Summary
We are the Alutiiq people of Old Harbor, and our climate planning must protect our homes, our subsistence lifeways, our language, and our connection to place. Old Harbor sits on Kodiak Island in a coastal environment where erosion, storm surge, sea level rise, changing sea ice, permafrost instability in some areas, and shifting fish and wildlife patterns can affect safety, food security, and cultural continuity. This plan centers community-led adaptation first, with relocation planning only as a last-resort pathway if protection in place is no longer safe or affordable. Uncertainty note: site-specific engineering, hazard mapping, and relocation feasibility require local surveys, geotechnical work, and tribal decision-making before any final action.
Key Challenges
Climate
- Coastal erosion and bluff or shoreline retreat in exposed areas.
- Storm surge and wave action that can damage homes, roads, docks, fuel systems, and cultural sites.
- Flooding and drainage problems during heavy rain and extreme weather.
- Changing marine conditions that affect salmon, halibut, shellfish, seals, sea otter, and other subsistence resources.
- Infrastructure vulnerability for water, wastewater, power, communications, and emergency access.
Social
- Risk of displacement from ancestral lands and loss of access to harvesting areas.
- Stress on elders, youth, and families when homes or gathering places are threatened.
- Higher costs for construction, transport, and emergency response in a remote island community.
- Need to protect language, ceremonies, kinship networks, and place-based knowledge during any adaptation or relocation process.
Tailored Solutions
Infrastructure
- Prioritize nature-based shoreline protection where feasible, such as dune restoration, vegetation planting, and careful grading to reduce wave energy.
- Harden critical facilities first: water, power, fuel storage, clinic access, emergency shelter, and communications.
- Improve drainage, culverts, and runoff management to reduce flooding and road washouts.
- Elevate or floodproof vulnerable structures where relocation is not yet necessary.
- Create a community hazard map that identifies erosion zones, flood paths, safe routes, and emergency assembly areas.
Community Planning
- Establish a tribal climate committee led by elders, youth, and subsistence users.
- Develop a phased adaptation plan with clear triggers for when to protect, accommodate, or relocate.
- Document cultural sites, trails, harvest areas, and oral histories before any land-use changes.
- Use seasonal rounds and traditional ecological knowledge to guide timing of construction and relocation decisions.
Subsistence And Food
- Protect access to beaches, boat launches, smokehouses, drying areas, and storage spaces.
- Build resilient community freezers and backup power systems.
- Support local harvest monitoring for fish, shellfish, berries, and marine mammals.
- Strengthen intergenerational teaching for harvesting, processing, and food sharing.
Cultural Continuity Prompts
Preservation Goals
- Keep the community together as much as possible; do not separate families, clans, or care networks.
- Protect access to ancestral places, burial areas, harvesting grounds, and ceremonial spaces.
- Ensure elders guide decisions and youth are trained in language, subsistence, and stewardship.
- Design any new housing or relocation area to support gathering, sharing, carving, sewing, fishing, and ceremonial life.
- Record place names, stories, and traditional knowledge with tribal ownership and control.
Protocols
- Use tribal consent and community meetings before outside consultants begin work.
- Treat cultural site information as sensitive and controlled by the tribe.
- Include subsistence seasons in all project schedules so work does not interrupt harvesting.
Recommended Partners
- Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC)
Strong fit for environmental health, community resilience, water/wastewater, and climate-health planning in Alaska Native communities.
- Denali Commission
Useful for rural infrastructure, power, water, sanitation, and community facility support in remote Alaska villages.
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District
Can support erosion, flood, and coastal engineering studies and project implementation, though tribal priorities must lead the process.
- Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs
Helpful for community planning, hazard mitigation coordination, and relocation-related administrative support.
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Alaska / remote energy support
Can help with resilient microgrids, solar, battery storage, and backup power for critical facilities.
- University of Alaska Fairbanks - Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy
Supports climate data, mapping, and adaptation planning while helping translate science into community decisions.
Funding Sources
- FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
Potential source for mitigation projects that reduce future disaster losses, including elevation, drainage, and buyout-related planning where eligible.
https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/hazard-mitigation-grant-program
- FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)
Can support long-term resilience planning and infrastructure hardening if the project is eligible and competitively ranked.
https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/building-resilient-infrastructure-communities
- Bureau of Indian Affairs - Tribal Climate Resilience Program
Directly aligned with tribal climate adaptation, relocation planning, and community-driven resilience work.
https://www.bia.gov/service/tribal-climate-resilience-program
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Indian Community Development Block Grant
Can support housing, community facilities, and infrastructure that strengthen tribal community resilience.
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/ih/grants/icdbg
- Economic Development Administration - Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance
May help with infrastructure that supports economic stability, jobs, and community continuity during adaptation.
