Six Alaska Native villages impacted by climate change have been awarded federal grants ranging from $1 million to $25 million to support community driven relocation and planning for future moves.
The funds are part of a $135 million Biden-Harris Administration commitment in support of the relocation of tribal communities affected by climate change. The announcement came during the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit, where the Biden Administration and leaders of 574 federally recognized tribes discuss ways the federal government can invest in and strengthen nation-to-nation relationships.
Through investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, the Interior Department is committing $115 million for 11 severely impacted tribes toward advancing relocation and adaptation planning. Additional support for relocation is to be provided by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and the Denali Commission.
The Alaska communities of Newtok and Napakiak, as well as the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington were selected to receive $25 million each to begin community driven relocation, totaling $75 million in funding. The three areas have seen continuous erosion from storms.
A 2020 Bureau of Indian Affairs study estimated that up to $5 billion will be needed over the next 50 years to address tribal relocation infrastructure needs to respond to the impact of climate change.
The Interior Department and FEMA jointly established a Community-Driven Relocation Subcommittee as part of the White House National Climate Task Force to explore working in partnership with impacted communities. Three tribal relocation coordinators funded through the Bureau of Indian Affairs are managing annual grant implementation for each community and overseeing local support teams.
Eight additional communities were granted $5 million apiece for further planning on how to deal with climate impacts ranging from coastal and river erosion to food insecurity and rising sea level. That list includes the Alaska villages of Point Lay, Huslia, Fort Yukon and Nelson Lagoon, along with four tribal groups in Arizona, California, Louisiana and Maine.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides a total of $466 million to the Bureau of Indian Affairs over five years, including $216 million for climate resilience programs, provided as $43.2 million annually for five years. Of that funding, $130 million is for community relocation and $86 million is for tribal climate resilience and adaptation projects.
