Vuntut Gwitch'in Intro
Within the Arctic Circle lies Old Crow, a remote Vuntut Gwitch’in First Nations community of 300 people, who as hunters have traditionally relied on the migrating caribou.
Every year the porcupine caribou migrate through the community in the spring and fall seasons, traveling to and from their calving grounds on the 1002 lands - a coastal region of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The 1002 lands is a section of land open to development, within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that is being explored for natural resources such as oil.
While the effects of this potential development on the caribou herd are unknown, fifteen remote First Nations communities in Alaska (USA), Yukon Territory (Canada), and North West Territories (Canada), remain dependant on the porcupine caribou for subsistence.