- EPA Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP)
Useful for environmental capacity building, planning, and technical support for tribal environmental programs.
https://www.epa.gov/tribal/tribal-environmental-general-assistance-program-gap
Legal Avenues
- Tribal consultation and government-to-government coordination with federal and state agencies.
- Environmental review under NEPA for projects affecting land, water, and cultural resources.
- Section 106 review under the National Historic Preservation Act for cultural and historic sites.
- FEMA mitigation and disaster recovery pathways for eligible protective measures.
- Land-use, easement, and permitting review for any new site development or relocation infrastructure.
Implementation Roadmap
Short Term
- Form a tribal climate working group with elders, youth, subsistence users, and housing/infrastructure staff.
- Map hazards, cultural sites, critical facilities, and evacuation routes using tribal knowledge and technical surveys.
- Stabilize the most urgent erosion and drainage hotspots.
- Install backup power and emergency communications for essential facilities.
- Begin documentation of oral histories, place names, and subsistence access points.
Mid Term
- Complete engineering assessments for shoreline protection, elevation, and facility hardening.
- Develop a community relocation decision framework with clear thresholds and consent-based governance.
- Secure funding for housing resilience, water/wastewater upgrades, and food storage systems.
- Train local residents in monitoring, maintenance, emergency response, and construction oversight.
- Build partnerships for cultural documentation and land suitability studies.
Long Term
- Implement the chosen adaptation pathway: protect in place, partial relocation, or full relocation if necessary.
- Construct or upgrade a resilient community core that includes housing, gathering space, food systems, and emergency services.
- Maintain long-term monitoring of shoreline change, flooding, and ecosystem shifts.
- Ensure language, cultural practice, and subsistence access remain central in the new or improved settlement pattern.
Education Strategy
Goals
- Teach climate risks in ways that connect science with Alutiiq knowledge and lived experience.
- Prepare youth for stewardship, emergency response, mapping, and infrastructure monitoring.
- Support elders as teachers of place names, harvesting, weather signs, and cultural protocols.
Tools
- Community workshops in the village hall or school.
- Youth mapping projects using local place names and hazard observations.
- Intergenerational camps focused on harvesting, weather, and land stewardship.
- Simple visual hazard maps and seasonal calendars in accessible language.
Food Security Strategy
Goals
- Protect and strengthen subsistence harvests as the foundation of food security.
- Increase storage, processing, and sharing capacity for local foods.
- Reduce dependence on expensive imported food during emergencies.
Partners
- Alaska Sea Grant
Can support marine resource education, food systems, and community-based research relevant to coastal Alaska.
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game - Subsistence
Important for harvest information, subsistence management, and coordination around changing wildlife patterns.
- Southcentral Foundation or regional behavioral/community health partners
Food security is tied to wellness; local health partners can support community resilience and family stability.
Legal Strategy
Actions
- Maintain tribal ownership and control over cultural data, maps, and relocation planning documents.
- Negotiate early with agencies for consultation, permitting, and funding alignment.
- Document property, tenure, and land access issues before any relocation or land acquisition.
- Use legal counsel to protect burial sites, sacred places, and subsistence access corridors.
Precedents
- Alaska Native village relocation and adaptation planning efforts in other coastal communities show the importance of early planning, cultural continuity, and phased decision-making.
- Federal disaster mitigation and historic preservation processes can be used together when cultural sites and infrastructure are both at risk.
Preliminary Relocation Context
- Interior upland area near existing community services, if available
Advantages: May reduce exposure to storm surge and shoreline erosion. Could allow phased relocation while keeping families near current support networks. May be easier to connect to existing roads, utilities, and services if nearby.
Challenges: Requires geotechnical testing, land ownership review, and environmental assessment. May still be limited by slope, drainage, or access constraints. Uncertainty: no final site should be assumed suitable without tribal-led field verification.
- Higher ground on Kodiak Island within practical access to Old Harbor
Advantages: May offer safer elevation above coastal flooding and erosion. Could preserve access to island-based subsistence areas and regional travel routes. Potentially supports a community-centered relocation rather than a distant move.
Challenges: Land availability and ownership may be complex. Road, water, power, and emergency access may require major investment. Uncertainty: suitability depends on slope stability, drainage, and cultural acceptability.
- Protected inland cluster site with room for housing, gathering, and emergency services
Advantages: Could be designed from the start as a resilient community core. May allow space for a clinic, school support, food storage, and cultural gathering areas. Could reduce long-term maintenance costs compared with repeated shoreline defense.
Challenges: May require new land acquisition or agreements. Could be farther from marine harvesting access, requiring transportation planning. Uncertainty: exact location must be chosen through tribal consultation, land studies, and community preference.