It’s become more than a rallying cry coined by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Now it’s the mantra for MAGA 2.0: “Drill, Baby Drill.”
American president Donald Trump’s push to revive drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) just got a major boost — not from Republican lawmakers and oil industry executives, but from an unexpected group: the Iñupiat people of Alaska’s North Slope.
In a stinging legal defeat for the former Biden administration’s drilling bans, US District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that President Joe Biden’s cancellation of ANWR oil leases was unlawful.
The decision was welcomed by Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat (VOICE), a coalition of North Slope Indigenous leaders who have long supported responsible oil and gas development in the region.
“With a standing resolution from our Board to support exploration and development in ANWR, we are pleased to see Judge Gleason correct the Biden administration’s overreach,” said VOICE President Nagruk Harcharek. “This proves yet again that the only way to create stable, durable policy in the North Slope is by engaging in consistent, meaningful consultation with the North Slope Iñupiat.”
The ruling has provided momentum for Trump’s “Drill Baby, Drill” energy strategy, which aims to ramp up domestic oil production from Alaska and the Lower 48 states.
If successful it could also potentially displace part of the 4.3 million barrels per day (bpd) Canada — and Alberta specifically — pumps to US refineries.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Canada’s dominance in US crude supply, arguing that America should instead tap its own vast reserves, including those in ANWR and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).
Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, has echoed those goals, stating that “American energy independence starts with unleashing Alaska and stopping our reliance on Trudeau’s oil sands.”
The Biden administration justified its lease cancellations by citing environmental concerns and climate goals, but local Iñupiat leaders say their communities were never properly consulted. The only village within ANWR, Kaktovik, has long supported oil development as a means of economic survival.
Now, with the Biden-era drilling bans in Alaska being overturned by the courts, Trump is poised to reassert control over US energy policy.
“It is important that the Trump administration meaningfully engage with and respect Kaktovik — the only community within ANWR — when it comes to policies affecting our lands and people,” Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation President Charles Lampe said in a statement emailed to the Western Standard.
“We look forward to working together to create lasting policy that benefits our community, the state of Alaska, and the nation.”
The show of support from Alaska’s indigenous communities undercuts the narrative that all Native groups oppose oil and gas expansion.
While some Gwich’in communities in Canada and Alaska have opposed ANWR drilling due to concerns about caribou migration patterns, many North Slope Iñupiat see oil development as essential to their economic future.
While the court ruling strikes down Biden’s lease cancellations, it does not automatically restore drilling in the Frontier State.
Environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers are likely to challenge any renewed push for ANWR drilling, setting the stage for yet another fight over America’s Arctic resources.
For now, Trump has found an unlikely but critical ally in the Iñupiat people, who see oil development not as an existential threat, but as a path to economic self-determination.
If He succeeds in his plans, the next barrels flowing into American refineries may come not from Alberta, but from the frozen tundra of Alaska’s North Slope.