[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 95 (Wednesday, July 19, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO JONATHON SOLOMON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RAUL GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 19, 2006

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember and honor a great 
American who has recently passed away.
  Last week, Jonathon Solomon, a leader and elder of the Gwich'in 
Nation, passed away in Alaska. A lifelong advocate on behalf of his 
people, Jonathon was an inspiration to many and was instrumental in the 
fight to protect the birthplace of the Porcupine Caribou Herd in the 
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As a Traditional Chief of Fort Yukon, 
Jonathon was raised in the traditional subsistence lifestyle, depending 
on the Porcupine Caribou herd as his ancestors before him had for a 
millennium. To the Gwich'in, there is no more sacred place than the 
calving grounds of the caribou herd upon which their way of life 
depends. Jonathon was one of the leading Gwich'in voices on a myriad of 
issues. He halted the construction of a dam in the 1960's that would 
have flooded several Gwich'in villages, and was one of the first native 
leaders to work on the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. However, it 
was protecting the sacred calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd 
that was the most significant issue in Jonathon's life.
  His work to protect the Arctic Refuge began in 1978, when the House 
was debating the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. In 
1988 when the House was considering oil drilling in the calving grounds 
in the Arctic Refuge, Jonathon helped organize the first Gwich'in 
Gathering. At the gathering, the Gwich'in Steering was created, and the 
first resolution of the Gwich'in Nation, calling for permanent 
protection of the caribou calving and nursery grounds as 
congressionally designated wilderness, was passed. In 2002, he and two 
other Gwich'in leaders were honored with the prestigious Goldman 
Environmental Prize for their work to protect the calving grounds in 
the Arctic Refuge.
  I had the great honor of meeting Jonathon during one of his many 
trips to Washington, DC, to talk with Members about the threat of oil 
drilling to the way of life of the Gwich'in people. Jonathon was ever 
an optimistic advocate, dedicated to his people, and sure in his cause. 
His funeral will be today in Fort Yukon, Alaska, and it is my privilege 
to honor him this morning.

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