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+
+ - OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON TRIBAL COMMUNITIES
+
+[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
+[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
+
+
+ THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON TRIBAL COMMUNITIES
+
+=======================================================================
+
+ OVERSIGHT HEARING
+
+ BEOFRE THE
+
+ SUBCOMMITTEE ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE UNITED STATES
+
+ OF THE
+
+ COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
+ U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
+
+ ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
+
+ FIRST SESSION
+
+ __________
+
+ Tuesday, February 12, 2019
+
+ __________
+
+ Serial No. 116-4
+
+ __________
+
+ Printed for the use of the Committee on Natural Resources
+
+ [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+
+ Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
+ or
+ Committee address: http://naturalresources.house.gov
+
+
+ __________
+
+
+ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
+35-199 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office,
+http://bookstore.gpo.gov. For more information, contact the GPO Customer Contact Center,
+U.S. Government Publishing Office. Phone 202-512-1800, or 866-512-1800 (toll-free).E-mail,
+[email protected].
+
+
+ COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
+
+ RAUL M. GRIJALVA, AZ, Chair
+ DEBRA A. HAALAND, NM, Vice Chair
+ GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN, CNMI, Vice Chair, Insular Affairs
+ ROB BISHOP, UT, Ranking Republican Member
+
+Grace F. Napolitano, CA Don Young, AK
+Jim Costa, CA Louie Gohmert, TX
+Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Doug Lamborn, CO
+ CNMI Robert J. Wittman, VA
+Jared Huffman, CA Tom McClintock, CA
+Alan S. Lowenthal, CA Paul A. Gosar, AZ
+Ruben Gallego, AZ Paul Cook, CA
+TJ Cox, CA Bruce Westerman, AR
+Joe Neguse, CO Garret Graves, LA
+Mike Levin, CA Jody B. Hice, GA
+Debra A. Haaland, NM Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, AS
+Jefferson Van Drew, NJ Daniel Webster, FL
+Joe Cunningham, SC Liz Cheney, WY
+Nydia M. Velazquez, NY Mike Johnson, LA
+Diana DeGette, CO Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, PR
+Wm. Lacy Clay, MO John R. Curtis, UT
+Debbie Dingell, MI Kevin Hern, OK
+Anthony G. Brown, MD Russ Fulcher, ID
+A. Donald McEachin, VA
+Darren Soto, FL
+Ed Case, HI
+Steven Horsford, NV
+Michael F. Q. San Nicolas, GU
+Vacancy
+Vacancy
+Vacancy
+
+ David Watkins, Chief of Staff
+ Sarah Lim, Chief Counsel
+ Parish Braden, Republican Staff Director
+ http://naturalresources.house.gov
+
+
+ ------
+
+ SUBCOMMITTEE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE UNITED STATES
+
+ RUBEN GALLEGO, AZ, Chair
+ PAUL COOK, CA, Ranking Republican Member
+
+Darren Soto, FL Don Young, AK
+Michael F. Q. San Nicolas, GU Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, AS
+Debra A. Haaland, NM John R. Curtis, UT
+Ed Case, HI Kevin Hern, OK
+Vacancy Vacancy
+Vacancy Rob Bishop, UT, ex officio
+Vacancy
+Raul M. Grijalva, AZ, ex officio
+
+
+
+ ------
+
+
+ CONTENTS
+
+ ----------
+ Page
+
+Hearing held on Tuesday, February 12, 2019....................... 1
+
+Statement of Members:
+ Cook, Hon. Paul, a Representative in Congress from the State
+ of California.............................................. 4
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 5
+ Gallego, Hon. Ruben, a Representative in Congress from the
+ State of Arizona........................................... 1
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 3
+
+Statement of Witnesses:
+ Buzzard, Shirley, President, Building Resilient Communities
+ for Climate Extremes (BRACE) Institute, Washington, DC..... 16
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 17
+ Johnston, Tyson, Vice President, Quinault Indian Nation,
+ Taholah, Washington........................................ 7
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 8
+ Jordan, Jennine, Government Relations Liaison, Calista
+ Corporation, Anchorage, Alaska............................. 11
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 13
+ Jose, Verlon, Vice Chairman, Tohono O'odham Nation, Sells,
+ Arizona.................................................... 19
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 21
+
+Additional Materials Submitted for the Record:
+ Chavarria, J. Michael, Governor, Santa Clara Pueblo,
+ testimony.................................................. 35
+ United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund,
+ testimony.................................................. 40
+
+
+
+
+ OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON TRIBAL
+ COMMUNITIES
+
+ ----------
+
+
+ Tuesday, February 12, 2019
+
+ U.S. House of Representatives
+
+ Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples of the United States
+
+ Committee on Natural Resources
+
+ Washington, DC
+
+ ----------
+
+ The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2 p.m., in
+room 1324, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Ruben Gallego
+[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
+ Present: Representatives Gallego, Soto, San Nicolas,
+Haaland, Case, Grijalva (ex officio), Cook, Young, and Hern.
+
+ Mr. Gallego. The Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the
+United States will come to order. The Subcommittee is meeting
+today to hear testimony on the impacts of climate change on
+tribal communities.
+ Under Committee Rule 4(f), any oral opening statements at
+hearings are limited to the Chairman and the Ranking Minority
+Member. This will allow us to hear from our witnesses sooner
+and help Members keep to their schedules.
+ Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that all other Members'
+opening statements be made part of the hearing record if they
+are submitted to the Subcommittee Clerk by 5 p.m. today or the
+close of hearing, whichever comes first. Any objections?
+ Hearing no objections, so ordered.
+
+ STATEMENT OF THE HON. RUBEN GALLEGO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
+ CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA
+
+ Mr. Gallego. Good afternoon, and welcome to the first
+hearing of the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the
+United States in the 116th Congress.
+ We adjusted the name of this Committee to emphasize our
+renewed and singular focus on the more than 2 million
+indigenous peoples that we are charged with representing. As
+the only Committee with exclusive jurisdiction over these
+issues in the House of Representatives, we have a great
+responsibility.
+ As a body, this Congress can make countless improvements to
+the lives and well-being of indigenous peoples, and that starts
+here in this Subcommittee, where we will spend the coming
+months seeking solutions to address the issues these
+communities have identified.
+ As a Subcommittee, we will: examine the significance of
+tribal sovereignty and self-determination; strengthen tribal
+consultation and honor our Nation's trust responsibilities;
+ensure environmental justice for tribal communities; support
+tribal control of their own lands and resources; work closely
+with tribes to identify and protect sacred sites; uphold our
+obligations to improve the health, safety, and delivery of
+justice to tribal people; and, last, ensure that all indigenous
+peoples and tribal governments are treated fairly, as co-
+equals, with dignity and respect.
+ We have a lot of ground to cover, and I look forward to
+working with my friend and fellow Marine, Ranking Member Cook
+(Oorah!), and the rest of my colleagues, on addressing these
+and other pressing issues.
+ Today, we will focus specifically on the impacts that
+climate change is having on tribal communities. These
+communities are on the front lines of the climate change
+battle, and despite contributing almost nothing to climate
+change, they face some of the worst impacts. From floods and
+wildfire, to drought and rising sea levels, indigenous peoples
+face existential threats to their traditional way of life,
+including disruptions of subsistence hunting and fishing, as
+well as their commercial activities and tourism enterprises.
+ This is especially true for tribes along coastal areas, who
+are already seeing changes in their lands, including the
+Quinault Nation, whose people live on the front lines of
+extreme weather risks, from flooding to tsunamis.
+ These climate-related disasters are forcing indigenous
+communities to make some very heartbreaking choices: the Tohono
+O'odham Nation, who had to resort to FEMA for disaster support
+after hurricanes caused severe flooding; or the Newtok Village
+in Alaska, who had to choose between relocating their entire
+community or losing access to safe drinking water.
+ And these are not isolated incidents. Throughout Indian
+Country, the effects of climate change are evident, and they
+are increasing at an alarming rate.
+ I would like to also remind us that all the challenges
+facing tribal communities are a mere microcosm of the larger
+climate change picture and that the harms of inaction in Indian
+Country will affect us all.
+ Tribes are stewards of millions of acres of trust and
+federally recognized land that provide habitat for more than
+500 endangered species, contain over 13,000 miles of rivers and
+nearly 1 million lakes. They also have stunning national
+treasures, like Antelope Canyon in my home state of Arizona,
+that provide tourism opportunities for visitors from near and
+far, but are at risk of erosion and other harms as climate
+changes. That is why it is important that we work hand-in-hand
+to overcome the collective challenges that we will face.
+ Climate change is ignorant of reservation boundaries and
+treaty land maps, and yet indigenous peoples are often left to
+fend for themselves in addressing the issues that arise--and
+that is just not right. We are all in this together.
+ The cultures, spiritual practices, and economies of many
+indigenous peoples have already evolved to adapt to local
+environmental changes. This knowledge, accumulated over
+generations of historical and cultural connection with the
+surrounding environment, is integral to this Committee's work.
+ In my view, this makes us natural partners in developing a
+climate adaption strategy, both on tribal lands and for the
+surrounding regions. This Committee's partnership with tribes
+to address climate change and other issues affecting Indian
+Country starts today.
+ To our witnesses, thank you for traveling long distances to
+share your experiences and educate this Committee about the
+impact that climate change has on your community. I look
+forward to hearing your testimony. I hope that our Members not
+only identify with your story, but also learn from you and your
+expertise as we deal with ways to address climate change head-
+on.
+
+ [The prepared statement of Mr. Gallego follows:]
+ Prepared Statement of the Hon. Ruben Gallego, Chair, Subcommittee on
+ Indigenous Peoples of the United States
+ Good afternoon and welcome to the first hearing of the Subcommittee
+for Indigenous Peoples of the United States in the 116th Congress.
+ We adjusted the name of this Committee to emphasize our renewed and
+singular focus on the more than 2 million indigenous peoples that we
+are charged with representing. As the only committee with exclusive
+jurisdiction over these issues in the House of Representatives, we have
+a great responsibility.
+
+ As a body, this Congress can make countless improvements to the
+lives and well-being of indigenous peoples.
+ That starts here--in this Subcommittee--where we will spend the
+coming months seeking solutions to address the issues these communities
+have identified.
+
+ As a Subcommittee, we will:
+
+ Examine the significance of tribal sovereignty and self-
+ determination;
+
+ Strengthen tribal consultation and honor our Nation's
+ trust responsibilities;
+
+ Ensure environmental justice for tribal communities;
+
+ Support tribal control of their own lands and resources;
+
+ Work closely with tribes to identify and protect sacred
+ sites;
+
+ Uphold our obligations to improve the health, safety, and
+ delivery of justice to tribal people; and last
+
+ Ensure that all indigenous peoples and tribal governments
+ are treated fairly, as co-equals with dignity and respect.
+
+ We have a lot of ground to cover, and I look forward to working
+with my friend and fellow Marine, Ranking Member Cook (Oorah!), and the
+rest of my colleagues, on addressing these and other pressing issues.
+ Today, we'll focus specifically on the impacts that climate change
+is having on tribal communities. These communities are on the front
+lines of the climate change battle. And despite contributing almost
+nothing to climate change, they face some of the worst impacts. From
+floods and wildfire, to drought and rising sea levels, indigenous
+peoples face existential threats to their traditional way of life--
+including disruptions to subsistence hunting and fishing, as well as
+their commercial activities and tourism enterprises.
+ This is especially true for tribes along coastal areas, who are
+already seeing changes in their lands--including the Quinault Nation,
+whose people live on the front lines of extreme weather risks from
+flooding to tsunamis.
+
+ These climate-related disasters are forcing indigenous communities
+to make some very heartbreaking choices:
+
+ --like the Tohono O'odham Nation who had to resort to FEMA for
+ disaster support after hurricanes caused severe flooding
+
+ --or the Newtok Village in Alaska, who had to choose between
+ relocating their entire community or losing access to safe
+ drinking water.
+
+ And these are not isolated incidents. Throughout Indian Country the
+effects of climate change are evident. And they are increasing at an
+alarming rate.
+ I'd like to also remind us all that the challenges facing tribal
+communities are a mere microcosm of the larger climate change picture.
+And that the harms of inaction in Indian Country will affect us all.
+
+ Tribes are stewards of millions of acres of trust and federally
+recognized lands that provide habitat for more than 500 endangered
+species; contain over 13,000 miles of rivers and nearly 1 million
+lakes. They also house stunning natural treasures like Antelope Canyon
+in my home state of Arizona that provide tourism opportunities for
+visitors from near and far--but are at risk of erosion and other harms
+as the climate changes. That's why it is important that we work hand-
+in-hand to overcome the collective challenges that we will face.
+ Climate change is ignorant of reservation boundaries and treaty
+land maps. And yet, indigenous peoples are often left to fend for
+themselves in addressing the issues that arise--and that's just not
+right. We are all in this together.
+
+ The cultures, spiritual practices, and economies of many indigenous
+people have already evolved to adapt to local environmental changes.
+This knowledge--accumulated over generations of historical and cultural
+connection with the surrounding environment--is integral to this
+Committee's work.
+ In my view, this makes us natural partners in developing climate
+adaptation strategies--both on tribal lands, and for the surrounding
+regions.
+
+ This Committee's partnership with tribes to address climate change
+and other issues affecting Indian Country starts today.
+
+ To our witnesses, thank you for traveling long distances to share
+your experiences and educate this Committee about the impact that
+climate change has on your community.
+ I look forward to your hearing testimony, and I hope that our
+Members not only identify with your story, but also learn from you and
+your expertise as we develop ways to address climate change head-on.
+ I now would like to recognize the Ranking Member, my esteemed
+colleague, Mr. Cook, for his opening statement.
+
+ ______
+
+
+ Mr. Gallego. I would now like to recognize the Ranking
+Member, my esteemed colleague, Mr. Cook, for his opening
+statement.
+
+ STATEMENT OF THE HON. PAUL COOK, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
+ FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
+
+ Mr. Cook. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
+ As the new Subcommittee Republican leader, I look forward
+to what I hope will be a positive 116th Congress as we work to
+address the issues facing Native American tribes and Alaska
+Natives.
+ I also want to thank the witnesses for being here today for
+this hearing.
+ Access to natural resources can be a lifeline to prosperity
+and opportunity for Native communities. That is why this
+Committee has focused in previous Congresses on providing
+greater local control and autonomy to tribes to develop and
+utilize resources on Native American land.
+ It is my hope that this Committee will continue along this
+path and avoid the temptation to erect barriers to responsible
+tribal resource management and use. Eliminating or sharply
+curtailing the ability of tribes to carry out resource
+extraction and development on tribal lands would be the wrong
+approach.
+ These sorts of proposals would devastate tribal communities
+that have built their economies around oil, gas, and, in some
+cases, coal resources. For example, one tribe relies on coal
+mining for 88 percent of its budget and would be left destitute
+by the new restrictions on coal production and use.
+ Even tribes without significant energy resources would be
+hard-hit by proposals that would increase the cost of coal,
+oil, and gas. Native Americans in the Midwest and Northern
+Plains, who already pay a lot to heat their homes, would be
+required to pay even more. Reducing the supply of reliable
+forms of energy would leave entire regions of the country
+facing energy poverty. For Native American communities who
+already face significant economic challenges, this result could
+be disastrous.
+ Census figures showed the 2017 per capita income for Native
+Americans to be $19,824, compared to $32,397 for the average
+American. And the Native American poverty rate is 25.4 percent,
+versus 13.4 percent for the rest of the country.
+ This Committee would do well to focus on innovative
+solutions to address pollution, promote jobs, and opportunity
+for Native Americans and Alaska Natives, and lower, not raise,
+the cost of energy in tribal communities.
+ Today's question--How can we reduce pollution and promote a
+healthier environment while protecting checkbooks and job
+opportunities?
+ In past opportunities, this Committee has explored and
+passed legislation providing tribes with tools to achieve
+responsible natural resource management and conservation
+objectives relating to climate change.
+ One of the best tools is scientifically sound active forest
+management undertaken by tribes with substantial forestlands.
+Tribes have proven to be excellent forest managers, creating
+healthy forests and removing dangerous fuel that contributes to
+deadly wildfires and the emission of enormous amounts of carbon
+dioxide and pollutants.
