Tribal members and staff of the Chilkat Indian Village (CIV) and the Chilkoot Indian Association (CIA) met in Klukwan on Oct. 4 to discuss observed changes to the local environment and traditional food sources. The meeting was part of a larger planning initiative by CIV to examine and respond to the impacts of environmental changes on tribal infrastructure, services and traditional foods.
“It’s always good for us to plan for the future,” said CIV tribal president Kimberley Strong. “We need to make adaptations today to insure that the next several generations will have opportunities to live off the land and use natural renewable resources.”
This was the first meeting in a multi-year process known as ‘community resilience planning’ or ‘climate adaptation planning.’
“The goal of the day-long meeting was to collect observations and historical accounts from tribal members and tribal government staff about changes in the environment and traditional food sources,” said Jess Kayser Forster, a rural development consultant hired by CIV to help implement the project and facilitate meetings.
Participants shared environmental changes they noticed, both through their own experiences and through oral histories.
Memories of the past included the following: frogs covered the highway; mountain tops were blanketed with snow year-round; children played on the thick Chilkat River ice in front of Klukwan; there were more salmon, more eagles, different insect species, and different plant species. Other changes were also noted.
“There are definite changes happening,” said Strong.
Using climate models from the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center and adapted for the Upper Lynn Canal, Davin Holen of University of Alaska Fairbanks presented predicted environmental changes.
By the end of the century, temperatures are predicted to rise by about 8 degrees, said Holen. Precipitation will likely increase; however warmer temperatures will lead to more evaporation. Snowpack will likely decrease, leading to less snow melt and therefore warmer and less oxygen-rich salmon streams, said Holen.
These models are predictions, said Holen, and their accuracy decreases as they predict changes further in the future.
“The day was a snapshot of the community resilience planning process,” said Kayser-Forster. The process is broken into five major steps: share observations, assess the most vulnerable resources, identify strategies to monitor, plan, and finally take action, she said.
To begin the process, participants compiled the names of traditional foods upon which they rely. The list included over 40 different species of plants and animals. In groups, participants focused on a specific food and discussed observed changes, methods of monitoring changes and strategies to adapt to changes.
Some strategies for monitoring traditional foods have been implemented for years.
Ted Hart and Luke Williams, who work for CIA’s environmental program, provided an overview of monitoring for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). PSP is a biotoxin that can occur in shellfish and can cause illness or death when ingested by humans. CIA monitors PSP through a network established by the Sitka tribe. This summer, CIA documented that Haines had some of the highest levels of PSP in Southeast Alaska. For more information and data, visit seator.org.
CIA also monitors saak (eulachon) populations using an eDNA system paired with mark-and-recapture methods to provide population estimates, said Hart. Since there is no oversight from the state, CIA is the only entity monitoring saak.
In the coming years, CIV will continue the process of examining and responding to the impacts of environmental changes upon government infrastructure, services and traditional food sources.
“Environmental conditions are changing across Alaska to a point where communities and villages are seeing impacts to critical infrastructure, like drinking water sources and vital traditional food sources…I have much gratitude to CIV and CIA for providing the leadership necessary to undertake this type of planning, a process that will help ensure our children are equipped with the infrastructure, tools and strategies to live out their lives in a very different environment than what we are experiencing now,” said Kayser-Forster.
CIV and CIA are part of a growing number of tribal governments and municipalities in Alaska who are undertaking similar planning efforts. Communities include Sitka, Anchorage, Homer and others.
“Our community has been here for thousands of years.” said Strong. “And we hope it will be here for a thousand more.”