Gwich'in Steering Committee
“To speak with a unified voice on matters pertaining to the Gwich’in way of life.”
The origin
How they started
The Gwich’in Steering Committee was created in 1988 when chiefs and elders from across the Gwich’in Nation in Alaska and Canada gathered at Gwich’in Niintsyaa in Arctic Village to respond to federal drilling plans. Its mandate is to protect the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the calving grounds the Gwich’in call the Sacred Place Where Life Begins, and the Porcupine caribou herd that sustains their people. Based in Fairbanks, it has led Indigenous opposition to oil leasing in the refuge for decades.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “TO PROTECT THE LONG-TERM HEALTH AND VIABILITY FOR THE PORCUPINE CARIBOU HERD WHICH MAINTAINS THE GWITCHIN WAY OF LIFE.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Keeping the wild alive
$21PROTECTING THE COASTAL PLAIN OF THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. GENERAL OPERATIONS
Read it as they filed it
PROTECTING THE COASTAL PLAIN OF THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. GENERAL OPERATIONS
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
0 cents of every dollar goes to the work
One year’s split is a snapshot, not a verdict. Splits swing hard with land deals, grants, and campaign timing. The trend line below says more than any single year.
$21 programs, $499,820 management, $0 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Who does the work
The record
The court record
13 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2010 | $74,260 |
| 2011 | $129,202 |
| 2012 | $108,212 |
| 2013 | $257,340 |
| 2014 | $127,522 |
| 2015 | $68,602 |
| 2016 | $80,631 |
| 2017 | $202,857 |
| 2018 | $308,489 |
| 2019 | $354,931 |
| 2020 | $510,466 |
| 2021 | $666,190 |
| 2025 | $359,446 |
From $74K in 2010 to $359K in FY25, across 13 public filings. The 2021 peak of $666K reads like one-time gifts, so trust the line, not the peak.
Fights alongside Alaska Wilderness League (1 shared case), Defenders of Wildlife (1 shared case), Environment America (1 shared case), Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges (1 shared case) and National Wildlife Federation (1 shared case) and 4 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The Alaska congressional delegation averages 4 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
Ways in
How to help
0 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
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38 years on the ground, 1 live lawsuit, 0 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.