Alaskans hunt for new ways to survive
QUINHAGAK: As far back as he can remember, Willard Church Jr has gone out ice fishing well into the month of April, chopping holes that were easily four feet deep into the Kanektok River near his home.
But the waterway that runs along the village of Quinhagak in Alaska barely freezes now, a testament to the warming temperatures wreaking havoc on the state’s indigenous people and their way of life.
“I am a hunter and fisherman. I’ve spent my whole life living the subsistence lifestyle,” Church, 55, of the Yupik Eskimo community, told an AFP team that recently visited the remote village of 700 people by the Bering Sea and Kuskokwim Bay.
“We grew up in a time when winter was actual winter, when our elders remember snow drifts as high as the peaks of people’s houses.
“Today, we’re lucky to even get half an inch of snow on the ground.”
As world leaders and scientists grapple with how to combat climate change, Alaska’s native people – estimated at 120,000 and living in 230 rural communities or regional hubs – find themselves at the centre of a crisis that has forced them to rethink their traditional lifestyle.
The Fourth National Climate Assessment, a congressionally-mandated report released in November, says the state is among the fastest warming regions on Earth.
For Alaskans, the temperature increases are changing the core of their existence and having a drastic effect on their food supply.
Frozen waterways that turn into ice roads in winter and spring, linking rural villages and allowing for transportation of goods, are breaking up early or not freezing at all.
Frozen rivers and sea ice are also crucial for subsistence fishing and hunting and without them, the native population is being forced to adapt and find new ways to survive.
For elders like Annie Cleveland, 78, the warming temperatures also affect centuries-old traditions.
“We used to travel with dog teams, go up river and camp and fish all summer long ... all of that is changing due to the climate,” she said.
Despite the grim outlook, in dozens of interviews conducted with local tribal leaders and residents, everyone appeared confident that the resilience of the native communities would ensure their survival.
“We have adapted over the centuries with whatever we’re given by mother nature,” said Warren Jones, head of Quinhagak’s village corporation. — AFP