This video highlights Princess Daazhraii Johnson — a Gwich’in actress, activist, and writer — discussing her connection to the land of her community, just outside of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Johnson explains how she cannot imagine oil development on the land because her culture’s survival is dependent upon the health and longevity of the wildlife refuge. In Gwich’in, the land is known as a “sacred place where life begins” as it is a birthing ground and is importantly connected to the surrounding community’s livelihood.