+ This Committee should explore why the Federal Government
+has not implemented measures enacted by Congress to promote
+tribal stewardship contracting in mismanaged or non-managed
+Federal lands.
+ When it comes to climate and energy, policies that impose a
+one-size-fits-all approach would not help tribal economies,
+especially when certain forms of energy are unreliable or come
+at great cost to tribal members.
+ Again, I look forward to discussing how we can find
+solutions and work together to improve the lives of Native
+Americans and Alaska Natives.
+ Thank you. I yield back.
+
+ [The prepared statement of Mr. Cook follows:]
+Prepared Statement of the Hon. Paul Cook, Ranking Member, Subcommittee
+ on Indigenous Peoples of the United States
+ Thank you, Chairman Gallego. As the new Subcommittee Republican
+Leader, I look forward to what I hope will be a positive 116th Congress
+as we work to address the issues facing Native American tribes and
+Alaska Natives.
+ I also want to thank the witnesses for being here today for this
+hearing.
+ Access to natural resources can be a lifeline to prosperity and
+opportunity for Native communities. That's why this Committee has
+focused in previous Congresses on providing greater local control and
+autonomy to tribes to develop and utilize resources on Native American
+land.
+ It is my hope that this Committee will continue along this path and
+avoid the temptation to erect barriers to responsible tribal resource
+management and use. Eliminating or sharply curtailing the ability of
+tribes to carry out resource extraction and development on tribal lands
+would be the wrong approach.
+ These sorts of proposals would devastate tribal communities that
+have built their economies around the oil, gas, and coal resources. For
+example, one tribe relies on coal mining for 88 percent of its budget
+and would be left destitute by new restrictions on coal production and
+use.
+ Even tribes without significant energy resources would be hit hard
+by proposals that would increase the cost of coal, oil, and gas. Native
+Americans in the Midwest and Northern Plains who already pay a lot to
+heat their homes would be required to pay even more. Reducing the
+supply of reliable forms of energy would leave entire regions of the
+country facing energy poverty. For Native American communities who
+already face significant economic challenges, this result would be
+disastrous.
+ Census figures show the 2017 per capita income for Native Americans
+to be $19,824 compared to $32,397 for the average American. And the
+Native American poverty rate is 25.4 percent versus 13.4 percent for
+the rest of the country.
+ This Committee would do well to focus on innovative solutions to
+address pollution, promote jobs and opportunity for Native Americans
+and Alaska Natives, and lower--not raise--the costs of energy in tribal
+communities.
+
+ Today's question: How can we reduce pollution and promote a
+healthier environment, while protecting checkbooks and job
+opportunities?
+ In past years, this Committee has explored and passed legislation
+providing tribes with tools to achieve responsible natural resource
+management and conservation objectives relating to climate change.
+ One of the best tools is scientifically sound active forest
+management undertaken by tribes with substantial forestlands. Tribes
+have proven to be excellent forest managers, creating healthy forests
+and removing dangerous fuel that contributes to deadly wildfires and
+the emission of enormous amounts of carbon dioxide and pollutants.
+ This Committee should explore why the Federal Government has not
+implemented measures enacted by Congress to promote tribal stewardship
+contracting in mismanaged--or non-managed--Federal lands.
+ When it comes to climate and energy, policies that impose a one-
+size-fits-all approach will not help tribal economies, especially where
+certain forms of energy are unreliable or come at great cost to tribal
+members.
+ Again, I look forward to discussing how we can find solutions and
+work together to improve the lives of Native Americans and Alaska
+Natives.
+
+ ______
+
+
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you, Ranking Member.
+ And I would also like to recognize our Committee Chairman,
+Congressman Raul Grijalva, who has joined us today.
+ Mr. Grijalva. Thank you.
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you.
+ Now, please let me introduce our witnesses for today.
+ First, our original invited witness, the Honorable Fawn
+Sharp, President of the Quinault Indian Nation, was unable to
+attend due to the weather in Washington State.
+ But we are fortunate that the Vice President of the Nation,
+Tyson Johnston, was already here in DC, so he will graciously
+testify in her stead.
+ I will also now recognize Member Don Young for the next
+introduction.
+ Mr. Young. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was listening to your
+opening statement, and I was going to put my name on top of it.
+I think you copied my exact words the last time I chaired this
+Committee.
+ But I would like to introduce a witness, one of my
+constituents, Jennine Jordan. She is the Government Relations
+Liaison for Calista Corporation. She is an Inuit, and her
+family is from Unalakleet. I am quite proud of her efforts to
+try to bring forth messages from my Native community in the
+state of Alaska.
+ I yield back.
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you.
+ Next, we will be introducing Dr. Shirley Buzzard, President
+of the Building Resilient Communities for Climate Extremes
+(BRACE) Institute.
+ And, finally, our last witness is the Honorable Verlon
+Jose, Vice Chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation in Arizona.
+ Let me remind the witnesses that under our Committee Rules,
+they must limit their oral statements to 5 minutes, but their
+entire written statement will appear in the hearing record.
+ When you begin, the lights on the witness table will turn
+green. After 4 minutes, the yellow light will come on. Your
+time will have expired when the red light comes on, and I will
+ask you to please wrap up your statement.
+ I will also allow the entire panel to testify before we
+question the witnesses.
+ The Chair now recognizes Vice President Tyson Johnston to
+begin his testimony.
+ Thank you.
+
+ STATEMENT OF TYSON JOHNSTON, VICE PRESIDENT, QUINAULT INDIAN
+ NATION, TAHOLAH, WASHINGTON
+
+ Mr. Johnston. Thank you very much for the introduction and
+the opportunity to be here with you all today. I know President
+Sharp deeply regrets not being here, since she is very
+passionate about this issue.
+ My name is Tyson Johnston. I am the Vice President of the
+Quinault Indian Nation. I come to you today from Washington
+State, where my tribe is located in southwest Washington. We
+are a treaty tribe, a signatory to the Treaty of Olympia of
+1856. We are also a founding self-governance tribe and believe
+in the tenets of self-governance and self-determination.
+ We currently manage 210,000 acres of forest and reservation
+land. We are also an ocean-navigating people and co-manage
+natural resources in the ocean and several of our river
+systems. Our villages primarily support themselves from fishing
+income and natural-resources-related work.
+ We also have taken a multi-layered approach to climate
+change, because this issue has impacted our community very hard
+and first in many different ways. We have been talking locally
+with our state partners and now here at the Federal level.
+ We are a place-based people. We are deeply committed to our
+land. It is incomprehensible to think about having to relocate
+from our sacred lands that make up our identity, but because of
+climate change and the issues that face us, we have had to
+consider options.
+ We have currently worked with the Federal Government to
+develop a master plan to relocate our village and essential
+infrastructure. This was funded in 2013 and fully adopted by
+the tribe in 2017, which has given us a blueprint to finally
+address the tsunami inundation zone that is up on the screen.
+ [Slide.]
+ We face several challenges moving to higher ground. A lot
+of this is related to funding, obviously. We have estimated,
+with our master plan, that in order to fully implement village
+relocation and the relocation of our infrastructure, it would
+cost anywhere between $150 million to $200 million.
+ Also, I mentioned earlier how we are a fishing community.
+We have had to declare several fisheries disasters. The best
+science and analysis that we have been able to look at have
+been influenced by the climate change factors of the ocean
+conditions as well as the effects of terrestrial climates.
+ Being so close to the ocean, the Quinault Nation is on the
+front lines of all the American people who are dealing with the
+negative effects of climate change. Ocean sea level rise has
+really increased. We have been dealing with coastal erosion on
+our coasts and have seen that really speed up these last
+several years.
+ But, most importantly, I think the message I want to leave
+you with is that this is going to be affecting more people
+along the coast, and this is really our time to come together
+and think about what are the best options to protect the
+American people and set up our future generations for success.
+ We have taken many efforts, painstaking efforts, to
+mitigate this at our local level as the tribe, but we don't
+have the resources to fully implement that action without the
+support of our trustee and our Federal partners. We owe it to
+our future generations to be bold, actionable, and decisive
+when it comes to addressing this issue.
+ Again, I am looking forward to the questions from the
+Committee and offering expertise and support on behalf of the
+tribe to address this issue not only today but for future
+generations.
+
+ [The prepared statement of Mr. Johnston follows:]
+ Prepared Statement of Tyson Johnston, Vice President, Quinault Indian
+ Nation
+ Good afternoon Chairman Gallego, Ranking Member Cook and members of
+the Subcommittee. I am Tyson Johnston, Vice-President of the Quinault
+Indian Nation (``QIN''). I want to thank the Subcommittee for holding
+this hearing on the impacts and challenges tribal communities face due
+to climate change. It is critically important for the Federal
+Government, as trustee to Quinault and other Tribal Nations, to examine
+this issue and work with tribal governments to address the challenges
+we face.
+ climate change today on the quinault indian reservation
+ The Quinault Reservation (``Reservation'') is located on the
+southwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State and
+abuts the Pacific Ocean. Since time immemorial, QIN has relied on the
+waters of the Quinault River and Pacific Ocean for sustenance and
+survival. The village of Taholah is the primary population, social,
+economic and government center of the QIN. It is facing imminent
+threats from potential tsunamis and potential damage from the sea level
+rising.
+ QIN, as a signatory to the Treaty of Olympia (1856), has the
+reserved right of ``taking fish, at all usual and accustomed fishing
+grounds and stations.'' This federally-protected treaty right
+guarantees every enrolled Quinault tribal member--now and into the
+future--the right to harvest any and all species of fish and shellfish,
+anywhere within the QIN's usual and accustomed area in perpetuity,
+subject only to restrictions intended to conserve the fisheries.
+ However, since 2015, many QIN members have experienced fish harvest
+levels that are significantly lower than they have been in previous
+years. Because of this decline, the Nation requested through the
+Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
+Administration a commercial fishery resource disaster be declared. The
+declaration was approved and QIN was awarded funding, however the
+harvest levels continue to decline because of water temperature change
+and deterioration of habit brought on by climate change. This decline
+has been nothing short of devastating for QIN as our tribal members
+depend on fishing for commercial, subsistence, and recreational
+purposes, as well as ceremonial and cultural ones.
+ Our Nation has had Models prepared by the Washington Department of
+Natural Resources show a potential of tsunami inundation of 40-50 feet
+in depth in most of the Lower Village of Taholah, well above the
+elevation of the tallest building in the village. A tsunami event at
+the Village of Taholah would be catastrophic for our tribe, the loss of
+life and destruction of our infrastructure would compromise QIN
+government operations.
+ Historically, large earthquake/tsunami events along the Cascadia
+Subduction Zone have occurred every 300 to 500 years. The last such
+event happened in February, 1700, so the 300-year threshold has already
+been breached. Approximately 650 residents live within the tsunami zone
+in the Taholah Village. Important Quinault social and cultural
+institutions are located in the tsunami inundation zone and flood prone
+area (including the Senior Center, Head Start Day Care, the K-12
+Taholah School, Community Center, fire cache, police station, jail and
+courts, Veterans Park, Taholah Mercantile, Fitness Center, Temporary
+Assistance for Needy Families, Housing Authority, Canoe Carving Shed,
+Enterprise Board, and the Museum, the repository of Quinault culture).
+On a typical weekday, at least 60 employees of the Quinault Indian
+Nation also work in the lower Taholah Village.
+ A comprehensive 2012 report was contracted by QIN to understand the
+effects of climate change on sea levels. The report, entitled
+``Relative Sea Level Change Along Quinault Indian Reservation Marine
+Coastlines,'' found that the combined effects of thermal expansion of
+ocean waters, vertical land deformation (e.g., tectonic movements),
+melting glaciers and ice fields and seasonal water surface elevation
+changes due to local atmospheric circulation effects will result in sea
+level increases that will substantially increase flood risks in the
+Lower Village of Taholah. The report noted that the changes posed by
+climate change, including increased winter precipitation, soil
+saturation and flow into the Quinault River, will compound and increase
+the coastal flood risks to the lower Village of Taholah.
+ Already, high tides, high winds and storm surge conditions have led
+to waves breaking over the seawall that protects the Lower Taholah
+Village from coastal surges. The seawall was breached in 2014,
+prompting a state of emergency to be declared. While the Army Corps of
+Engineers replaced the seawall, it is not a permanent solution. During
+minor storm events, areas around First Avenue in Taholah flood
+regularly with seawater.
+ The QIN determined through multiple public processes, including a
+General Council resolution (a vote taken by the entire Tribe), that
+enabling the movement of residents, businesses, and institutions from
+the lower village of Taholah to a new Upper Village Relocation Area was
+the only solution because of these threats.
+ This prioritization prompted the Nation to apply for a grant in
+2013 from the Administration for Native Americans (U.S. Dept. of Health
+and Human Services) to prepare a plan to relocate the village to higher
+ground. The grant was received and resulted in the Taholah Village
+Relocation Master Plan (``Master Plan''). The Master Plan was adopted
+by the Quinault Indian Nation Business Committee (a governing body of
+the Nation) on June 26, 2017. The NEPA Environmental Review was
+completed through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and HUD.
+ the plan to relocate the taholah lower village
+ The Master Plan document presents land uses, conceptual
+neighborhood layouts, design principles, suggestions for energy
+efficiency measures, preliminary development cost estimates, resilience
+measures and required zoning changes. Although the Quinault Nation
+isn't subject to state zoning requirements of the Growth Management Act
+of Washington State county (GMA), this Master Plan meets numerous goals
+and requirements of the GMA. This includes: community participation;
+concentrated development near transit lines and existing adequate
+infrastructure; encouragement of pedestrian travel; a range of housing
+choices; convenient access to services; and, water quality. The Master
+Plan was in part based on feedback received at community meetings and
+surveys. A Space Needs Assessment was compiled with input from every
+department at the Nation regarding future space needs.
+ The project area governed by the Master Plan is located directly to
+the east of the existing Administration Building on land ranging in
+elevation from 125 feet to 165 feet, well above the tsunami danger
+zone. The Roger Saux Health Center is the only existing building at
+this time within the Relocation Area. The Relocation Area is
+approximately 180 acres and is accessed by two roads from the west. The
+Relocation area is adjacent to development on higher ground that is
+served by adequate infrastructure. The Master Plan provides a blueprint
+for the future village, including housing, community facilities, energy
+facilities, a K-12 school, and park areas.
+ A primary goal of the Plan is to create a rural community comprised
+of residential neighborhoods around a central corridor of community
+facilities. The heart of the community will be the school, the Health
+Center, the Generations Building, a new Community Center, the Museum
+and the Mercantile. The Generations Building (Wenasgwella?aW in the
+Quinault language) will be the first building to be constructed and
+will house the Head Start, Day Care and Senior programs; these programs
+serve the most vulnerable populations and were identified by the
+community as the priority programs to relocate prior to the Plan
+starting. The new Community Center would also serve as an evacuation
+center. As part of the Plan, a schematic design was done for the
+building with oversized restrooms and showers and storage for tents and
+cots. The Mercantile is the only store in the village and serves as a
+social hub for the village. The village has been laid out so that these
+community facilities are within a 5 to 10 minute walk of each
+neighborhood. To this end, new paths have been plotted and the existing
+Wellness Program walking routes connected to the new path network. The
+paths will enable connection back to the river and the ocean that the
+residents are leaving, as well as allowing easy access to the community
+services at the heart of the new village.
+ QIN expects substantial demand for housing in the Upper Village.
+The Census (2000) data indicates that during that period Washington
+State had an 8.7 percent vacant housing rate, while the QIR had a 1.8
+percent vacant housing rate. Taholah's average household size is 3.68.
+The Quinault Housing Authority maintains a housing waiting list of
+families and maintains that if more housing were developed on the QIR,
+there would be increases both in off-Reservation tribal members who
+would apply for a new home, and on-Reservation tribal members that now
+share a home that houses two or more families, would apply for
+additional housing. There are over 125 families on the waiting list.
+Thus, the Master Plan was designed to accommodate those needing to move
+to higher ground and those seeking to move back to the Reservation.
