The inhabitants of Newtok, a village in western Alaska, are the first officially recognized climate migrants in the United States. Others could soon be sharing their fate.
The effects of climate change have been felt in Alaska for several decades. Rising temperatures are leading to changes in nature, which in turn determines the living conditions. About 80% of Alaska’s surface is covered with permafrost. Deep and compact in the north, it becomes shallower and loses its permanence as it approaches the state’s southern bounds. Higher temperatures are causing the permafrost to begin to melt in areas where it had been stable for millennia, and swampland is appearing in its place. Roads, buildings and technical infrastructure are being destroyed. As the climate warms, the sea ice cover is also decreasing. The water level is rising and the storms are more violent, which causes flooding and erosion of the coast, especially in the lowest-lying areas.
Most of the settlements inhabited by Alaska Natives are situated on the coast of the Bering Sea or on the banks of Alaska’s rivers. Up until the early 20th century, their ancestors were hunters, fishers and gatherers; rather than live in a single settlement, they migrated between temporary camps from season to season. After World War II, the requirements of modernization, including the obligation to send children to school, forced them to settle down in permanent sites. Choice of location resulted more from the possibility of convenient transport for building materials and fuel than from the preferences of residents, hence the predominance of development along the coast and rivers, and particularly in the lower-lying, more accessible areas, which has turned out to be a curse.
This is how Newtok was established in 1949. Although the camp previously used throughout the year by several hundred Yupik peoples (Eskimos who speak Yupik language) was situated much further from the point where the Ninglick River flows into the sea, officials from the Bureau of Indian Affairs decided to build a school between the Newtok and Ninglick rivers, in the lower-lying section relatively close to the coast. It was argued that transport barges would be unable to reach higher up the river.
At that time, however, the Ninglick and Newtok rivers flowed around the village at a safe and convenient distance. Residents used the small port to land barges carrying fuel and necessary supplies. According to the 2010 census, there were over 380 people living in 63 homes in Newtok.
The first accounts of residents expressing concern over changes in the structure of the land around Newtok appeared in the early 1980s. An official report indicating the threat of the consequences of global warming for several indigenous Alaskan settlements situated in the lowlands of the coastal belt was published in 2003. The need for resettlement was predicted at that point, and a fund was set up to cover the costs.
As it turned out, Newtok was the first to use it. The permafrost on which the village was built was gradually turning into a quagmire. The extremely hot summer of 2019 caused a dramatic deterioration in the situation, but from as early as 1994, the Ninglick River had been changing course. It eventually joined with the Newtok River, surrounding the village from three sides, washing away some of the buildings, and flooding part of the land used by residents and the port installations. To all intents and purposes, residents found themselves living on an island surrounded by marshes.
The decision was made to resettle. New houses were erected in the high-ground areas of Nelson Island, several kilometres south-east of Newtok, and the first few families were moved last autumn. The new village is called Mertarvik.
The resettlement is due to be completed by 2023 if funds can be obtained for the construction of more houses. For now, the community is functioning in two places, both with schools. For some, the move means a sense of security and better living conditions. For others, it is the loss of their ‘place on Earth’ and an uncertain future. Because, after all, climate change isn’t going away.
Translated from the Polish by Kate Webster
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