Alaska drilling
opponents to visit

Inupiat natives from Alaska will be in Hawaii from Saturday until Jan. 24 to speak against oil drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.

Inupiat representatives Mary Margaret Brower and George Edwardson will share their opposition to drilling for oil in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge at screenings of the documentary film "Oil on Ice" on Maui, Oahu and the Big Island. They also will meet with native Hawaiian leaders, congressional representatives and environmental organizations.

Hawaii is being targeted because U.S. Sens. Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye are considered key votes on the matter, said Moira Chapin, Hawaii organizer for the group.

The Inupiat tribe traditionally has supported drilling in the Arctic Refuge, but some members of the tribe oppose it. "Oil development has always been an issue for me -- I've always been against it," Brower said. "No amount of money or oil is worth my culture, subsistence and harvesting rights, and the land that bears all this to my people in the long run."

The film looks at the oil controversy in the refuge and "takes a visually stunning journey" of the land and people, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a sponsor.

Event dates:

Maui

» Saturday: 6:30-9:30 p.m., Kaunoa Senior Center, Spreckelsville
» Sunday: 6-9 p.m., Cameron Center, Kahului
» Monday: 7-10 p.m., Maui Community College Ka Lama Building, Room 103
» Tuesday: Noon, Maui Community College, room to be announced
For more information on Maui, call Lance Holter at 579-9442.

Oahu

» Wednesday: 2-4 p.m., Kuykendall Auditorium, University of Hawaii at Manoa
» Jan. 21: 7-9 p.m., Hawaii State Capitol Auditorium
For more information on Oahu, call the Conservation Council for Hawaii at 593-0255.

Big Island

» Jan. 23: 6:30-9:30 p.m., Palace Theatre, Hilo
» Jan. 24: 7-10 p.m., Aloha Theatre, Kainaliu
For more information on the Big Island, call Jack Kelly at 328-8442.