+ Taholah is a rural community with limited public transportation
+options; high density residential housing would not be appropriate
+here, as it may be in larger towns. The Master Plan sought to create a
+walkable community, while retaining a rural feel and creating
+opportunities for a mix of housing types and sizes to serve the varying
+demand of residents. Each neighborhood is required to include a mix of
+unit type and lot size, so all segments of the population can be served
+throughout the Relocation process, with denser unit types and lot sizes
+closer to the center of the community (and likely bus stops) and
+density lessening toward the edges. This should allow for mixed-income
+neighborhoods. An effort has been made to include Quinault art in the
+new village and to engage Quinault artists in the integration of art
+and culture into the built environment. Low impact development for
+stormwater has been utilized to protect the salmon runs in the Quinault
+River. Resilience to disaster and sustainability have been included in
+the Plan to best determine how the concepts could be integrated
+physically into the new village.
+ A conscious effort was made to tailor the Master Plan to the
+community context. The context is somewhat different than other
+municipalities around Washington. The land for the village is owned by
+the Quinault Nation--private developers will not speculatively develop
+this project; some development will be undertaken by the Housing
+Authority, but most of the housing will likely be developed by
+individual landowners. These landowners will not mass produce homes
+where strict design guidelines can be applied. In many cases families
+will be installing modular homes or simple homes where design
+guidelines might be onerous. Thus, the Master Plan does not impose such
+guidelines on residents; it merely suggests energy efficiency measures
+homeowners should consider when constructing a home. Many homeowners
+require larger lots for storage of nets and boats, as they fish for a
+livelihood. Thus, the plan supports traditional rural lifestyles.
+ The Master Plan is also designed to concentrate development in
+Taholah as opposed to on scattered sites around the Reservation,
+creating a limited area of intensive rural development. The Plan
+creates neighborhoods of higher density than those developed on the
+Reservation during the past 50 years with a mix of housing, from large
+lot housing to tiny homes for those transitioning back into the
+community. This compact development will encourage pedestrian travel
+and convenient access to services in the new village.
+ moving forward with the master plan
+ With completion and adoption of the Master Plan, the Nation has a
+blueprint for redevelopment of the village, safe from flooding and
+tsunamis that incorporates the vision of the community members,
+sustainable practices, culture, amenities and upgraded community
+facilities. Design has begun on the first building in the new village,
+the Wenasgwella?aW (Generations Building).
+ Wenasgwella?aW will house the Senior Program and children's
+programs (Head Start, Early Head Start and Day Care). The Nation is
+also in the process of designing the first residential neighborhood of
+the Master Plan so that there is a place for residents of the Lower
+Village to relocate as soon as possible. However, the Master Plan has
+an estimated price tag of $150 to $200 million and the Quinault Nation
+will not be able to fully fund the plan. We will need assistance from
+our trustee, the Federal Government, to continue the Master Plan and to
+ensure that our citizens and government operations continue.
+ conclusion
+ Again, thank you for allowing me to testify to the Subcommittee
+today on this critical issue to the Quinault Indian Nation. QIN is
+taking the necessary steps to protect our citizens from the effects of
+climate change, but we will need the Federal Government's assistance in
+doing this. I'm happy to answer any questions in person at this
+hearing.
+
+ ______
+
+
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
+ The Chair now recognizes Jennine Jordan.
+
+ STATEMENT OF JENNINE JORDAN, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS LIAISON,
+ CALISTA CORPORATION, ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
+
+ Ms. Jordan. Hello, Chairman Gallego, Ranking Member Cook,
+and distinguished members of the Subcommittee for Indigenous
+Peoples of the United States.
+ My name is Jennine Jordan. I currently serve as the
+Government Relations Liaison for Calista Corporation, a
+regional Alaska Native corporation. Thank you for inviting me
+to provide a village perspective in this hearing and to discuss
+how climate change has affected Newtok, 1 of the 56 villages
+within the Calista region.
+ In addition to giving my statement today, I will be
+submitting additional written testimony for the record.
+ I am Inupiaq, and my family is from the Native village of
+Unalakleet, a remote community of about 700 people in the
+Bering Straits region. I am a shareholder of Unalakleet Native
+Corporation, my village corporation; Bering Straits Native
+Corporation; and CIRI Corporation, my regional corporations,
+each of which were created and mandated by Congress through
+passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971,
+which settled our Alaska Native land claims. I am also tribally
+enrolled with the Native village of Unalakleet.
+ I am here to tell you that climate change is affecting
+Alaska's rural communities. Erosion is the principal threat to
+the habitability of many Alaska Native villages. This is
+according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
+ The Arctic Sea ice extent that protects coastal communities
+is melting, and, as a result, waves and storm surges are
+accelerating erosion. This is a report found by the Government
+Accountability Office.
+ As a result of coastal erosion, my family's village,
+Unalakleet, is considered one of the vulnerable communities of
+Alaska. Unalakleet has been adapting to climate change by
+building seawalls and raising roads. In 2010, the U.S. Army
+Corps of Engineers spent more than $28 million on
+infrastructure for Unalakleet, armoring the beach with rocks
+and a gabion wall.
+ Despite these efforts, my family, my cousins, and the
+neighbors in my community see the shoreline armoring being
+chipped away daily. And some folks have moved their homes from
+town to the hillside, which exemplifies a gradual relocation of
+Unalakleet to the higher hills in response to climate change.
+ Throughout the state, local companies and Alaska Native
+corporations have pitched in to help communities battling
+erosion costs by climate change. Calista Corporation, for
+example, through its subsidiary, Brice, Inc., has repaired
+gabion walls and breakwater for decades for villages affected
+by climate change. We are currently doing work in St. George
+and at the Kivalina Airport in Alaska on this issue. We do this
+because we enjoy working within Alaska to rebuild communities
+in partnership with the state and Federal Government.
+ Newtok, a coastal village of 350 people on the Bering Sea,
+is one of the first communities in Alaska to migrate to a new
+site 9 miles away, Mertarvik. Newtok is currently threatened by
+advancing erosion caused by the Ninglick River adjacent to the
+village. This progressive erosion plus permafrost degradation
+and seasonal storm flooding threaten the very existence of
+Newtok.
+ Years of erosion studies show that Newtok must relocate
+because there is no permanent and cost-effective alternative
+for remaining at the current village site. According to the
+Army Corps of Engineers' estimates, it could cost up to $130
+million to move the whole village.
+ Even though Mertarvik and Newtok are only 9 miles apart,
+relocation costs are high due to the fact that there are no
+roads connecting the two rural Alaskan communities together.
+ In 2007, the state of Alaska created the Subcabinet on
+Climate Change, identifying communities in the most critical
+need of support. The Subcabinet's Immediate Action Work Group
+identified Kivalina, Koyukuk, Newtok, Shaktoolik, Shishmaref,
+and Unalakleet as six communities in peril.
+ In addition, the U.S. Government Accountability Office
+identified 31 Alaskan communities that are threatened by
+climate change. Of those, 4 were considered to be dire: Newtok,
+Kivalina, Shishmaref, and Shaktoolik.
+ In 2008, I conducted a housing analysis for Newtok while I
+was an intern at the Denali Commission. The housing analysis
+was a product of the Newtok Planning Group, which was formed
+with state and Federal agencies and NGOs to coordinate
+relocation for Newtok.
+ These are all generally outlined in the strategic
+management plan, which is listed on the Alaska Department of
+Commerce, Community, and Economic Development's website. Many
+more specific plans are located there with information.
+ Numerous Federal and state hearings and reports have also
+been conducted on the relocation of Newtok.
+ Stanley Tom, the formal Tribal Administrator of the Newtok
+Traditional Council, testified on October 11, 2007, at the
+Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery outlining the steps Newtok
+has taken to move.
+ But their greatest need is for housing at the relocation
+site of Mertarvik. There is such a critical housing shortage in
+Newtok today that multiple families are living in a single-
+family home. The Cold Climate Research Center, a non-profit
+organization that specializes in building in Arctic climates,
+estimates the community needs a total of 105 houses in
+Mertarvik--39 more than the 66 houses standing in Newtok today.
+ Newtok Village Council and the Lower Kuskokwim School
+District received $1 million in funding from the Alaska Housing
+Finance Corporation to advance construction in Mertarvik by
+2020.
+ The project will construct two state-of-the-art, high-
+energy-performance duplexes with solar photovoltaic panels. The
+duplexes will be the first housing constructed specifically to
+serve professional populations, including teachers, village
+public safety officers, and public health aides, in Mertarvik.
+These grants address our greatest need, which is housing.
+ Alaska's rural communities lack critical access to clean
+water for drinking, sanitation, and hygiene. The people of
+Newtok have been living without water or sewer systems for
+generations, so, to address this need, the United Methodist
+Committee on Relief awarded $943,000 to Newtok to install 21
+in-home portable alternative sanitation system (PASS) units in
+Mertarvik, Newtok's relocation site. PASS units are innovative,
+low-cost alternatives to piped infrastructure that provide
+basic sanitation for handwashing, clean drinking water, and
+safe human waste disposal.
+ In conclusion, Alaskan permafrost, land that typically
+stayed hard and frozen year-round, has been melting due to
+temperature increases. Larger sea storms sweep the elevated
+ocean levels over the land and cause erosion. This leaves
+residents vulnerable to the sea.
+ Infrastructure threats will pose an ongoing concern for
+rural coastal communities, particularly given the high cost of
+construction in rural Alaska. Alaska is indeed on the front
+lines of climate change, and it is affecting all of our coastal
+communities.
+ There is a need of Federal funds and bipartisan advocates
+to address climate change due to the Federal trust
+responsibility that the government has with its indigenous
+peoples. The funds already made available are just a drop in
+the bucket compared to the dozens of communities in Alaska that
+will eventually have to relocate due to climate change.
+ Thank you very much for providing me this opportunity to
+testify on the impacts of climate change.
+ [Speaking native language.]
+
+ [The prepared statement of Ms. Jordan follows:]
+ Prepared Statement of Jennine Jordan, Government Relations Liaison,
+ Calista Corporation
+ Hello Chairman Gallego, Ranking Member Cook, and distinguished
+members of the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United
+States. My name is Jennine Jordan. I currently serve as the Government
+Relations Liaison for Calista Corporation, a regional Alaska Native
+Corporation. Thank you for inviting me to provide a village perspective
+in this hearing, and to discuss how climate change has affected Newtok,
+1 of the 56 villages within the Calista region. In addition to giving
+my statement today, I will be submitting additional written testimony
+for the record.
+ I am Inupiaq and my family is from the Native Village of
+Unalakleet, a remote community of about 700 people in the Bering
+Straits region. I am a shareholder of Unalakleet Native Corporation, my
+village Corporation, and Bering Straits Native Corporation and CIRI
+Corporation, my regional Corporations, each of which were created and
+mandated by Congress through passage of the Alaska Native Claims
+Settlement Act (ANCSA) in 1971, which settled Alaska Natives aboriginal
+land claims.
+ I am here to tell you that climate change is affecting Alaska's
+rural communities. Erosion is the principal threat to the habitability
+of many Alaska Native villages (USACE 2006, 2009). The Arctic sea ice
+extent that protects coastal communities is melting. As a result, waves
+and storm surges are accelerating erosion (GAO 2003, 2009). As a result
+of coastal erosion, my family's village, Unalakleet, is considered one
+of the vulnerable communities of Alaska. Unalakleet has been adapting
+to climate change by building seawalls and raising roads. In 2010, the
+U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spent more than $28 million on
+infrastructure for Unalakleet, armoring the beach with rocks and a
+gabion wall. Despite these efforts, my family, my cousins, and the
+neighbors in my community see the shoreline armoring being chipped away
+daily. Some folks have moved their homes from town to the hillside,
+which exemplifies a gradual relocation of Unalakleet to the higher
+hills in response to climate change.
+ Throughout the state, local companies and Alaska Native
+Corporations have pitched in to help communities battling erosion
+caused by climate change. Calista Corporation through its subsidiary,
+Brice, has repaired gabion walls and breakwater for decades for
+villages affected by climate change. We are working currently in St.
+George and at the Kivalina Airport. We do this because we enjoy working
+within Alaska to rebuild communities in partnership with the state and
+Federal Government.
+ Newtok, a coastal village of 350 people on the Bering Sea, is one
+of the first communities in Alaska to migrate to a new site 9 miles
+away, Mertarvik. Newtok is currently threatened by advancing erosion
+caused by the Ninglick River adjacent to the village. This progressive
+erosion, plus permafrost degradation and seasonal storm flooding
+threaten the very existence of Newtok. Years of erosion studies show
+that Newtok must relocate because there is no permanent and cost-
+effective alternative for remaining at the current village site.
+According to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates, it will cost $130
+million to move the whole village. Even though Mertarvik and Newtok are
+only 9 miles apart, relocation costs are high due to the fact that
+there are no roads connecting the two rural Alaskan communities
+together.
+ In 2007, the state of Alaska created the Subcabinet on Climate
+Change, identifying communities in the most critical need of support.
+The Subcabinet's Immediate Action Work Group identified: Kivalina,
+Koyukuk, Newtok, Shaktoolik, Shishmaref, and Unalakleet as ``six
+communities in peril.'' In addition, the U.S. Government Accountability
+Office identified 31 Alaska communities that are threatened by climate
+change. Of those, 4 were considered to be dire: Newtok, Kivalina,
+Shishmaref and Shaktoolik.
+ In 2008, I conducted a housing analysis for Newtok while as an
+intern at the Denali Commission. The housing analysis was a product of
+the Newtok Planning Group, which was formed in 2006 by representatives
+from state and Federal agencies and NGOs which agreed to coordinate
+relocation assistance for Newtok. The Newtok Planning Group has
+published various studies and plans are underway to move the village.
+These are generally outlined in the Strategic Management Plan--Newtok
+to Mertarvik (2012) listed on the AK Department of Commerce, Community,
+and Economic Development's website. More specific plans and much more
+information on relocating Newtok to Mertarvik is also available there.
+Numerous Federal and state hearings and reports have also been
+conducted on the relocation of Newtok. Stanley Tom, the former tribal
+administrator of the Newtok Traditional Council testified on October
+11, 2007 at the Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery, outlining the steps
+Newtok has taken to move to Mertarvik.
+ The community members' greatest need is for housing at the
+relocation site of Mertarvik, Alaska. There is such a critical housing
+shortage in Newtok today that multiple families are living in a single-
+family home. The Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC), a non-
+profit organization that specializes in building in arctic climates,
+estimated the community needs a total of 105 houses in Mertarvik--39
+more than the 66 houses standing in Newtok today.
+ This past summer, four Mertarvik homes were constructed by the
+Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), the area's regional
+housing authority. In summer 2019, 13 more homes are expected to be
+built in Mertarvik, bringing the total on site to 21. Securing funding
+for housing is essential to the relocation process because it will
+expedite the relocation and provide improved quality of life. For
+example, occupied housing at Mertarvik will allow the community to
+become eligible for many traditional state and Federal funding
+programs.
+ Newtok Village Council and the Lower Kuskokwim School District
+received $1 million in funding from the Alaska Housing Finance
+Corporation to advance housing construction in Mertarvik in 2020. The
+project will construct two state-of-the-art high energy performance
+duplexes with solar photovoltaic panels. The duplexes will be the first
+housing constructed specifically to serve professional populations
+including teachers, village public safety officers, and public health
+aides in Mertarvik. These grants address the greatest challenge in
+Newtok's relocation to Mertarvik--new housing construction. As part of
+efforts to enable Newtok's relocation to the Mertarvik site, the Denali
+Commission is providing match funding for the award issued to Newtok
+Village Council.
+ Alaska's rural communities lack critical access to clean water for
+drinking, sanitation, and hygiene. The people of Newtok have been
+living without water or sewer systems for generations. To address this
+need, the United Methodist Committee on Relief awarded $943,000 to
+Newtok to install 21 in-home Portable Alternative Sanitation System
+(PASS) units in Mertarvik, Newtok's relocation site. PASS units are
+innovative, low-cost alternatives to piped infrastructure that provide
+basic sanitation needs including hand washing, clean drinking water,
+and safe human waste disposal.
+ conclusion
+ Alaskan permafrost, land that typically stayed hard and frozen
+year-round, has been melting partially due to temperature increases
+across the state. Larger sea storms sweep the elevated ocean levels
+over the land and cause erosion into the ocean. This leaves residents
+vulnerable to the sea. Infrastructure threats will pose an ongoing
+concern for rural coastal communities, particularly given the high
+costs of construction in rural Alaska. Alaska is on the front lines of
+climate change and it is affecting all of our coastal communities.
