Alaska governor gives $1m in state funds to Indigenous group backing oil drilling

Voice of the Arctic I?upiat is a backer of the controversial Willow oil drilling projectThe administration of Alaska's Republican governor, Mike Dunleavy, awarded at least $1m in state funds to a group claiming to represent a consensus of Indigenous support for new Arctic oil drilling, new research shows.The group, called Voice of the Arctic I?upiat (VAI), had just months earlier communicated with the governor's office on ways to counter other Alaska Native groups opposed to new drilling. Continue reading...