As President Barack Obama heads to Alaska to preach his gospel of global warming, he is meeting what some might think to be unexpected opposition: Alaska's native people.

The Washington Times reports that native groups in Alaska, including those that hold resources rights for ANWR, the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, want to be able to develop their resources.

Alaska state Rep. Benjamin Nageak, a Barrow Democrat who was born in ANWR and is a member of the Inupiat tribe, objected to the president’s proposal when it was announced earlier this year.

“We have thousands and thousands of acres of land that our people in the state of Alaska, especially in ANWR, have title to, and [they] cannot even use that resource to enrich themselves,” Mr. Nageak said. “That is wrong. When you give the people the ability to enrich themselves, you don’t lock up their lands so they don’t do anything else but just sit on it, and nothing comes out of it except the renewable resources that we depend on.”

Obama is in Alaska to highlight what he claims is the problem of climate change and to rename Mt. McKinley to Mt. Denali.

The president has not visited Alaska since coming to office other than to refuel Air Force One.