+There is a need of Federal funds and bipartisan advocates to address
+climate change due to the Federal trust responsibility that the
+government has with its indigenous peoples. The funds already made
+available are just a drop in the bucket compared to the dozens of
+communities in Alaska that will eventually have to relocate due to
+climate change.
+ Thank you very much for providing me this opportunity to testify on
+the impacts of climate change in rural Alaska.
+ works cited
+AK Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development's
+website: https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/dcra/
+PlanningLandManagement/NewtokPlanningGroup.aspx.
+
+GAO [Government Accountability Office]. 2003. Alaska Native villages:
+most are affected by flooding and erosion, but few qualify for federal
+assistance. Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, USA.
+[online] URL: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04142.pdf.
+
+GAO [Government Accountability Office]. 2009. Alaska Native villages:
+limited progress has been made on relocating villages threatened by
+flooding and erosion. Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC,
+USA. [online] URL: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09551.pdf.
+
+USACE [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]. 2006. Alaska village erosion
+technical assistance program: an examination of erosion issues in the
+communities of Bethel, Dillingham, Kaktovik, Kivalina, Newtok,
+Shishmaref, and Unalakleet. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Anchorage,
+Alaska, USA. [online] URL: http://www.housemajority.org/coms/cli/
+AVETA_Report.pdf.
+
+USACE [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]. 2009. Alaska baseline erosion
+assessment: study findings and technical report. U.S. Army Corps of
+Engineers, Anchorage, Alaska, USA. [online] URL: http://
+climatechange.alaska.gov/docs/iaw_USACE_ erosion_rpt.pdf.
+
+ *****
+
+The following documents were submitted as supplements to Ms. Jordan's
+testimony. These documents are part of the hearing record and are being
+retained in the Committee's official files:
+
+ --Newtok to Mertarvik Relocation, Newtok Village Council, December
+ 2017.
+
+ ______
+
+
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you, Ms. Jordan.
+ Now we will have Dr. Buzzard speak.
+
+ STATEMENT OF SHIRLEY BUZZARD, PRESIDENT, BUILDING RESILIENT
+COMMUNITIES FOR CLIMATE EXTREMES (BRACE) INSTITUTE, WASHINGTON,
+ DC
+
+ Dr. Buzzard. I would like to just echo my colleagues, and
+thank you so much for holding these hearings and calling
+attention to this really urgent problem.
+ The impact of climate change is enormous to the health and
+livelihood of many Native Americans but most urgently, as you
+can see, for those who are living on low-lying islands and
+coastal communities.
+ In May 2016, Congressman Grijalva sponsored a forum on
+``Confronting a Rising Tide: The Climate Refugee Crisis.''
+Among those invited to speak at that forum were representatives
+of the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Choctaw, a gentleman from
+the Arctic Council, and people from the Embassy of the Marshall
+Islands.
+ My company, Heartlands International, which is a Native
+American-owned small business, was honored to host our visitors
+to Washington and provide them with some food and housing. So,
+we spent a lot of time with them, and they told us that they
+desperately need an intermediary organization to help them
+understand the bureaucracy and the way Washington works.
+ These are people who live on disappearing islands. They are
+not equipped to deal with the intricacies of the Federal
+Government or large donors. Even taking a few days off work--
+since these are mostly maritime people, just taking a day or
+two off work was a major hit to their income.
+ So, they asked if we would form a non-profit organization
+that would serve as an intermediary between the groups that you
+have heard about and others to help them leverage funds, do
+reporting and accountability, and provide technical assistance
+for areas where they need it.
+ In response to their request, we created the Institute for
+Building Resilient Communities for Climate Extremes, or the
+BRACE Institute, which is a 501(c)(3). Our objective is to
+provide support and technical services for the relocation of
+whole communities while keeping their cultural integrity.
+ Initially, BRACE is partnering with the following
+communities, which are populations of between 200 and 1,000
+people that are going to relocate in the next 3 years:
+Primarily, we are working with the Choctaw in Isle de Jean
+Charles. We hope to be working with the Native Alaskan
+communities and also with the Quinault.
+ Community relocation is a multi-sectoral problem. All of
+the communities mentioned have maritime economies, and if they
+move very far inland, they are going to have to learn new ways
+of making a living, including fish farming, greenhouse
+gardening, or other skills. As the educational level of the
+older members of these communities is marginal, they depend
+heavily on young people to lead the way.
+ And the groups we have identified are only the beginning.
+As you have heard, all of the Alaskan coastal communities are
+going to have to move soon. Estimates are that there are
+already about 14 million climate refugees in the world. And
+these are people who have moved to new cities or countries as
+individuals or families because of job loss, famine, and other
+climate extremes. There is really very limited experience with
+relocating whole communities.
+ Responding to this urgent need, BRACE works with partners
+in the business and labor sectors to provide technical
+assistance and research. We partner with the Laborers
+International Union of North America on housing construction,
+and they also do job-training skills in the construction
+trades.
+ We have a partnership with Illinois State University in
+Normal, Illinois, to provide technical assistance in political,
+economic, social issues that come up and also in terms of the
+documentation of what is working and what is not.
+ BRACE is initially targeting these low-lying islands in the
+United States, but we are learning from the Marshall Islanders
+who have moved to Springdale, Arkansas, so we understand some
+of the health and other issues that climate refugees face. Many
+of the Pacific Islands will be disappearing before long.
+ We employ a classic community development approach within
+each community, which includes highly participatory methodology
+of helping people make decisions for themselves and building
+the capacity of communities to make their own decisions. We
+place emphasis on building leadership skills of young community
+members and women.
+ Our multi-disciplinary approach fosters a better
+understanding of the issues in both the origin and the
+destination communities, because with community relocation, you
+need to think not only about where they live now but where they
+are moving to and what effect that is going to have on the
+destination communities.
+ There are dozens of organizations working to mitigate
+climate change and postpone relocation by building seawalls or
+houses on stilts. All of these efforts are welcome, but they
+are short-term and often very costly. BRACE is the only
+organization that works with communities on total relocation
+and on the design of new green communities and with the
+assistance of learning new job skills.
+ The main issues we are encountering on start up, of course,
+are funds, not only for BRACE as an institution but to the
+construction of new communities. As you have heard----
+ Mr. Gallego. Dr. Buzzard, please, can we come to a summary?
+ Dr. Buzzard. Yes.
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you.
+ Dr. Buzzard. OK. Anyway, we are grateful to be here and
+happy to answer your questions.
+
+ [The prepared statement of Dr. Buzzard follows:]
+ Prepared Statement of Shirley Buzzard, Ph.D., President of the BRACE
+ Institute, Washington, DC
+ Many thanks to the Subcommittee on Indigenous People for calling
+attention to the effect of climate change on Native Americans. The
+impact of climate change is enormous to the health and livelihood of
+many Native Americans but most urgently for those who live on low-lying
+islands and coastal communities.
+ In May 2016, Rep. Grijalva sponsored a forum on Confronting the
+Rising Tide: The Climate Refugee Crisis. Among those invited to speak
+at that forum were representatives of the Isle de Jean Charles Band of
+Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, a representative from the Arctic Council and
+a representative from the Embassy of the Marshall Islands. My company,
+Heartlands International, a Native American Owned small business, was
+pleased to host some of the visitors to Washington, DC for that event.
+In our discussions during their visit, it became clear that the people
+who live on the disappearing islands are unequipped to deal with the
+Federal bureaucracy and fundraising for their relocation. Taking a few
+days off from their work to travel to Washington, DC was a huge
+sacrifice for them and their families. The functioning of the U.S.
+government and other potential donors is bewildering to them.
+
+ They asked Heartlands to form a non-profit with would serve as an
+intermediary for them in leveraging funds, reporting, and providing
+technical assistance to them. In response to their request, we created
+The Institute called The Building Resilient Communities for Climate
+Extremes (BRACE Institute) a 501(c)(3). Our objective is to provide
+support and technical services for the relocation of whole communities
+while keeping their cultural integrity. Initially BRACE is partnering
+with the following communities. These are all communities of between
+200 and 1,000 people that need to completely relocate in the next 3 to
+5 years:
+
+ The Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Citimacha-Choctaw
+
+ The Alaskan communities of Shishmaref, Kivalina, Newtok
+ and Quinhagak
+
+ The Quinault Indian Nation in Tahdah, Oregon
+
+ Community relocation is a multi-sectoral problem. All the
+communities mentioned have maritime economies and if they move very far
+inland, they will have to learn new ways of making a living including
+fish farming, greenhouse gardening and other skills. As the education
+level of the older members of these communities is marginal, they are
+depending heavily on young people to lead the way.
+ This is only the beginning. All coastal Alaskan communities will
+have to move soon. Estimates are that there are already 14 million
+climate refugees in the world. These are people who have moved to new
+cities or countries as individuals or families because of job loss,
+famine, and other climate extremes. There is limited experience with
+the relocation of whole communities. Responding to this urgent need,
+BRACE works with partners in the business and labor sectors for
+technical assistance and job training. We partner with Illinois State
+University in Normal (ISU) to provide technical assistance and
+research. We also work with the Laborer's International Union of North
+America (LiUNA) on housing construction and jobs skills training. BRACE
+is a multi-disciplinary and global support center for communities that
+need to relocate due to climate change
+ BRACE is initially targeting low-lying islands in the United
+States. We also are learning from the Marshall Islanders who have moved
+to Springdale, Alaska as to some of the health and other issues for
+climate refugees. Many of the Pacific Islands will also disappear
+before long.
+ BRACE Institute employs a classic community development approach
+within each community. This includes a highly participatory methodology
+of helping people make decisions for themselves and building the
+capacity of communities to make their own decisions. We place emphasis
+on building the leadership skills of young community members and women.
+A multidisciplinary approach fosters a better understanding of the
+issues in both the origin and destination communities. The complex
+problem calls for a multifaceted solution. BRACE monitors carefully and
+documents what works as thousands of communities worldwide will have to
+relocate in coming years.
+ There are dozens of organizations working to mitigate climate
+change and postpone relocation by building sea walls or houses on
+stilts. All of these efforts are welcome, but they are short-term and
+often very costly solutions. BRACE is the only organization that works
+with communities on total relocation and the design of new, green
+communities and assistance with learning new job skills.
+ The main issues we are encountering as we start up are, of course,
+funds for the organization and for the construction of new communities.
+The construction of totally new communities is very costly so where
+possible we promote re-location in or near existing communities. Also,
+BRACE wants to be cautious about raising expectations and assuring that
+the communities take the lead with BRACE as a supporting partner.
+Community members know what they need to do and, in many cases, how to
+do that. The Choctaw and Quinault already have excellent designs for
+new green communities and have located land they want to purchase. They
+urgently need a support organization that can provide funding,
+management skills, and technical assistance on construction, and job
+training.
+ We are very grateful to be included in these hearings. I am happy
+to answer your questions.
+
+ ______
+
+
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you, Doctor. Much appreciated.
+ Next is Mr. Verlon Jose from the Tohono O'odham Nation.
+
+STATEMENT OF VERLON JOSE, VICE CHAIRMAN, TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION,
+ SELLS, ARIZONA
+
+ Mr. Jose. [Speaking native language.] Good day to you,
+everyone. Good afternoon, Chairman Gallego, Ranking Member
+Cook, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee.
+ My name is Verlon Jose, and I am the Vice Chairman of the
+Tohono O'odham Nation, a federally recognized tribe with more
+than 34,000 members. The Tohono O'odham Reservation consists of
+more than 2.8 million acres in southern Arizona, one of the
+largest Indian reservations in the United States, and shares a
+62-mile border with Mexico.
+ Since time immemorial, we have learned to live in the
+desert and have adapted to high summer heat and scarce water.
+But as climate change has begun to disrupt our traditional and
+modern ways of living, we have had to figure out ways to cope
+with these changes.
+ The Nation has 41 monitoring stations on the reservation to
+measure precipitation and temperature. The Nation also took the
+proactive step of developing a climate change adaptation plan
+which examines the impacts of climate change on the Nation and
+its members and potential solutions.
+ We appreciate the Subcommittee providing this opportunity
+to address climate change, which is a significant issue for the
+Nation as well as other Native people.
+ As a result of climate change, it is getting hotter and
+hotter, and there is more drought across the Nation's lands
+than we have experienced in the past. Arizona is currently in a
+20-year drought. The average annual temperature is increasing,
+as shown in the 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment and
+monitoring done by the Nation.
+ The heat and the drought reduce forage for our livestock,
+food for wildlife, and the recharge of our groundwater
+aquifers. As a result of the dry soils, higher surface
+temperatures, and less vegetation, there is an increased threat
+of wildfires. And the wildfires are larger and start earlier in
+the season.
+ The heat, drought, and fires put people, animals, and food
+sources at risk, impose greater costs on the Nation to ensure
+the well-being and safety of our people.
+ The day-to-day impacts on our members' ability to gather
+and use traditional foods is staggering. Although we have not
+yet experienced the complete loss of traditional foods, the
+availability of these foods has been drastically impacted by
+the significant change in the average temperature that alters
+the seasonal life cycle of traditional plants. Our members go
+out to gather traditional foods and find that many are blooming
+out of season or not blooming at all as a result of climate
+change.
+ As rising heat and drought continues, the Nation will
+likely face increased challenges with respect to our ability to
+store food for our members. Currently, the Nation stores food
+to distribute to members in need. However, we do not have
+enough cooling capacity to store perishable foods, and we have
+only two food distribution trucks to cover 2.8 million acres.
+ In addition to high heat and drought, the Nation also is
+experiencing much more extreme weather than ever before, such
+as intense rain, severe thunderstorms, microbursts, and strong
+winds. Fifteen of our communities have been impacted by 50-year
+floods. There are four communities within the Nation where
+flooding is most severe. The Nation is very concerned that if
+we were to see a 100-year flood event, these communities would
+be completely devastated.
+ We are experiencing more changes in the rain, and, while
+the annual average precipitation is less, there are shorter,
+more intense rain events throughout the year. For example, last
+fall, Hurricane Rosa dumped an incredible amount of rain on the
+reservation in a very short time. Residents of three villages
+had to move to avoid the extreme flooding. One village got 8
+inches of rain in 6 hours, and a nearby dam almost overflowed.
+ Following that intense flooding of our reservation last
+year, in November 2018, President Trump issued a disaster
+declaration for the Nation to assist with recovery efforts. We
+received FEMA funds to assist with the repair of roads and
+bridges and for hazard mitigation measures to prevent further
+risk of life and property from flooding.
+ The Nation's climate adaptation plan includes the following
+core strategies: use traditional building knowledge and
+practices to make homes cooler; open available community
+buildings as cooling centers during heat emergencies; plan for
+flood mitigation; hire additional wildland firefighters; ensure
+groundwater is treated for more households; and educate
+community members about climate change.
+ The Nation will continue to take corrective steps to invest
+in climate change response, but the costs of addressing climate
+change are significant. Increased funding for Federal programs
+and grants focused on climate change is needed. Increased FEMA
+funding for flood mitigation and firefighter support is a must.
+ The Nation and other tribal communities cannot fight
+climate change impacts alone. Congress must live up to its
+trust obligations to help provide us with the resources to
+ensure that we can protect our members, our lands, and our
+natural resources.
+ The Nation sincerely appreciates the Subcommittee's
+interest in this critically important issue and the opportunity
+to share our concerns about the impacts climate change has had
+and will continue to have on the Tohono O'odham Nation.
+ Climate change threatens to drastically and negatively
+impact the O'odham way of life. We are working to save it. We
+ask Congress to work together with tribal nations to address
+climate change impacts to communities throughout Indian
+Country.
+ Thank you for this opportunity to testify. I welcome any
+questions you may have.
+ And, last, I think if we address $30 billion to climate
+change, we might make a difference.
+ Thank you.
+
+ [The prepared statement of Mr. Jose follows:]
+ Prepared Statement of the Honorable Verlon Jose, Vice-Chairman, The
+ Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona
+ introduction & background
+ Good afternoon, Chairman Gallego, Ranking Member Cook, and
+distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. My name is Verlon Jose and I
+am the Vice-Chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation, a federally
+recognized tribe with more than 34,000 members. The Tohono O'odham
+Reservation consists of more than 2.8 million acres in southern Arizona
+(one of the largest Indian reservations in the United States), and
+shares a 62-mile border with Mexico.
