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Climate Change Forces Four Native Groups to Relocate

photo of Louisiana coast like Isle de Jean Charles. Native group forced to relocate from Isle de Jean Charles along Louisiana coast

Climate change will irrevocably alter our global landscape. Rising sea levels, coastal erosion, permafrost thaw, droughts, flooding, and wildfires will all change what parts of the world are hospitable to human settlement. Already, several indigenous groups in North America are facing the consequences of a rapidly warming world. For many, this will mean leaving spaces that they and their ancestors have called home for generations.

Unjust political and social forces have long pushed native groups from more desirable parts of their homelands to places that may be more susceptible to the effects of Climate change. Other groups have been forced to abandon their ancestral homelands altogether. Now, land dispossession has exposed many native communities to the harsh effects of Climate change. These include factors such as extreme heat, rising seas, and erosion.

Late in 2022, the Biden administration budgeted 75 million dollars to help three native groups in Alaska and Washington State relocate. The Quinault Indian Nation, located on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, Newtok Village, located on the Ninglick River in Alaska, and the Native Village of Napakiak, located on Alaska’s Kuskokwim River received 25 million dollars apiece to assist with relocation efforts. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has also awarded the tribes another 17.7 million to help with relocation efforts. These three native groups face immediate threats from Climate change.

In addition, eight other indigenous communities vulnerable to Climate change received 5 million apiece. These communities are the Native Village of Point Lay (Alaska), Huslia Village (Alaska), the Native Village of Fort Yukon (Alaska), the Native Village of Nelson Lagoon (Alaska), the Havasupai Tribe (Arizona), the Yurok Tribe (California), the Chitimacha Tribe (Louisiana), and the Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe (Maine).

1. Quinault Indian Nation

Source: Reuters/YouTube

The Quinault Indian Nation is located in Washington State where the Quinault River meets the Pacific Ocean. Traditionally, the Quinaults have lived near the water. However, in the face of Climate change, the native nation is being forced to relocate to a location further inland and uphill. This will protect the town from rising sea levels, tsunamis, storm surges, and earthquakes. The tribe has already begun the process of relocation. The Quinaults are one of the nations that received 25 million dollars for relocation from the Biden administration. Despite this allocated money, the financial burden of relocation remains steep for the tribe. Relocation is expected to cost at least 100 million dollars.

2. Newtok Village

Source: Patagonia/YouTube

Permafrost is a layer of soil, gravel, and sand that remains frozen under the Earth’s surface throughout the year. Generally, permafrost is found in the polar regions. However, due to Climate change, significant amounts of permafrost are beginning to thaw. This thawing raises sea levels and contributes to erosion. For one Yup’ik village in Alaska, melting permafrost is forcing relocation.

Newtok Village is located along the banks of the Ninglick River. Due to melting permafrost, the village is quickly eroding. The earth is crumbling into the river. This threatens building foundations and critical infrastructure. It is estimated that some of the village’s structures will be threatened in as little as two years. In four years, much of Newtok’s critical infrastructure will be threatened. This has forced the native village to begin the relocation process. Construction has begun in the new village of Mertavik, which is located ten miles away on higher ground.

3. Native Village of Napakiak

Source: PBS Terra/YouTube

Like Newtok Village, the Native Village of Napakiak is facing serious erosion as a result of melting permafrost. The village is located on the banks of the Kuskokwim River. Erosion will most likely leave the village’s critical infrastructure unusable by the end of the decade. One of the three tribal towns allocated 25 million dollars by the Biden administration, the Native Village of Napakiak has created a 50-year plan for relocation. It is estimated that the total cost of relocation will be over 200 million dollars. During the next decade, the village will build a school, 38 homes, and a water plant in a new location.

4. Isle de Jean Charles

Source: Scientific American/YouTube

The Isle de Jean Charles band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw tribe was relocated from the Louisiana mainland in the 1830s by the Indian Removal Act. They were moved to the Isle de Jean Charles, a low-lying barrier island along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. However, sea level rise along the Gulf Coast combined with hurricane activity has drastically reduced the island’s habitable land. Over the last 100 years, sea level rise along the Gulf Coast was five to six inches above the global average. The low-lying Isle de Jean Charles lost 98 percent of its land between the 1950s and 2018. Erosion and higher seas played a significant role in this land loss. This has forced the Isle de Jean Charles band to make the difficult decision to relocate. In 2016, the tribe received a 48 million dollar grant to assist in their resettlement to a higher location. They were also allotted five million dollars by the Biden administration. Relocation efforts have been underway for the past 20 years.

These tribal communities are not alone in facing the effects of Climate change. In Florida, the Seminole and Miccosukee nations have both raised alarms about the impacts that the changing world will have. Rising sea levels are of high concern for both peoples. In the desert west, tribes like the Mojave are contending with extreme heat.

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