Climate Threats to Tribal Nations

President Biden addressed a gathering of tribal leaders at the White House on Wednesday.Credit...
Doug Mills/The New York Times

At the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit, the Biden administration announced the creation of Voluntary Community-Driven Relocation Program in order to aid native tribes that are being impacted by climate change. This Program will be led by the Department of the Interior, and carried out with assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) . There have already been a total of eleven tribes that are going to receive funds through this program Two tribes in Alaska, the Newtok Village and Native Village of Napakiak, as well as the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington state will get $25 million each. In addition to this there are eight more tribes that will receive $5 million each. Their need to relocate is caused by multiple different factors, all of which can be linked to climate change. The two tribes in Alaska are experiencing coastal erosion due to rising sea levels and coastal storms. In some areas permafrost has been melting due to rising average temperatures causing the ground to be less stable and threatening infrastructure.

The funding for this program ultimately had its origins in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which provides $466 million to the Bureau of Indian Affair (BIA) over the next five years and of that $86 million will ultimately be allocated for climate resilience. An additional $220 million was granted to this program with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. This policy is an example of an adaptation policy. Many current climate focused policies focus on mitigation more than adaptation, but both mitigation and adaptation are important when it comes to addressing the impacts of climate change Policies such as this are vital for adequately addressing basic rights such as the rights of these tribes to their land and resources which they need to survive. Ultimately this is a step in the right direction but it does raise many questions about the future. Are more policies like this going to be out into place in other regions. Additionally if the US can do this at a national level we are certainly capable of creating programs like this on an international level for communities and countries that struggle from climate change and have barely contributed to global greenhouse emissions. Hopefully this will happen, but it depends on if there can be enough political support. 

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/30/climate/native-tribes-relocate-climate.html

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-makes-135-million-commitment-support-relocation-tribal