+ Since the beginning of O'odham history, we have learned to live in
+the desert, and have adapted to high summer heat and scarce water. But
+as climate change has begun to disrupt both our traditional and modern
+ways of living, we have had to figure out ways to cope with these
+changes. The Nation has 41 monitoring stations on the reservation to
+measure precipitation and temperature. The Nation also took the
+proactive step of developing a Climate Change Adaptation Plan, which
+examines the impacts of climate change on the Nation and its members,
+and potential short- and long-term solutions.
+ My testimony will summarize a number of those impacts and some
+potential solutions. We appreciate the Subcommittee providing this
+opportunity to address climate change, which is a significant issue for
+the Nation, as well as other Native people.
+ i. heat and drought
+ As a result of climate change, it is getting hotter, and there is
+more drought across the Nation's lands than we have experienced in the
+past. Arizona is currently in a 20-year drought, and drought conditions
+persist across the Southwest. Climate change has resulted in increased
+average annual temperatures on the Nation's reservation, as reported in
+the congressionally-mandated Fourth National Climate Assessment
+completed in November 2018, and confirmed by monitoring done by the
+Nation. The increased temperatures and drought reduce the forage
+available for livestock and the sources of food for wildlife. The heat
+and drought reduce the recharge of our groundwater aquifers, and there
+is less surface water available for livestock and wildlife.
+Additionally, climate change affects the availability of traditional
+foods that our members rely upon.
+ As a result of the dry soils, higher surface temperatures, and less
+vegetation, there also is an increased threat of wildfires--and the
+wildfires are larger and start earlier in the season. The heat, drought
+and fires put people, animals and food sources at risk--and impose
+greater costs on the Nation to ensure the well-being and safety of our
+people. For example, many of the Nation's members used to open the
+windows at night to keep their homes cool. But with the hot
+temperatures extending long into the night our members now need to keep
+air conditioning units on throughout the day and night in order to keep
+the temperature in their homes at safe levels. This results in
+increased electricity costs for individual members. The Nation also
+incurs additional costs as we work to ensure the safety of our members
+who may not be able to afford air conditioning units. Traditionally, to
+cope with intense daytime heat the O'odham people constructed wattos--
+open-air shade structures with dirt floors, which we would wet
+throughout the day. As part of our Climate Change Adaptation Plan, the
+Nation is currently exploring a return to some of our traditional
+building practices in order to reduce the cost of air conditioning
+during the hottest months.
+ In addition, the day-to-day impacts of increased heat and drought
+on our members' ability to gather and use traditional foods is
+staggering. The Nation has been increasingly creating and implementing
+programs to encourage O'odham people to return to a traditional diet in
+order to improve health. However, returning to a completely traditional
+diet is next to impossible because of the damage done to our
+traditional food sources as a result of climate change. Although we
+have not yet experienced the complete loss of traditional foods, the
+availability of these foods has been drastically impacted by
+significant changes in the average temperature that alters the
+phenology, or the seasonal life cycle, of traditional plants. Our
+members go out to gather traditional foods and find that many are
+blooming out of season or not blooming at all as a result of climate
+change.
+ Additionally, as rising heat and drought continue, the Nation will
+likely face increased challenges with respect to our ability to store
+food for members needing food assistance. Currently the Nation stores
+food to distribute to members in need. However, we do not have enough
+cooling capacity to store perishable foods and we have only two food
+distribution trucks to cover all 2.8 million acres. Rising heat and
+drought will only compound the challenges that we face in storing
+adequate food for distribution to our members.
+ ii. extreme weather and flooding
+ In addition to higher heat and drought, the Nation also is
+experiencing much more extreme weather than ever before, such as
+intense rain and severe thunderstorms, microbursts and strong winds
+(called jecos). Fifteen of our communities have been impacted by 50-
+year floods. In many cases, when these areas flood throughout the year,
+the flood waters come straight up to the doorways of our members'
+homes. There are four communities within the Nation where flooding is
+most severe, including Santa Rosa Valley, Menager's Dam, Chui Chu
+Village, and Vamori Village. The Nation remains very concerned that if
+we were to see a 100-year flood event these communities would be
+completely devastated.
+ We are currently experiencing much more variability in rain, and
+while the annual average precipitation is lower and the rainstorms are
+fewer, there are shorter, more intense rain events throughout the year.
+For example, last year Hurricane Rosa dumped an incredible amount of
+rain on the reservation in a very short time. Residents of three
+villages had to move to avoid the extreme flooding. In one location a
+berm broke as a result all of the rain, and about 3 feet of water swept
+through the village. Another community got 8 inches of rain in 6 hours.
+That community is located near a dam, which came very close to
+overflowing--luckily it did not, but if it had it would have destroyed
+the village.
+ The intense rain events and increased flooding also wash out roads
+and strand communities: residents, school buses, and emergency vehicles
+are cut off from the homes by the flood waters. These extreme weather
+events put people, homes and other infrastructure at risk. Following
+the intense flooding of our reservation last year, in November 2018
+President Trump issued a disaster declaration for the Nation to assist
+the Nation with recovery efforts. Funds from the Federal Emergency
+Management Agency (FEMA) were transferred to the Nation to assist with
+the repair of public facilities such as roads and bridges as well as
+hazard mitigation measures to prevent long-term risk to life and
+property due to the flooding.
+ iii. potential solutions
+ As I noted in my opening remarks, the Nation has created a Climate
+Change Adaptation Plan to begin to focus on how we can mitigate the
+impacts of climate change. The plan includes the following core
+adaptation strategies: (1) use traditional building knowledge and
+practices to make homes cooler; (2) open available community buildings
+as cooling centers during heat emergencies; (3) plan for flood
+mitigation; (4) hire additional wildland firefighters; (5) ensure
+groundwater is treated for more households; and (6) educate community
+members about climate change.
+ To respond to extreme storms and flooding, we need to continue to
+do floodplain mapping and create inundation maps for all dams and
+levees. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has analyzed several areas
+prone to flooding on the Nation and has offered potential solutions,
+including a reconnaissance report to reduce flooding in the Santa Rosa
+Valley and a feasibility study for potential flooding in and around
+Chui Chu village. The Nation is working on implementing these steps.
+The Nation is also identifying areas for drilling and aquifer testing
+to accurately quantify groundwater resources on our reservation.
+Additionally, the Nation is facilitating the development of an
+environmental trust fund to assist with covering the costs of
+mitigating climate change impacts.
+ With respect to addressing impacts from heat and drought, we have
+created a Nation-wide agricultural plan to attempt to ensure the
+survival of traditional foods and provide these foods to our members.
+Measures include seed-banking of traditional plants, expanding food-
+crop acreage, finding better ways to get water to crops, and enhancing
+the Nation's food-distribution infrastructure. The Nation has
+undertaken the long-term inventory and monitoring of wild food plants.
+We also have implemented a Nation-wide program to check on elderly and
+ill members of our communities during the increasing number of extreme
+heat events. Additionally, the Nation is developing a volunteer
+firefighter program to increase the number of firefighters available to
+fight fires caused by extreme drought and heat.
+ Although the Nation will continue to take proactive steps to invest
+in climate change response, the costs of addressing climate change are
+significant. Increased funding for Federal programs and grants focused
+on climate change solutions and response is needed, including, for
+example, increasing FEMA grant funding for flood mitigation, hazard
+mitigation, mitigation planning, fire prevention and firefighter
+staffing, support and training, and providing funding for BIA climate
+resilience programs to support tribal adaption planning and training.
+The Nation and other tribal communities cannot fight climate change
+impacts alone. Congress must live up to its trust obligations to assist
+in providing tribal governments with the resources to ensure that we
+can protect our members, our lands, our natural resources and our
+tribal economies from the impacts of climate change.
+ conclusion
+ The Nation sincerely appreciates the Subcommittee's interest in
+this critically important issue, and the opportunity to share our
+concerns about the impacts climate change has had and will continue to
+have on the Tohono O'odham Nation. Climate change threatens to
+drastically and negatively impact the O'odham way of life and we are
+working to save it. We ask that Congress work together with tribal
+nations to address climate change impacts to communities throughout
+Indian Country. Thank you for this opportunity to testify, and I
+welcome any questions you may have.
+
+ ______
+
+
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chairman.
+ The Chair will now recognize Members for questions. Under
+Committee Rule 3(d), each Member will be recognized for 5
+minutes.
+ I will start by recognizing our overall Committee Chair,
+Chairman Raul Grijalva, for the first questions.
+ Mr. Grijalva. Thank you very much to all the witnesses.
+ And, indeed, Mr. Chairman, thank you for the hearing, and
+the members of this Subcommittee. It is historic, having a
+discussion about something that is with us already in many
+parts of Indian Country and certainly looming as an issue that
+has to be dealt with. So, I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman and
+the Members, for having this hearing, and the Ranking Member.
+ Let me ask Vice President Johnston and Vice Chairman Jose a
+question that was alluded to in both your comments. The trust
+responsibility, the consultation, the responsibilities that the
+Federal Government has to tribes--and this is for both of you--
+how is that relationship with respect to this particular issue
+working? Or what does it need to work better?
+ If you don't mind, we will start with you, Mr. Vice
+President.
+ Mr. Johnston. Thank you for that question.
+ When my ancestors signed the Quinault River Treaty of 1855
+and later the Treaty of Olympia of 1856, they did that with the
+thought that our resources and our access to them would be in
+perpetuity forever to take care of their families, the coming
+generations. That was their wisdom when they sat in those
+councils to create those terms.
+ And now, because of the issues that we face because of
+climate change and the crisis that our communities are
+suffering, a lot of those treaty rights are at risk.
+ I think with a lot of Federal agencies that we work with
+there is inconsistency about that trust relationship. Some of
+them, I think, work or are touched by that issue more often.
+Working with the Bureau or even working with organizations such
+as NOAA, they are educated, to a degree, on what the trust
+relationship looks like.
+ I think what would help improve that is if there was
+consistency across the board, if all of the agencies somehow
+had that mandated as something that legally they need to
+understand what that relationship should comprise.
+ I think that the trust relationship could always be better.
+You know, it is a two-way street. It is something that is
+living and is forming even today in the discussions that we are
+having in this room.
+ But I think from where I am sitting, from the emergency
+perspective, dealing with this issue, it is the consistency and
+the lack of understanding one agency has over the other.
+ Mr. Grijalva. Thank you very much.
+ Mr. Jose?
+ Mr. Jose. Thank you for the question.
+ Trust responsibility. I have been looking for that
+definition for a long time. I think it is a matter of
+interpretation, as the Tohono O'odham Nation and, I believe,
+many other nations--we are not looking for handouts, we are
+looking about positive collaboration and working together.
+ As indicated in my testimony, we have taken some proactive
+measures to address climate change. What tribal nations need
+when it comes to trust responsibility is a true seat at the
+table. I have often asked that question when measures are taken
+here in Congress: Who have you consulted? And the response is
+usually, ``Oh, we have our experts who have studied this and so
+forth.''
+ One of the things that I always say is that, well, your
+experts have never consulted with our experts. Those are the
+ones that are living there that face these issues.
+ This is man-made, this is caused climate change. We really
+need to take a proactive measure at that and assist, as I
+indicated in my testimony, about addressing the issues, even to
+include wildland fires. We are more reactive than proactive.
+ So, trust responsibility needs to be improved, have the
+Nation have a seat at the table, have the boots on the ground,
+consult with the people in the area that is affected or of
+concern.
+ Thank you for the question.
+ Mr. Grijalva. Thank you.
+ Ms. Jordan, the cultural impacts of climate change on
+Alaska Native communities, part of the question.
+ The second part is, is climate change in Alaska a myth or
+is it part of reality there?
+ So, both those questions, if you don't mind.
+ Ms. Jordan. Thank you, Congressman Grijalva.
+ Traditionally, Alaska Native people were nomadic. We were
+nomadic tribal people. And due to government policies with
+boarding schools in particular in Alaska, we had to make our
+communities permanent so that we could send our children to
+school. Now we cannot just get up and move like we did in the
+past when we were nomadic.
+ Climate change is affecting our subsistence hunts. Many
+Alaska Natives rely on subsistence foods instead of processed
+foods, such as seal, fish, whales, et cetera. When the ice is
+melting, we see that there is a decline in some of these
+populations, which affects what we eat.
+ With respect to your second question, yes, we are
+definitely seeing climate change in Alaska. It does exist. We
+see it every day in our coastal communities.
+ My aunt's house in Unalakleet was flooded just a couple
+years ago because the sea level is rising. It is flooding
+houses and destroying houses. And my aunt's house isn't even on
+the shore of Unalakleet.
+ So, it is changes in the sea. We absolutely see it.
+ Mr. Grijalva. Thank you. And thank you for your indulgence,
+Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it and yield back.
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you, Chairman.
+ I would like now to yield to Member Don Young of Alaska for
+questions.
+ Mr. Young. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I only have two
+questions.
+ Jennine, what is the responsibility--and I think it was
+alluded to, the trust relief--but what is the responsibility of
+the Federal Government in helping the communities in Alaska, I
+think there are six now, that have to be relocated? What will
+be our responsibility?
+ Ms. Jordan. Well, we would say that it is a Federal trust
+responsibility with our Alaska Native communities.
+ These six communities that are considered dire are going to
+need funding. And, as Mr. Johnston mentioned, there is a lack
+of coordination between Federal agencies on funding and who is
+going to spearhead funding initiatives.
+ Housing is an issue in Alaska, to move our communities. And
+Alaska Native communities can't receive Federal funding with
+respect to the Stafford Act. It is based on singular events
+like earthquakes and hurricanes, not slow-moving disasters
+caused by climate change. This does not fit into the Stafford
+Act. Therefore, Alaska Native communities don't qualify for
+Federal disaster funds.
+ So, I would recommend a Federal agency right now that can
+address climate change refugees in Alaska. Mertarvik does not
+qualify for many state and Federal agency funds because of
+housing. And entities that provide housing grants and energy
+initiatives won't provide those until sanitation facilities are
+built. So, having a coordinated effort so that there is not the
+chicken before the egg.
+ We have the Denali Commission, which helped substantially
+in the past with infrastructure in Alaska. And that,
+unfortunately, has not been funded, although it did get funded,
+I believe, $15 million a few years ago, which was used for
+Newtok. But the Denali Commission really did spearhead the
+effort to put infrastructure and help our rural communities,
+and, unfortunately, there is no funding for it right now.
+ Mr. Grijalva. Good point.
+ Mr. Young. Thank you, Jennine. Mr. Chairman, I would say
+one thing. We ought to, if anything we do, consider a funding
+program to make sure that we do address this issue, because,
+very frankly, it is not the Alaska Natives' responsibility or
+their blame.
+ And I don't know how many have been up there. The erosion
+is bad. And we might do a little better if we took a lot of
+this money that we have for meetings and discussions and
+everything else and put it into really solving the problem and
+adapting to it. I mean, we might want to think about that too.
+ With that, I yield back to the gentleman. Thank you.
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you, Representative Young. Duly noted.
+ Now I would like to recognize Congresswoman Deb Haaland
+from the great state of New Mexico.
+ Ms. Haaland. Thank you, Chairman, for yielding and for
+convening this important hearing.
+ Thank you, Vice Chairman Jose, Vice President Johnston, Ms.
+Jordan, Dr. Buzzard, for taking the time to be here today to
+help Congress understand how climate change is affecting tribal
+communities.
+ As I said yesterday in my response to the State of Indian
+Nations address, I am committed to protecting our sacred lands,
+addressing climate change, and moving renewable energy forward
+so we can pass our natural treasures down to our children.
+ I believe it is essential that we focus on environmental
+justice as we make this transition to reduce our carbon
+footprint, because all too often, the communities that are most
+impacted by our changing climate are the communities that are
+least responsible for causing the problem and the least well-
+equipped to adapt to the changes.
+ I have a question for you, Vice Chairman Jose. The Tohono
+O'odham Nation is having an especially difficult time securing
+the Federal funding it needs to respond to the devastation of
+Hurricane Rosa. This systematic breakdown follows a pattern set
+by Hurricanes Katrina, Maria, and so many others in which
+under-represented groups bear the brunt of natural disasters.
