The Church and the people answer to only one diety and that is God. They must be running scared now. how many modernized places can u find in this country that still embrace the old ways of blessing the water every year for about a hundred years? the pebble site doesnt sit several miles from several villages, it sits right in the backyard of the biggest city on iliamna lake and at one of the mouths at the head of the lake. it doesnt happen to be along the BIGGEST watershed for salmon left in the world it is on the biggest NATURAL watershed left for salmon in this world. it will not be possibly decimated but completely decimated. we are not an impovervished people we are a proud and industrious people that have lived this life for thousands of years. no metals have ever been mined "responsibly and without impact" on any watershed or wildlife in the populations they occupy. can no one see this? do not kill our lands because you were not strong enough to save yours. Anyone who watched Oleksa's lectures on public television or observed his interaction with Alaska Natives at AFN conventions or elsewhere would i love how u compared places that are less than 300 hundred miles away from anchorage as a third world country, good example for your children While it is true that clergy in most of the major religions are not going to suggest that the path to salvation is Anglo, it saddens me that Father Oleksa, who I have always thought to be an honorable man, is being used as a pawn or something a little worse. Oh well, the church has bills to pay. Bob Gillam is a dirty man. In the 1980's he tried to lock up Bristol Bay for the sports fisherman, and pitted them agianst local native organizations and commercial fishing.a few years back, he funded the clean water and paid off Jay Ramras's synagogue for his support and now is doing the same thing to my church. It's not right, regardless of how you feel on the pebble project. I admire people for speaking-out against the mine, and FOR THE PEOPLE - ALWAYS! This has always been about Bob Gillam and his lodge. Nothing more. If this were about Bristol Bay why aren't they concerned in stopping the hundreds of thousands of gallons of petroleum distillates barged into that watershed every year. Furthermore, the same sycophantic supporters of Gillam are the same who support the greed of $arah Palin. its been about what bob gillam believes in, not his lodge. and those hundreds of thousands of gallons of petroleum distillates must have gotten stopped somewhere cause i've lived there my entire life and have seen nothing of the sort. maybe because they do it resposibly, in which Anglo American (which is owned by the government of Great Britain, and also the mother company behind Pebble Partnership) has not been able to prove nor will they try to prove that they have responsible and non toxic ways of seperating the metals from the ores. if they want this project to happen, truck it all out and distill the metals in canada or fly it to great britain if its really worth that much. I kind of have to agree that it seems like it's just about the lodge property. Is Bob pouring money into a fight against the Donlin Creek mine? That is upriver on the kuskokwim. The people who fish all along the lower kuskokwim and in the villages near it's mouth depend on those fish. There are more villages in the kusko region potentially affected by Donlin than there are villages downstream of Pebble. The Kusko region also has higher unemployment, more poverty. Generally speaking, the Kusko region needs salmon to EAT, and the Bristol Bay fishermen need salmon for $$$. A huge number of guys fishing in Bristol Bay are from WA state and elsewhere far from Alaska. People fishing the lower Kuskokwim are overwhelmingly native, and mostly for food on the table. I'm not saying that Pebble is a good idea, or that it won't hurt Bristol Bay villagers if something happens. Losing the renewable resource of the incredible Bristol Bay salmon runs would be a disaster, and I am opposed to Pebble on those grounds. But I think the impact of a materials spill at Donlin Creek would be more severe than at Pebble, in terms of loss of life and cultural upheaval. Just my 2 cents. Maybe I'm wrong. But where is Save Our Salmon and Trout Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited and everyone else when it comes to Donlin Creek? Maybe they're there but I haven't heard much about it. most people havent heard of donlin creek cause they didnt fight for they're heritage, but thankfully WE are. does it really matter how much money bob gillam has? if he was a middle class american like the rest of you, you'd probably take him more seriously. but because he's a self made man, you all have to give him criticism for standing up for what he believes him. have u ever been to a village? sure the able men go off and fish, but us women and men with steady jobs stay home and provide for our families to EAT all summer and winter with the same salmon that are being threatened. take urself to the lake one of these years, and im not talking about iliamna or igiugig(biggest lodges on the entire lake), im talking about kokhanok, or nondalton, or down river to leavelock, ekwok, new stuyahok, koliganek and the many people that live few and far between. you ask where Save Our Salmon, Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited where when it came to Donlin Creek, they werent there, but they sure as heck are trying to save their homeland just like the people of Donlin Creek should have been doing for themselves just like we are now. if you dont speak out, no one hears you. Damn good question! I doubt most readers haven't even heard of Donlin Creek and hardly any could locate it on a map. Might be a different dog in this fight as Donlin is on Native, private property, but for years i've wondered why the super libs and green weenies haven't launched an all-out assault on this mine. Glad they didn't but it sure seems suspicious they're more into protecting Washington fishermen's jobs. Spirits, souls or some such. http://bit.ly/nrbrKp Interesting article. Thanks. |
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