Climate migration: Alaska village resists despite threats
The Alaska Native village of Shishmaref is located on a sinking barrier island in the Chukchi Sea near the Bering Strait that separates the U.S. and Russia, where it is constantly threatened by the effects of climate change
SHISHMAREF, Alaska (AP) — Search online for the little town of Shishmaref and you’ll see homes perilously close to falling into the ocean, and headlines that warn that this Native community on a border island in western Alaska -- without access to main roads to the mainland or running water -- is on the verge of disappearing.
Climate change is partially to blame for the rising seas, flooding, erosion and loss of protective ice and land that are threatening this Inupiat village of about 600 people near the Bering Strait, just a few miles from the Arctic Circle. Its situation is dire.
All of this is true. And yet, it is only part of the story.
The people of Shishmaref “are resourceful, they are resilient,” said Rich Stasenko, who arrived to Shishmaref to teach at the local school in the mid-’70s and never left. “I don't see victims here.”