+ Can you speak to the financial burden climate change has
+put on your community or tribal communities in general?
+ Mr. Jose. Thank you, Congresswoman Haaland.
+ I am not sure if we can actually put a financial amount on
+the burden that it has on our people when it comes to climate
+change. It is changing a way of life. It is changing our
+traditional practices. Our traditional foods are off course,
+and causes a lot of challenges to us due to our health, due to
+our medicinal purpose and so forth.
+ With Tropical Storm Rosa, the Nation spent over $4 million
+just addressing that. And even though there was a Presidential
+Declaration, we all know that that doesn't cover the entire
+amount that we spent that we could have used for health,
+education, housing, infrastructure, and so forth.
+ So, when it comes to funding, I can't even begin to put an
+amount. And how do you put a price on changing someone's way of
+life? It is an enormous cost and burden to not only the Tohono
+O'odham Nation but tribal communities and the country in
+general, the world in general.
+ So, I think we really need to be proactive and address
+those things proactively rather than reactively. And, as I
+said, if there is an intent to spent $30 billion on something,
+why don't we put it to something that is proactive in
+addressing the challenges of climate change?
+ Thank you.
+ Ms. Haaland. Thank you very much, Vice Chairman.
+ I yield back my time, Mr. Chairman.
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you.
+ I now recognize Ranking Member Cook.
+ Mr. Cook. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
+ I am sorry Congressman Young had to leave, because he has a
+lot of experience, obviously, with the tribes and the weather
+and everything else. He told me one time that he only will
+shave when it rains for 3 days in a row. Whether that is
+climate change or not, I don't know.
+ But I am concerned about this partly because I have a
+number of tribes in my area, in Southern California. And, of
+course, our big disasters that we are worried about are fires.
+You have heard the news. And everybody has problems--we don't
+have a flooding problem, because I am out in the desert, but
+flooding from the oceans, we do have flooding. Right now, we
+have had a lot of rain, this and that.
+ I am unlike, perhaps, some of my colleagues. I don't
+understand the whole thing. I am always looking for data on how
+it applies.
+ But I have to be honest with you. As a former mayor, I am
+going to be--I have a deficiency in my community that perhaps
+puts some of my citizens or tribal members in danger or affects
+their economy. I am going to be trying to get money or funds
+for that. That is the only way we are going to solve that
+problem.
+ And, of course, this is where you have flood-control
+projects. This is where you have the thinning of perhaps some
+of the forests so we don't have the fuel.
+ Part of the reason my statement had that thing in there, I
+am always going to go back. I am committed to changing what has
+happened in the past. The tribes have so much poverty and
+everything else, and now they are being hurt even more.
+ So, that being used as an incentive--I will call on, I
+don't know, any of you. But I will ask Ms. Jordan whether, if
+we created certain funds for whether it is called climate
+control or what have you, but certain economic factors where we
+could have a superfund, where we could at least--we know that a
+dam has to--or that is a bad word, but some kind of thing where
+you control certain rivers that don't wipe out settlements or
+villages or anything else. And I always was looking for a
+certain fund, because I hate to use the term a ``rainy-day
+scenario,'' but I think even more so than other peoples,
+because of past history, something like that that could be used
+for these emergencies, however they are caused.
+ Can you comment on such a radical solution, perhaps, Ms.
+Jordan?
+ Ms. Jordan. Thank you, Ranking Member. I appreciate the
+question. And I absolutely think that there should be a fund or
+an agency that can address and take on climate change directly.
+ Unfortunately, with the example of Newtok moving to
+Mertarvik, many of the funds--the estimates were $130 million
+with the Army Corps of Engineers. And I have done some math,
+and about $46 million has been spent just to start the project
+of moving over to Mertarvik. But that is just a drop in the
+bucket.
+ They try to get funds from the Denali Commission. You heard
+in my testimony that they were trying to get funds from a
+church for sanitation purposes. They tried to apply for funds
+through the Stafford Act. They were actually denied FEMA funds.
+ So, I absolutely agree.
+ Mr. Cook. And do you think the Federal Government has been
+slow in declaring this a national emergency or crosses that
+threshold so we could get money for these projects?
+ In other words, if I am hearing this right, you want to see
+if this Committee can use its power to expedite some of these
+occurrences, to get the money and funds, because somebody
+referred to the red tape and the bureaucracy. I am not trying
+to put words in your mouth, but I am just trying to gauge----
+ Ms. Jordan. Absolutely. Correct. Yes.
+ Mr. Cook. OK.
+ I see the gentleman wants to answer, so if the Chair will--
+--
+ Mr. Gallego. I yield more time, 2 more minutes.
+ Mr. Johnston. Thank you for the opportunity to respond.
+ Thank you for the question, Mr. Cook.
+ Earlier, when you gave your opening statement, I believe
+you said one-size-doesn't-fit-all. And I think when you think
+of our tribes in the United States that have a special
+relationship with the United States, one-size-doesn't-fit-all.
+And if we had an opportunity to access a program like you
+mentioned that promotes self-determination and self-governance,
+that allows us to really design what that would look like in
+our community, that would be most helpful, because we know our
+communities best.
+ Mr. Cook. Thank you.
+ And I just want to comment, I am on your side on this. God,
+I hope I am not on TV, but I kind of hate the Federal
+Government, OK? And I worked for it for 26 years. I guess I am
+working for it again.
+ But I think everybody on the panel just wants to cut
+through the red tape when we have something like--and I am
+looking for solutions, funds, or what have you. Because I look
+at that poverty line, which has been contributed to--well,
+because of past history, and I want to correct it.
+ I know we are asking you questions, but you people are a
+lot smarter than I am. And anytime you have a solution on
+this--I mean, it is going to be huge. But if we can cut through
+that crap that is, ``Well, you have to submit this document and
+5,000 pages of this before we correct this, this, and this''--
+and I think a lot of us here, even though we are different
+parties, we are looking at ways to help the people that we
+represent. And I will be honest with you, you are the experts.
+ I yield back because I am out of time.
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you, Mr. Cook.
+ I now recognize Mr. Case from Hawaii.
+ Mr. Case. Thank you, Chair and witnesses.
+ As this is the first meeting of this Committee, my
+Subcommittee members, I bid you ``aloha'' from the Native
+Hawaiians, the indigenous peoples of Hawaii, the indigenous
+peoples just as are you and as are the Native Americans and the
+Alaska Natives and the residents and indigenous peoples of my
+colleague to my right.
+ The Native Hawaiians, as with all indigenous peoples, were
+highly sensitive to the changes in our environment, in our
+weather, to the seasons. They could detect short-term, long-
+term changes and make adjustments. The Native Hawaiians in
+Hawaii had a highly sustainable culture of hundreds of
+thousands without any imports from the outside world, since
+they knew nothing of the outside world, other than for the
+ancestral lands to the south. And they survived and prospered
+for generations and generations by careful land and resource
+management.
+ They had a system of land management in which the land
+divisions stretched from the top of the mountains out into the
+fisheries in kind of pie-shaped structures all the way around
+the islands. And, in that way, each of those divisions was able
+to manage, from the uplands through the harvest lands and out
+into the ocean.
+ And I can tell you in no uncertain terms--and you know this
+for yourselves--that, had we been back in the situation of
+climate change 300 years ago, with the kind of rapid change in
+our climate and with our atmospheric changes and with the ocean
+changes, the Native Hawaiians would have detected changes in
+the ocean temperature, they would have detected changes in the
+fisheries, in the corals, they would have detected a different
+growing season, they would have detected changes in the upland
+forests and the birds, and a sustainable take from all of that.
+They knew these things, as you did, and they would have--
+although maybe they wouldn't have understood the science as we
+understand it--they would have made adjustments.
+ And I ask you this question in that spirit. And I am going
+to just focus with you, Vice President Johnston, because you
+are talking about the ocean resources. In Hawaii, we
+particularly worry about--we have changes in our ocean
+temperature; we have changes in our coastlines; we have erosion
+on our coastlines; we have changes in our forests, causing our
+native birds to adjust their habitat, adjust their habits; and
+we definitely have changes in our fisheries. And we are trying
+to find the ways to manage our fisheries, not only through
+over-exploitation but through the impacts of climate change on
+temperature, on the feeding relationships from predators on
+down.
+ So, I ask you this, Mr. Johnston. You spoke a little bit
+about this, but in the management of your ocean resources,
+what, if anything, have you noticed in the last decades that
+you now may attribute to climate change in terms of the changes
+in your fisheries? Do you have control over your fisheries? And
+what are you doing about it from a management perspective?
+ Mr. Johnston. Thank you so much for that wonderful
+question.
+ The Quinault Indian Nation has adjudicated treaty rights 30
+miles out on the west side of the border into the ocean. And we
+have noticed, even in this last decade, just a high increase of
+temperature.
+ And this increase of temperature has allowed an influx of
+different things that we have been seeing--invasive species,
+deepwater fish being in our area that we haven't seen before.
+We have seen domoic acids rise in our shell beds for our clams,
+for our different shellfish that we access.
+ We have seen these changes happen at that macro level. And
+even working with our partner agencies and the Federal
+Government, we have been able to see conditions that are just
+not conducive to our fish going out into the ocean and coming
+back and spawning. It has been some of the worst ocean
+conditions that we have ever witnessed.
+ We have had to declare two fisheries disasters within the
+last two decades. One was more recent, in 2015. We actually
+just are mulling over the thought of calling in for another
+fisheries disaster for our prized blueback salmon that go into
+our Quinault River, a subspecies of sockeye.
+ Mr. Case. Under your treaty rights, do you have the power
+to manage your fisheries in that way? Do you have full
+discretion over how you manage?
+ Mr. Johnston. We have full discretion in a co-management
+relationship with the state of Washington. And that is
+something that we perfected since the U.S. v. Washington Boldt
+decision.
+ But this has just become a new way of living, with these
+new conditions. We are looking out for the best science but
+also calling on our partners that work with us at the state and
+Federal level to honor the indigenous history, knowledge, and
+science that we possess in parity with theirs.
+ Mr. Case. Thank you very much.
+ Mr. Gallego. Since we have nothing coming from my right-
+hand side, we will move to Representative Soto for his
+questioning.
+ Mr. Soto. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ And thank you all for coming today.
+ One of the primary functions of this Committee is, I have
+always believed, to make sure to provide justice for so many
+indigenous peoples throughout the United States and really to
+right the wrongs as best we can that have happened throughout
+American history.
+ And when it comes to climate change, one of my biggest
+concerns relates to our history, that so much of the fertile
+land was stolen over the course of centuries. And many of our
+Native American tribes are on lands in areas that are more
+vulnerable to climate change as a result of that tragic and
+unfortunate history that we have to come to grips with today,
+and not just today but in the past and now in the future.
+Whether it is desert or tundra or islands or mountainous
+regions or low-lying regions, so much of the areas that we are
+talking about are more affected, more vulnerable to climate
+change than other lands throughout the United States.
+ I do have some hope in the fact that we will have a
+trillion-dollar infrastructure package that hopefully we will
+pass out of this Congress with bipartisan support.
+ I guess my biggest question to each of you would be: If we
+were to include one specific project, major project, in this
+package to help you all combat climate change for your
+community, what would that project be?
+ And we will start from left to right, starting first with
+Vice President Johnston.
+ Mr. Johnston. I think the one thing we would ask for is the
+continued support in funding of our relocation efforts. We have
+put thousands of man-hours, dollars, Federal grants, to develop
+what a master plan would look like to revision our communities,
+so the ability to implement that effectively, on the ground,
+driven by our community and our Nation's need, would be the ask
+that I would make.
+ Mr. Soto. Thank you.
+ Ms. Jordan?
+ Ms. Jordan. Thank you.
+ I would echo that funding is absolutely something that we
+need for our communities.
+ As I mentioned in my testimony, there are many Alaska
+Native villages that are seeing the real effects of climate
+change right now. It is just right out their door, literally,
+the ocean.
+ So, having a coordinated funding approach with a process in
+place that acknowledges that there are so many communities in
+need would be what I would ask for.
+ Mr. Soto. And then, Dr. Buzzard, overall, what would you
+recommend----
+ Dr. Buzzard. I strongly support what the previous speakers
+have said.
+ I think the challenge is making access to those funds easy.
+Because, as I said before, many of the tribal communities don't
+know how to access Federal funds or don't really want to get
+into the whole proposal-writing business. So, I think having an
+intermediary organization that can parcel out those funds, be
+sure that they are used correctly, and provide assistance where
+they need it, I think that is a fabulous idea.
+ Mr. Soto. And the current departments in place to do that
+aren't able to accomplish that function?
+ Dr. Buzzard. I think we have already heard there is so much
+overlap and contradiction in Federal agency rules and
+regulations. All of that needs to be simplified and made much
+more accessible to small communities.
+ Mr. Soto. Thank you.
+ And Vice Chairman Jose?
+ Mr. Jose. Congressman, thank you for the question.
+ I believe and echo the sentiments of the other witnesses
+here, and also echo and thank Ranking Member Cook about
+developing a superfund of some sort to cut the red tape out, as
+was stated earlier. I believe not only tribal communities, but
+communities and cities across America, want to address this.
+But the lack of resources, the lack of funding to do some of
+these things is a two-way street. It is not for the government
+to solve all--but it is for the people to step up and address
+that, but there needs to be a better system to do it.
+ There needs to be a better system so the individuals, the
+communities can address those funds and use them. Because, too
+often, people put resources available, but they don't know how
+to fix the problem because they are not actually there. And
+that is why I mentioned a seat at the table, to really have
+true consultation on how to address those things. Funding needs
+to be available to take proactive measures to address climate
+change.
+ Thank you for the question.
+ Mr. Soto. Thank you all for your input.
+ Mr. Gallego. Thanks to all the witnesses.
+ And, Dr. Buzzard, I have a question. You stated in your
+testimony that community relocation is a multi-sectoral
+problem. Please expand on that and what it means to relocated
+communities.
+ Dr. Buzzard. Yes, relocation is a multi-sectoral thing.
+ You have the economic issues of new jobs or retraining for
+jobs. You have political issues of sovereignty. If you are
+moving into an existing city, are you going to be a little
+reservation or what? Or, of course, when you get into things
+like the Pacific Islanders that are trying to buy land in
+Australia, what kind of sovereignty are they going to have? Are
+they going to be reservations? There are a lot of issues about
+sovereignty and political issues as these relocate.
+ There are psychological problems, because relocation is
+hardest particularly for the older people who are used to
+traditions and customs, and all of a sudden they aren't able to
+do those. And they are exposed to a lot of cultural change,
+shock.
+ There are health issues. The people who are most affected
+by relocation are usually the women, disabled people, and
+elderly.
+ So, one of the reasons we partner with the university is
+that we can get technical assistance or we can get research to
+bring to bear on how to minimize these things from all
+directions.
+ But it is not just a simple thing of packing up and moving.
+There are a lot of other external issues.
+ Not to mention the relationships with the destination
+community. Because if you start bringing in people, foreigners,
+and plunking them down in an existing town, you can create all
+kinds of problems. We have been doing some research with the
+Marshall Islanders in Springdale and trying to look at how that
+has affected the situation in Springdale.
+ But, yes, it is complicated, and it is not a simple thing.
+ Mr. Gallego. Thank you, Doctor.
+ A question for Vice Chairman Jose.
+ After the most recent flooding on the Reservation, a
+disaster declaration was issued by the Administration and FEMA
+funds were made available to the Nation. And I think you kind
+of hit on this before.
+ Were these a sufficient amount of funds in terms of being
+able to rebuild the roads and land previous to the state before
+the flooding? Were there enough funds actually to take care of
+the problems, essentially?
+ Mr. Jose. Chairman Gallego, Ranking Member Cook,
+distinguished members of the Committee, there are never enough
+funds.
+ There was never enough funds in the beginning. And that is
+why some of these disasters are very severe, because of lack of
+maintenance on waterways and roads that were already in
+deplorable conditions. And when you have the amount of water
+and rain that hit the Tohono O'odham Nation in such a short
+time, the roads were easily destroyed.
+ The berms, the levees that were there to divert water were
+totally destroyed because of lack of maintenance. And with 2.8
+million acres of land, it was challenging for us to address
+those things because of lack of resources, equipment, manpower,
+and so forth.
