This dissertation examines the political, environmental and ideological conflicts surrounding the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the efforts of Native activists and environmental NGOs to prevent oil development in this region. Based on nearly two years of ethnographic fieldwork with the Gwich'in Athabascan community of Vashraii K'oo, AK and with environmental NGOs operating in Fairbanks, AK and Washington DC, I consider the ways that NGOs and indigenous groups can be "on the same side," yet can simultaneously be working against each other. Both Gwich'in activists and environmental NGOs argue that oil development in the Arctic Refuge would be ecologically damaging and would likely have deleterious impacts on the region's wildlife. [...]
