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Oil spill, August 1944: the CULA expedition and the North Slope Inupiat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2014

Robert A. Perkins
Robert A. Perkins*
Affiliation:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, P.O. Box 755900, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-5900, USA ([email protected])
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Abstract

An oil spill that occurred on 21 August 1944 near the Inupiat village of Barrow on Alaska's North Slope provides the focus for a brief history of activity in the face of extreme conditions and the evolving relationship of US Navy personnel and Inupiat natives of the region. The emotional recollections of an Inupiat elder are contrasted with the growing respect of the navy personnel for the Inupiat. The economic and social effects of oil explorations towards the end of World War II and the early post-war years are briefly discussed. These events form a part of the socio-economic background of current and proposed arctic oil development.

Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 51 , Issue 2 , March 2015 , pp. 201 - 211
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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