+ So, to answer your question, we didn't get--and you know
+that in any declaration, you don't get 100 percent of what you
+spend there. So, no, there wasn't enough.
+ And I think that, in order to address that again
+proactively--had we been addressing it all along, I think we
+could have mitigated some of the devastation that happened when
+you have 3, 4 feet of water and mud coming into your homes.
+ Mr. Gallego. Excellent.
+ Do we have any other questions for our panel?
+ Mr. Case, sure.
+ Mr. Case. Thank you.
+ Let me ask a question that is going through my mind that
+may well be a difficult question.
+ We are talking here about climate change, which is an
+international issue. It really calls for international action,
+national action, local action, action right across the board.
+It is impacting everybody.
+ And we had testimony in another subcommittee of this
+Committee this morning from the Appalachian coal community. And
+the question in that testimony was how do we best transition in
+a situation where we have to move from fossil fuel use over to
+renewable energy, and there are going to be dislocated
+communities along the way.
+ And it was a very good discussion, but the relationship
+between the Federal Government and the communities of
+Appalachia is different from the relationship between the
+Federal Government and the Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
+ And the Ranking Member, in his testimony, made the comment
+that--I think it was somewhere along the lines of--we should
+not require tribes who are undertaking certain practices, for
+example, oil and gas and coal extraction--I think those were
+what he cited--just to solve this problem. I know that is not
+exactly the way he put it, but that was the gist of it to me.
+ And the question I have, really, is: If we have to move
+together to actually move away from fossil fuel extraction, how
+do we do that with the indigenous peoples and the relationship
+that we have when we all have to move at the same time?
+ For example, what if we tell Appalachia, ``Sorry, we can't
+do coal anymore''? How do we then say to the tribe that is
+doing extraction of fossil fuels, ``You have to join the
+party''? I mean, how do we have that discussion in the
+different relationship the Federal Government has with you?
+ Maybe Vice Chair Jose can take a crack at that. I don't
+know if I got the question right. But how do we all get on the
+same wagon here?
+ Mr. Jose. Thank you for the question, Congressman.
+ I believe in order to get on the wagon all together, it is
+about proactive measures in educating.
+ When we talk about fossil fuels, we need to think about
+transportation systems that can work. When we have 2.8 million
+acres of land--well, back in the day, we used to ride horses,
+we used to run from place to place. And, right now, look at the
+amount of cars that are out here, just here in the area. Maybe
+we need to develop systems that will allow us to move without
+using fossil fuels. We need to look at solar, using solar and
+providing funding for some of those things.
+ It is all about education and proactive measures. Because
+climate change doesn't discriminate. It is going to affect all
+of us, and maybe the impoverished people more than anyone
+because of lack of resources. So, it is really about education.
+ I believe that American cities and towns and Native
+communities are ready to do that, but the challenges are the
+resources. I believe we can get all on the same page, all on
+the same bandwagon if we educate and provide resources to do
+so.
+ Mr. Case. Thank you.
+ Anybody else have a reaction to my question?
+ It really has more to do with the jurisdictional question.
+It has to do with the Federal Government's power and how the
+power is exercised in this particular case, where you are
+trying to get uniformity across the country in terms of a
+transition from one type of energy to another.
+ Ms. Jordan. Thank you, Congressman.
+ I did want to comment that I believe that climate change is
+an international issue. I used to serve on the Arctic Economic
+Council, which was under the Arctic Council. And the Arctic
+Council really looks at climate change as well as diplomacy
+with other Arctic nations.
+ Our biggest problem in the Calista region--we represent 56
+villages--is unemployment. We have about a 26 percent
+unemployment rate. It is the highest in the Nation, I believe.
+I work with folks that are some of the most impoverished people
+in the Nation.
+ So, we need economic development to really stimulate the
+area, because there is no infrastructure, there are no roads;
+it is tundra. People use diesel fuel to heat their homes and
+stoves.
+ I actually manage a grant called the Chumai grant under the
+Department of Energy, and we provide energy audits to those
+households and are measuring how high and how costly it is to
+have energy out in rural Alaska. And it is because there is no
+infrastructure. There is none. And there are no jobs.
+ So, for us, economic development is very, very important.
+And we do use fossil fuels, because that is what is available.
+ Thank you.
+ Mr. Case. Thank you very much.
+ Mr. Gallego. Again, thank you to our panelists.
+ Thank you to all the Members that have attended. We will be
+moving to a closing statement.
+ I hope we have all gained some valuable insights into the
+real-world effects of climate change on indigenous peoples and
+their communities and what they are doing to combat and adapt
+to those impacts.
+ However, tribes are wrongly shouldering too much of the
+burden on this front. The Federal Government must live up to
+its trust responsibility and provide the resources the tribes
+deserve to address climate change impacts.
+ In the meantime, as we have heard, tribes are often left
+scrambling to patch together funds from various state and
+Federal grants and to dig deep into their own pockets.
+ I know there are proposals already offered by my colleagues
+that would start to address these issues, and I hope that we
+can work together to advance real legislative solutions to what
+we have heard today.
+ In closing, let me again thank the witnesses for their
+valuable testimony and time, and the Members for their
+questions.
+ The members of the Committee may have some additional
+questions for the witnesses, and we will ask you to respond to
+those in writing.
+ Under Committee Rule 3(o), members of the Committee must
+submit witness questions within 3 business days following the
+hearing, and the hearing record will be held open for 10
+business days for these purposes and for the responses.
+ If there no further business, without objection, the
+Subcommittee stands adjourned.
+
+ [Whereupon, at 3:19 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
+
+ [ADDITIONAL MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD]
+
+Written Testimony of J. Michael Chavarria, Governor of the Santa Clara
+ Pueblo
+Introduction
+ Thank you Chairman Gallego, Ranking Member Cook, and members of the
+Subcommittee for this opportunity to testify on the critically
+important issue of climate change and its impact tribal communities
+like the Pueblo of Santa Clara. My name is J. Michael Chavarria and I
+am the Governor of the Pueblo of Santa Clara, located in north-central
+New Mexico. I also serve as Chairman of the Eight Northern Pueblos
+Council, Inc. and Vice-Chair of the All Pueblo Council of Governors
+(APCG). In the last decade, Santa Clara has had five Presidential
+Disaster Declarations: three by the request of the State of New Mexico
+and two directly by the Pueblo after the Stafford Act was amended.
+Overall, the ability to directly request Presidential Disaster
+Declarations has given Santa Clara Pueblo greater control over our own
+disaster relief efforts. My community has faced numerous natural
+disasters whose impacts and severity have been heightened, in part, by
+the increasing effects of climate change on our natural environment.
+Climate Change Poses an Existential Threat to Our Pueblo Beliefs and
+ Identity
+ The Pueblo of Santa Clara is certified as a National Historic
+Landmark under the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. Sec.
+470 et seq.; NRHP ref. #74001199). As such, our Pueblo is recognized as
+a finite, irreplaceable resource. The land and its natural resources
+form the essence of who we are as Pueblo People across generations: our
+origin stories are rooted in its geographic features, our contemporary
+life finds sustenance in its flora and fauna, and our future
+generations will shape their identity and dreams in the light of its
+sun-drenched plateaus. This intimate relationship is replicated in
+indigenous communities across the country. For all of us, climate
+change poses a disconcerting and tangible threat to the continued
+existence of our traditional practices and unique cultural identities.
+My testimony focuses on the experience of the Santa Clara Pueblo and
+its multi-generational effort to restore our forests and watershed
+after the devastating Las Conchas wildfire.
+Federal Trust Responsibility and Environmental Justice
+ The Federal Government has a solemn trust responsibility to protect
+the interests and welfare of pueblos, tribal nations, and Native
+communities--including from the harmful and increasingly dangerous
+effects of climate change. Changes in vegetation cover, the adequacy of
+water supplies, and the frequency and intensity of wildfires, among
+other natural phenomena, impact the short- and long-term well-being of
+our tribal members. In 1994, President Clinton issued Executive Order
+12898, which directs all federal agencies to make achieving
+environmental justice part of their missions. Accordingly, as agencies
+work to fulfill the federal trust responsibility, they must take into
+consideration the drivers and ongoing needs of environmental justice in
+Native communities.
+Background on the Las Conchas Wildfire
+ Historically, the Santa Clara Canyon and watershed have provided
+timber, pasture, traditional, economic, and recreational resources for
+our Pueblo. The Santa Clara Creek watershed occupies a vast majority of
+our Reservation lands and is home to many of our Pueblo members. Our
+infrastructure, governmental services, and economic activities are
+concentrated in the downstream end of the Creek near its confluence
+with the Rio Grande. Countless traditional cultural sites occupy this
+landscape.
+ In the summer of 2011, the Santa Clara Pueblo was devastated by the
+Las Conchas Fire, then the largest wildfire in New Mexico history.
+Although mercifully no lives were lost and no homes at Santa Clara were
+burned, we still saw our traditional and treasured homeland and
+spiritual sanctuary, the Santa Clara Canyon, practically destroyed. It
+is estimated that more than 16,000 acres of our forestlands were
+burned. Together with the lands that we lost in the Oso Complex Fire of
+1998 and the Cerro Grande Fire of 2000, over 80% of our forests and an
+immeasurable part of our cultural heritage has been destroyed.
+ In addition, the fire burned thousands of acres of traditional
+lands located outside of our reservation that contain cultural sites
+and resources of great importance to us. This area encompasses our
+lands of origin, the P'opii Khanu--the headwaters of our Santa Clara
+Creek, as well as numerous cultural and traditional sites. In addition,
+the loss of the forest is devastating to wildlife and wildlife habitat,
+recreational resources, and to the purity of our water--which we use
+for irrigation and many traditional purposes. (See Attachment 1 for
+fire impact on Santa Clara watershed.) Throughout this tragedy, the
+Santa Clara People have shown grit and determination to persevere on
+the long road to recovery so that while this generation may never see
+the canyon in its glory again, that will not be said of the next
+generation.
+Contribution of Climate Change to the Disaster
+ Climate change played a significant role in heightening the
+severity of the Las Conchas fire, along with several factors that
+contributed to its spread. At the time of the fire, it was reported
+that drought conditions in the Southwest caused living trees in the
+canyon to have a lower moisture content than the wood that you would
+typically buy at a lumberyard. This is a result of drought conditions
+in the Southwest that the scientific community continues to associate
+with climate change. In addition, higher temperatures in general create
+more conducive conditions for wildfires. While drought and wildfires
+can be a natural part of life, the severity and frequency of these
+phenomena are intensified by climate change.
+
+ According to EPA and National Research Council research,
+ an annual temperature increase of just 1.8+F could result
+ in four times the number of wildfires in New Mexico every
+ year.\1\
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \1\ ``The Age of Western Wildfires,'' Climate Central at 9 (Sept.
+2012), available at https://www.climatecentral.org/wgts/wildfires/
+Wildfires2012.pdf.
+
+ Higher temperatures affect the retention of water in
+ plants and soil, as well as in reservoirs and streams,
+ which creates a more conducive environment for the rapid
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ spread of wildfires.
+
+ Increasing temperatures also degrade the quality of
+ ecosystems making it difficult for native species to
+ flourish, thus, hindering recovery efforts and leaving the
+ area vulnerable to invasive species.
+
+ Climate change was not the only reason this fire was so
+devastating. The forest had become unhealthy, with excessive
+undergrowth and too great a tree density, making conditions ripe for an
+intense fire that would kill the mature trees. As a part of managing
+the impact of climate change, we must manage the conditions in our
+forests.
+Increased Risk of Flooding due to the Fire and Climate Change
+ All five of the Pueblo's Presidential Disaster Declarations have
+involved infrastructure damage stemming from catastrophic flash floods.
+Three of the Declarations were made by request of the State of New
+Mexico and two were made by the Pueblo after the Stafford Act was
+amended. Flooding has wiped out existing water control structures
+within the canyon, destroyed once-pristine native cutthroat fish
+habitat, impacted roads, taken away culverts, and damaged the
+traditional cultural properties of our sanctuary.
+ Because the Santa Clara Canyon has been stripped of its vegetation,
+the area has a heightened risk of flooding and landslides. Over 50% of
+the Santa Clara Pueblo watershed burned during the Las Conchas fire.
+Because of the high severity of the burn, there has been a dramatic
+reduction in the infiltration rates in the burned area and the soil is
+now what is hydrophobic. This has resulted in a four- to eightfold
+increase in runoff and sediment/debris flow into the Santa Clara Creek,
+posing a threat to the lives and safety of the people of Santa Clara
+Pueblo and increasing the potential for widespread property damage. The
+channel through Santa Clara Pueblo no longer has the conveyance
+capacity necessary to safely pass large post-fire flows. Hundreds of
+residential structures including several public structures are at risk
+from flood and debris flows if no action is taken immediately. (See
+Attachment 2 on the potential flood risk zone to Santa Clara for a 10-
+year event.)
+ An average monsoon season storm one inch rain event over 8 hours on
+August 21, 2011 led to intense flooding and the emergency evacuation of
+Santa Clara and US Army Corps of Engineer personnel. This rain event
+resulted in a Presidential Disaster Declaration. As the Department of
+the Interior, Interagency Burned Area Emergency Response (``BAER'')
+Team noted, the intense flames from the fire burned trees and
+vegetation off the steep slopes of the canyon and heated the soils
+causing severe damage to the natural resources of the area and placing
+the downstream tribal members of the Santa Clara Pueblo at risk to
+extreme flooding. The post-fire watershed effects were rife for massive
+landslides and debris flows which occurred on August 21, 2011. The
+event produced massive debris (including boulders) and severe mud flows
+to the canyon bottom. The canyon reservoirs were overwhelmed by this
+average rainfall event and filled with sediment. Flood protection
+emergency measures put in place after the Las Conchas fire were inches
+away from being compromised. It is important to note that this storm
+was an isolated thunderstorm over a small portion of the Santa Clara
+watershed (one drainage) and not over the entire watershed. Another
+similar event occurred in July 2012, destroying much of the recovery
+undertaken over the prior year. If the rain event of August 21, 2011
+had occurred over the entire post-fire watershed, our Pueblo would have
+been devastated.
+ Further, in November 2013, Santa Clara Pueblo became the first
+tribal government to request and receive federal disaster recovery
+assistance under the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF). The
+Federal Emergency Management Agency used the NDRF to create a
+comprehensive federally-led strategy for the Pueblo to identify all
+possible actions that would build the community's resiliency to future
+flooding. The NDRF provided the Pueblo with an opportunity to
+effectively develop recovery strategies for our respective areas.
+Heightened Human Health and Environment Impacts
+ The recent natural disasters have raised numerous interrelated
+short and long-term concerns for Santa Clara and nearby tribal
+communities, almost all of which are further complicated by climate
+change. The environmental impacts of the disasters include water
+quality deterioration from ash, debris, and sediment changes that
+affect fisheries, wildlife, flora, and agriculture. The destabilized
+ecosystem also poses a physical safety risk due to erosion and shifting
+or falling trees and boulders. Runoff from the Santa Clara Creek also
+flows into the Rio Grande, which affects downstream communities like
+Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and our neighboring Pueblos who all rely upon
+these waters for municipal water sourcing. Ash contamination and
+sediment transport have impacted these resources, while limiting water
+holding capacity in reservoir facilities. The U.S. Army Corps of
+Engineers has noted that sediment deposition from the Los Conchas Fire
+remains an existential threat to the holding capacity of Cochiti
+reservoir.
+ In terms of human health, the effects range from physical impacts
+from the smoke and compromised environmental quality to deep emotional
+strain caused by the unprecedented loss of or damage to our cultural
+and sacred sites. We are still processing how to recover from the loss
+of these places and the diminishment of animal and plant species that
+have been integral to Santa Clara cultural and spiritual practices for
+generations. Further, our community has taken on increased financial
+burdens in response to these disasters and changes in the environment
+to reinforce infrastructure, implement fire suppression measures, and
+support the work of our award winning Santa Clara Pueblo Forestry
+Department, among other expenditures.
