The Unmet Needs of Environmentally Threatened Alaska Native Villages: Assessment and Recommendations
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CAKE TeamPublished
Abstract
Today, Alaska Native communities are on the front lines of climate change. These communities are disproportionately impacted by harmful climate-driven environmental trends and extreme events. Alaska Native economic, social, and cultural ways of being, which have served so well for millennia, are now under extreme threat due to accelerated environmental change.
The purpose of this report is to help improve the effectiveness of federal and state government support for Alaska communities to address climate and environmental threats to infrastructure from erosion, flooding, and permafrost degradation. Legislative and programmatic changes are needed to remove barriers faced by small rural communities and to create more effective and equitable systems to deliver resources and services. The intended audience for this report is the U.S. Congress, the White House, and federal and state agency leadership and program managers.
This report identifies funding needs, priorities, and recommends implementation strategies. It offers a conceptual whole-of-government coordination framework for Alaska, with specific roles and responsibilities identified for state and federal partners, intended to catalyze the development of a better service delivery system. In addition to informing systemic change that requires action by the U.S. Congress, information in this document may be used by federal agencies to inform the allocation of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding for the near-term benefit to communities.
This report was prepared by a team of service providers from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) and the State of Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA), based on their extensive experience and technical expertise supporting Alaska’s environmentally threatened Indigenous communities. Co-production of knowledge is significant in reports like this because the goal is to create change at the local level. Indigenous experts, inclusive of community and subject matter experts, can contribute relevant framing, representative language and tone, link key points and concepts, and assist in elevating and forwarding suggested key messages and actions at the institutional, governance, and societal level.
Citation
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), 2024. Unmet Needs of Environmentally Threatened Alaska Native Villages: Assessment and Recommendations.