Traditional Cultural Districts: An Opportunity for Alaska Tribes to Protect Subsistence Rights and Traditional Lands

Alaska tribes have limited control over their traditional lands and waters. Tribes may increase their influence through a Traditional Cultural District designation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This designation does not stop development, but requires federal agencies to consult with tribes regarding potential development that may impact the district. The consultation right applies regardless of whether a tribe owns or has formally designated the district. In Alaska, where no Traditional Cultural Districts exist as of 2014, there is potential for designating large areas of land or water that correspond to the range of traditionally important species

How Can Laws, Institutions, and Plans Facilitate Alaska Native Village Adaptation to Climate Change?

Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2018

Avoiding Maladaptations to Flooding and Erosion: A Case Study of Alaska Native Villages

This article offers perspective on how Alaska Native Villages (ANVs), which are small and rural indigenous communities, are adapting to changes in flooding and erosion. It considers which adaptations might be maladaptations and what might be done to facilitate adaptation short of relocating entire communities. It outlines the United States\u27 legal framework applicable to flooding and erosion and considers why this framework may do little to assist ANVs and similarly situated small and rural communities. Findings regarding adaptation strategies and obstacles are drawn from my Ph.D. research, which involved a review of plans for fifty nine ANVs and 153 interviews and conversations with ANV residents as well as those outside ANVs who make or influence policy that affects ANVs. Findings also draw from my practical perspective of having lived in and worked for ANVs for several years. While small and rural communities such as ANVs often want to stay in place and avoid retreat, there is a gap between communities and federal institutions in terms of the adaptation strategies that each desire and are able to carry out. Aside from legal reforms, there is a need for better partnerships between communities and external entities so that these communities can more readily obtain adaptation assistance and have a stronger voice in how this assistance takes place