‘It’s shifting the way that we have lived for a long time’
With frigid winters, Arctic Alaska and Canada may seem like places immune to the effects of global heating — but that’s far from the truth. In fact, rural and Indigenous communities are sounding the alarm over increasing threats to their ways of life.
What’s happening?
ICT reported on the climate-related changes happening in Alaska and northwestern Canada. Those threats include wildfires as well as melting permafrost, both of which have caused damage to infrastructure, food chains, and, more broadly, economic and mental health.
More than 60% of the forest lands of the Indigenous Alaskan Gwich’in nation have burned in wildfires in the last decade, ICT reported. Over half a million acres have already burned in 2024 alone, per the BLM.
These fires have also contributed to the melting of permafrost, ground that’s been frozen for up to thousands of years. Not only does this release trapped atmospheric-warming gases like carbon and methane, but it also erodes the landscape. Some buildings have collapsed when their permafrost foundations shifted, causing concern about the possible economic cost if the trends continue.
Warming rivers have also begun to interfere with the annual salmon migration, which provides both a critical income and food source in these communities.
Why are these changes harmful?
ICT quoted Gwich’in Council International board member Evon Taa’ąįį Peter, who shared his concerns about the worsening predicament of his community: “When our subsistence resources are being impacted, we end up having to depend on meat or food that’s being flown into our communities at a really significant expense.”
He also shared how wildfires were severely polluting the air.
“I couldn’t open the windows of my house for seven days straight,” he said.
Not only do these climate-related changes disrupt the economy, but they also prevent meaningful cultural experiences.
The changes are “shifting the way that we have lived for a long time in relationship with the land,” Peter said. “It’s healing to be out on the land. So it’s not only economic impacts that are happening due to the climate data, but also health impacts among our people as well.”
What’s being done to slow these changes?
The Biden administration recently announced new funding to assist Indigenous communities in preparing for climate-driven impacts of their homelands.
Several members of Congress also wrote a letter urging FEMA to make extreme heat disaster declarations in order to make federal funding available.
“Extreme heat is a growing environmental justice issue,” ICT quoted the authors. “Heat is the leading weather-related killer in the United States and wildfire seasons are starting earlier and ending later. … we urge FEMA to be more responsive to communities’ evolving needs in the face of the climate crisis.”
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