Navigating climate change adaptation assistance for communities: a case study of Newtok Village, Alaska

Climate change is significantly impacting Alaska Native Villages (federally recognized tribes) as well as other rural and place-based communities that wish to continue their traditional lifeways. While many communities are looking to state and federal governments for assistance with climate change and other emergencies, there are limits to assistance under the current political and legal framework. This article discusses strategies for climate change adaptation that Alaska Native Villages and similarly situated communities may be able to take on their own. The article acknowledges the limits to these strategies and the gaps likely to remain in adaptation assistance. The article considers the Native Village of Newtok, Alaska, which is relocating to another site as an adaptation to climate change, as a case study in navigating adaptation assistance. While each community is different, several factors that have helped Newtok may benefit other communities: strong leadership; unified community vision and policy; a local coordinator serving as a continued point of contact; strong capacity for grantwriting; trusted, reasonably priced consultants; professional accounting services; and a housing policy to ensure fairness.