"It is a tremendous opportunity for the Episcopal Church to be invited to participate in this CODEL," said John B. Johnson, who represents the Episcopal Church as a domestic policy analyst in Washington, D.C. "More than 150 years ago the church brought Christianity to an indigenous people and today we are partners in trying to protect a way of life for the Gwich'in from the effects of proposed drilling for oil and gas on the calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou herd."

Episcopal missionaries established a presence in the 19th century among the Gwich'in Nation near Fort Yukon, Alaska. Today nearly all of the Gwich'in are Episcopalians. The Gwich'in, until more modern times, were a migratory people throughout what is now the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. They still practice a subsistence culture, living from and caring for the Porcupine caribou herd as mainstay of their diet, life and ancient ways. The Gwich'in have lived in this area of Alaska for 10,000 years.

"Congress has repeatedly defeated attempts to open the Arctic for drilling. The Office of Government Relations has worked with religious and secular partners to protect the reserve," said Johnson. "I believe seeing first hand both the people and the land affected by potential drilling will add to the credibility the Episcopal Church has in working to defend the sacred spaces of the Gwich'in."

The four-day trek across the largest state will take members of Congress and staff to Arctic Village, Alaska, over the Brooks Range, into the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, and even to Prudhoe Bay and the oil fields of that area. The CODEL will also camp under the "midnight sun" of Alaska, offering participants an opportunity to see up close a vast and remote wilderness where wildlife thrives and from which a rich indigenous culture is derived.

"I believe that when members [of Congress] and staff spend time with the Gwich'in in their own villages and hear from biologists about the impact current drilling and exploration has on the land, they will recognize how real the threat to culture is to a people who only want to live a simple way of life," said Johnson. "Episcopalians know the values of a conservation-based energy policy. The exploitation of another culture to feed our nation's gluttonous demand of precious oil is simply not part of our values."

The General Convention, Executive Council and the House of Bishops have all passed numerous resolutions calling for the protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and support for the Gwich'in. This is Johnson's first trip to the Arctic and he will chronicle the visit, sponsored by the Wilderness Society, Alaska Wilderness League, Alaska Coalition, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Audubon Society and the Sierra Club.