+Working to Mitigate the Risks of Climate Change at the Pueblo Level
+ Santa Clara has a highly regarded Forestry Department, numbering
+some 40 personnel. Santa Clara fire crews and equipment served on the
+front lines of the Las Conchas fire. We have a dedicated commitment to
+the maintenance and restoration of healthy forests on, around, and
+adjacent to the Pueblo. We work diligently to effectively and
+efficiently manage our natural resources for the safety of our
+community and property. For example, our work on installing fuel breaks
+on tribal lands was effective at stopping the spread of the Las Conchas
+fire in those areas. In areas that lacked proper management techniques,
+the land, trees, and wildlife were devastated. In the past decade, we
+have faced four forest fires that have threatened our forests--the Oso,
+Cerro Grande, South Fork and Las Conchas fires--and none of them
+originated on Pueblo lands. Although fate and climate change play their
+part, we have suffered horrible consequences largely due to the failure
+of others to properly guard in some fashion against causing a fire.
+Tribal-Federal Partnerships
+ For several years, the Pueblo has worked to establish a partnership
+with the U.S. Forest Service under the Tribal Forest Protection Act to
+address the long-term health of Forest Service lands around our
+reservation. Further, the Pueblo is in negotiations with the U.S. Park
+Service to assume responsibility for federal functions in managing the
+Valles Caldera National Preserve, which is adjacent to our Pueblo in
+the Jemez Mountains. Each of these efforts is founded on the desire to
+strengthen tribal sovereignty and advance land management practices for
+the protection of our resources and community. As part of managing the
+impacts of climate change, the Pueblo is and must remain an active
+leader in the management of our forestlands.
+Forest Restoration and Recovery
+ The Pueblo is also engaged in the complex process of forest
+regeneration and recovery in the canyon with a variety of federal and
+state partners. As we work to develop forest resiliency to the future
+effects of climate change, our efforts have taken into account research
+on the effect of climate change on forest regeneration, including a
+study of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem undertaken by the University
+of California--Merced.\2\ The study predicts that the expected rising
+temperatures caused by climate change could increase the frequency of
+large wildfires in Yellowstone to an unprecedented level. The study
+also predicts that the increased occurrence of wildfires will alter
+ecosystems, resulting in ``fewer dense forests and more open woodland,
+grass and shrub vegetation, with forests becoming younger, the mix of
+tree species changing and some forests failing to regenerate after
+repeated fires. This would affect the region's wildlife, hydrology,
+carbon storage and aesthetics. These conditions are already present in
+our forestlands and local ecosystem.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \2\ Please see http://www.ucmerced.edu/news/study-climate-change-
+increase-yellowstone-wildfires -dramatically.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Other climate change related stressors are expected to further
+complicate our forest and ecosystem regeneration efforts going forward.
+These include an increased severity of droughts, the introduction and
+proliferation of invasive species, soil degradation, and habitat
+fragmentation. Alone, each of these issues could cause significant
+damage to our fragile ecosystem and watershed. Together, they pose an
+alarming threat to our future. Take the tamarisk, for example. The
+tamarisk, or salt cedar, is an aggressive invasive species that can
+uptake nearly 200 gallons of water per day.\3\ It displaces native
+vegetation and destabilizes local habitats. This directly impacts avian
+and other species that depend on native vegetation for breeding and
+sustenance.\4\ As a result of climate change, the tamarisk is expected
+to expand its geographic distribution throughout the southwest and
+other regions. When compounded by the increasing scarcity of water and
+increasing severity of weather events, tamarisk and other invasive
+species have the capacity to severely hinder forest restoration efforts
+in the Santa Clara Canyon and watershed.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \3\ ``Saltcedar (Tamarix),'' National Riparian Service Team, Bureau
+of Land Management (Dec. 12, 2007), available at https://www.blm.gov/
+or/programs/nrst/files/tamarisk_paper.pdf.
+ \4\ ``Tamarix spp. In: Fire Effects Information System,'' U.S.
+Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Feb. 21, 2019), available at
+https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/tamspp/all.html.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+Conclusion
+ In New Mexico, and across the Southwest, we have experienced the
+harmful effects of major wildfires, most recently the truly devastating
+Camp Fire in California. The ecosystems and well-being of our
+environment are being dramatically affected and sometimes permanently
+altered with each new occurrence. At the Pueblo of Santa Clara, we need
+only look out from our backyards to see the fundamental changes wrought
+by natural disasters heightened by climate change on the Santa Clara
+Creek and Canyon ecosystems. Never again in our lifetime will we see
+our traditional and treasured homeland and spiritual sanctuary, the
+Santa Clara Canyon, as we have known it. It will take generations for
+our community and lands to recover from the devastation of this fire
+and, because of climate change, it is not clear how that future will
+unfold.
+ This is our only homeland; it is the place we have been entrusted
+with since time immemorial. We devote the resources we can to the
+healing of our land and the protection of our community, but we do not
+have the resources to do it alone. The Federal Government must take
+steps to effectively manage the meta-factors that drive climate
+change--such as worldwide deforestation, fossil fuel consumption, and
+greenhouse gas emissions--before it is too late. Acting on climate
+change today is a moral and legal imperative, essential to all of us as
+Pueblo People, Americans, and citizens of this world during a period of
+what now appears to be almost inevitable rapid climate change.
+
+ [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+ Testimony of United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection
+ Fund
+ On behalf of the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty
+Protection Fund (USET SPF) we write to provide the House Natural
+Resources Subcommittee for Indigenous People of the United States with
+the following testimony for the record of the hearing ``The Impacts of
+Climate Change on Tribal Communities'' held on February 12, 2019.
+ USET SPF is an intertribal organization comprised of 27 federally
+recognized Tribal Nations, ranging from Maine to Florida to Texas.\1\
+USET SPF is dedicated to enhancing the development of federally
+recognized Tribal Nations, to improving the capabilities of Tribal
+governments, and assisting USET SPF Member Tribal Nations in dealing
+effectively with public policy issues and in serving the broad needs of
+Indian people.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ \1\ USET SPF member Tribal Nations include: Alabama-Coushatta Tribe
+of Texas (TX), Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians (ME), Catawba Indian
+Nation (SC), Cayuga Nation (NY), Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana (LA),
+Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana (LA), Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
+(NC), Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians (ME), Jena Band of Choctaw
+Indians (LA), Mashantucket Pequot Indian Tribe (CT), Mashpee Wampanoag
+Tribe (MA), Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida (FL), Mississippi
+Band of Choctaw Indians (MS), Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut
+(CT), Narragansett Indian Tribe (RI), Oneida Indian Nation (NY),
+Pamunkey Indian Tribe (VA), Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township
+(ME), Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point (ME), Penobscot Indian
+Nation (ME), Poarch Band of Creek Indians (AL), Saint Regis Mohawk
+Tribe (NY), Seminole Tribe of Florida (FL), Seneca Nation of Indians
+(NY), Shinnecock Indian Nation (NY), Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana
+(LA), and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) (MA).
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Human-induced climate change will have a lasting impact on Tribal
+lands, waters, and communities across the United States. USET SPF
+Member Tribal Nations have a unique historical experience, which
+factors in climate change impacts as well as options for climate change
+adaption.
+South and Eastern Tribal Nations: A Historical Context
+ Current broad understanding of Tribal Nations and historical
+context within the United States stems from the 19th century, when the
+United States the country and settlers expanded westward. Tribal
+Nations were forced to sign treaties, cede large tracts of land, and
+reside on reservations yet were promised autonomy and support from the
+federal government to manage natural resources, education, and health
+care. Tribal Nations within the USET SPF region also signed treaties
+and were forced to cede lands. However, many USET SPF member Tribal
+Nations are ``First Contact Nations'' and faced 17th- and 18th-century
+local colonial governments and distant European nations at the onset of
+colonization of North America.
+ During the 17th and 18th centuries, colonial wars and disease also
+decimated Indigenous populations. After the United States was
+established, often the lands and rights acknowledged in colonial
+treaties or agreements east of the Appalachians were left to the states
+to either recognize and fulfill obligations or abolish. Within decades
+after establishment of the United States, a federal policy of removal
+was adopted, and many Tribal Nations whose aboriginal territories were
+in the Appalachians, Southeast, and Midwest were forcibly removed to
+western territories. For example, the ``1830 Indian Removal Act'' split
+entire Tribal Nations and families and forced tens of thousands of
+Indigenous people to reservations in Oklahoma.
+ USET SPF Tribal Nations, today, have persevered despite
+colonization and federal policies of assimilation, termination and
+other events that have unfolded over the past 400 years. Despite
+disease, warfare, and removal, our Tribal Nations have persisted and
+exhibited profound resilience. In environments considered harsh to
+European and American settlement such as the Gulf Coastal Bayous, the
+Everglades, the Appalachians, or the Northern Forests, Tribal Nations
+not only survived, but adapted and rebounded as communities and
+nations. Tribal communities even integrated into more populated
+landscapes, have maintained self-governance and distinct cultural
+identities tied to cultural and traditional homelands and family
+kinship systems. The 20th century witnessed a rebound in population of
+Indigenous communities within the USET SPF region and a resurgence of
+Tribal voices on a national platform to promote Tribal sovereignty and
+self-determination, management of natural resources on remaining Tribal
+lands that are now mere fractions of once held territories, and the
+restoration of Tribal lands lost to the colonies and early states.
+The Fourth National Climate Assessment: Key Messages
+ On November 23, 2018, the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4)
+was released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).
+According to the USGCRP, the report ``focuses on the human welfare,
+societal, and environmental elements of climate change and variability
+for 10 regions and 18 national topics, with particular attention paid
+to observed and projected risks, impacts, consideration of risk
+reduction, and implications under different mitigation pathways.'' The
+report includes a chapter on climate change and Indigenous peoples as
+well as discussion on climate change and Indigenous peoples in other
+regional and sectoral chapters. The NCA4 acknowledges Indigenous
+peoples in the United States as, ``diverse and distinct political and
+cultural groups and populations'' and affirms, ``Though they may be
+affected by climate change in ways that are similar to others in the
+United States, Indigenous peoples can also be affected uniquely and
+disproportionately.'' The NCA4 Chapter 15 ``Tribes and Indigenous
+Peoples,'' provides three key messages regarding climate change impacts
+and Indigenous peoples. The key messages are listed below with
+subsequent comments pertaining to Tribal Nations within the USET SPF
+region.
+
+ Key Message 1: Climate change threatens Indigenous peoples'
+livelihoods and economies, including agriculture, hunting and
+gathering, fishing, forestry, energy, recreation, and tourism
+enterprises. Indigenous peoples' economies rely on, but face
+institutional barriers to, their self-determined management of water,
+land, other natural resources, and infrastructure that will be impacted
+increasingly by changes in climate.
+
+ Tribal Nations across the United States have regained the
+management of natural resources for over 100 million acres of Tribal
+lands. However, USET SPF member Tribal Nations have substantially
+smaller Tribal land bases from which to assert direct jurisdiction and
+management of natural resources. This means our Tribal Nations must
+work with state, municipal, and non-Tribal federal jurisdictions to
+address climate change impacts on natural resources of cultural and
+economic significance beyond Tribal lands. Institutional barriers arise
+as the interests and management plans of non-Tribal jurisdictions often
+do not align with Tribal priorities or cultural values at best, or at
+worst, Tribal Nations are not even included in local and regional plans
+that would have implications on their natural resources and areas of
+cultural significance. Often fish and wildlife, wild foods, medicinal
+plants, and places of cultural significance, some of which may be
+outside of Tribal reservation or trust lands, are impacted by climate
+change. For some USET SPF Tribal Nations, the Tribal reservation or
+trust lands have been reduced to one square mile or smaller, and
+climate change impacts to these vulnerable land bases pose serious
+threats to Tribal cultures and lifeways. Finally, one of the greatest
+threats of climate change will be migration of species and shifting of
+ecosystems beyond Tribal lands or even beyond Tribal regions, rendering
+the fixed political boundaries and territories of present day Tribal
+lands unconnected to long held traditional lifeways.
+
+ Key Message 2: Indigenous health is based on interconnected social
+and ecological systems that are being disrupted by a changing climate.
+As these changes continue, the health of individuals and communities
+will be uniquely challenged by climate impacts to lands, waters, foods,
+and other plant and animal species. These impacts threaten sites,
+practices, and relationships with cultural, spiritual, or ceremonial
+importance that are foundational to Indigenous peoples' cultural
+heritages, identities, and physical and mental health.
+
+ Many of the places that have significance to the cultural
+heritages, identities, and physical and mental health of Indigenous
+peoples from Tribal Nations within the USET SPF are located off Tribal
+reservation or trust lands. In many instances, places of cultural
+significance are now located within national parks, monuments, wildlife
+refuges, and sea shores, or state parks, forests, or private lands.
+While climate change impacts the ecosystems, water, and landscapes of
+these places, our Tribal Nations continue to struggle with non-Tribal
+jurisdictions for access to these places for activities of cultural,
+spiritual, or ceremonial importance. USET SPF member Tribal Nations and
+their citizens often find themselves in a position of having to request
+access to locations of cultural significance to partake in cultural
+activities they have been engaging in for thousands of years. Loss of
+access to these places impacts both the physical and mental health of
+Indigenous peoples and has been doing so for many years. Climate change
+impacts do threaten sites, practices, and relationships with cultural,
+spiritual, or ceremonial importance which are foundational to
+Indigenous peoples, yet current barriers to access and a lack of a
+meaningful role in the climate adaptation planning process of these
+areas compounds the issue.
+ Key Message 3: Many Indigenous peoples have been proactively
+identifying and addressing climate impacts; however, institutional
+barriers exist in the United States that severely limit their adaptive
+capacities. These barriers include limited access to traditional
+territory and resources and the limitations of existing policies,
+programs, and funding mechanisms in accounting for the unique
+conditions of Indigenous communities. Successful adaptation in
+Indigenous contexts relies on use of Indigenous knowledge, resilient
+and robust social systems and protocols, a commitment to principles of
+self-determination, and proactive efforts on the part of federal,
+state, and local governments to alleviate institutional barriers.
+
+ The impacts of the 2012 northeastern summer drought and heat wave
+as well as coastal flooding from Hurricane Sandy respectively prompted
+the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Shinnecock Indian Nation to complete
+climate change adaptation plans for their Tribal lands, waterways, and
+communities. Other Tribal Nations within the USET SPF region have
+followed suit through exploring climate change adaptation options and
+opportunities to fund climate change adaption activities. Often
+departments within Tribal Nations such as natural resource or cultural
+preservation departments take the lead, but not exclusively as Tribal
+emergency management or economic development programs have also
+explored climate adaptation options. The same institutional barriers of
+limited jurisdiction and access to traditional territory or places of
+cultural significance remain factors in Tribal climate adaptation
+planning. Funding climate change adaptation also remains a challenge
+because federal natural and cultural resources funding can be very
+sector, species, or place specific whereas Tribes are concerned about
+the health of the whole system. Many Tribal managers are in the
+position of pursuing multiple grants and searching for funding from
+different sources with varying objectives required in order to address
+larger climate change impact on their Tribal Nations. Federal funding
+for climate change adaptation is also at the whims of United States
+executive and congressional political power shifts. Opportunities
+available this year may not be available next, hobbling a consistent or
+long-term climate change adaption plan.
+
+ Climate change adaptation may also mean placing lands into trust to
+provide communities safety from sea level rise and to provide Tribal
+Nations access to species of cultural importance whose ranges have
+shifted due to climate change. 21st century court cases, such as the
+2009 Carcieri decision with the Narragansett Indian Tribe and the
+Littlefield et al. 2016 with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, challenge the
+ability of Tribal Nations to have lands taken into Trust by the Bureau
+of Indian Affairs even when those lands are on cultural domains or
+aboriginal Tribal territories. Thus, if a location becomes
+uninhabitable or ecosystems with cultural significance shift due to
+climate change Tribal Nations face difficulties if adaptation responses
+mean to relocating or re-acquiring lands that provide access to
+cultural resources.
+Conclusion
+ Successful adaptation for USET SPF member Tribal Nations will rely
+on use of Indigenous knowledge, resilient and robust social systems and
+protocols, and a commitment to principles of self-determination.
+However, it will also require the acknowledgment from federal, state,
+and local governments that the impacts of early colonial and United
+States history have created many of the institutional barriers USET SPF
+member Tribal Nations face today in adapting to climate change. Should
+you have any questions or require further information, please contact
+Mr. Kitcki Carroll, USET SPF Executive Director, at
+[email protected] or 615-495-2814.
+
+ [all]
+