10.6b The Case of Newtok, Alaska

People do not just live in neighborhoods. People are embedded in communities with strong and weak ties to their neighbors and their neighborhoods’ social institutions, like schools and churches. Therefore, buyout programs may need to consider moving entire communities rather than individual households. The federal government does this by offering land swaps whereby a community can exchange its risky land for federal property. Still, it can take decades for communities and the federal government to find land to swap, build new homes and infrastructure, and move the community, which is being destroyed by climate change. Further, no federal funds exist for moving entire communities before a disaster has been declared (Bowmer & Thiessen, 2024).

The community of Newtok, Alaska shows some of the challenges with moving a community due to climate change. The approximately 300 Alaska Natives of Newtok have moved about nine miles away to Mertarvik. They began moving in in 2019 and finished in 2024. However, the community started pursuing relocation in 1996. Further, some homes and the school in their new community are still temporary structures. Newtok is quickly eroding as warming temperatures thaw the permafrost, and the storms from the sea grow in intensity. Indigenous communities, like those from Newtok, have created a whole way of life and culture tied to the land. In contrast to the past treatment of Indigenous groups by the U.S. government (see Chapter 9), land swaps can potentially help maintain Indigenous cultures and communities while also addressing the risks of climate change for these communities.

Photo 10.20

Rising Sea Levels and Stronger Storms Increases the Rate of Beach Erosion Threatening Communities