As the Permafrost melts under Western alaska, NuNPITCHUK is sinking.
A Four Part Series
The southwestern Alaskan village of Nunapitchuk is home to a population of 800 almost entirely Yup’ik Alaska Native people. The area is extremely remote, only accessible by boat and prop-plane. For thousands of years, the Yup’ik people lived across the tundra region nomadically, moving from summer camp to fall camp to winter to spring, chasing whatever was in season, and building homes out of natural materials.
But families stopped moving as much in the 1950’s when Alaska Native youth were increasingly required to attend boarding schools in Wasilla and Fairbanks. Then in 1976, the state of Alaska passed the Molly Hooch Act, strictly requiring all Alaska Native youth to attend brand new local schools. The state chose the land for the village of Nunapitchuk because it was the best place to build a port. Families settled around the new school.
The tundra was always fragile, and heavy modern infrastructure tore up the soil. Then it got worse: the permafrost started melting at an incredible speed. The Arctic is warming at almost four times the speed of the rest of the world, and it’s not stopping. The tundra is turning into mud and everything in the village is sinking.
January, 2024
Sunni Bean, 2023
It’s happening all over town— the houses in Nunapitchuk are sinking. For some, the soil has eroded out from underneath, leaving them on their own little hill. For most, the land is a wet bog. The town is dotted with knocked down houses— one neighborhood is entirely abandoned. People are moving in with relatives. Now there’s overcrowding, flooding, health issues, and chronic mold. Read here.
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Sunni Bean, 2023
The law enforcement building is now just a foot away from the dynamic Johnson River, which runs through the center of the village. They want a new building, but they’re not the only ones. The post office and tribal office are also sinking. Electricity poles lean precariously, and a fall of even one could cause a village wide power outage. The church fell of it’s stilts last summer during the salmonberry festival, with a load crash. It was the fourth time volunteers have come to rebuild the church. Read here.
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Sunni Bean, 2023
Residents recall how much easier finding food was growing up. You could stroll around the tundra and find eggs and berries, and barely leave the dock before finding fish. Now the land is barren mud. There’s fishing restrictions, and safety concerns. People still live off the land, but it’s harder now. Read here.
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In Fall of 2023, Nunapitchuk’s tribe, city council, and Native corporation signed a unanimous declaration that they want to relocate the entire village to a plot of land in eye distance of their current town. The village attendees voted unanimously to support the decision.
As the village of Nunapitchuk vies for funding to relocate, they need paperwork, proof, and plans. This fall, Nunapitchuk was selected as a testing ground for a new approach to climate-driven village relocation. Read here.
Sunni Bean, 2023