Alaska Native Yup’ik among Indigenous cultures represented at international hearing on human rights and climate

Permafrost Pathways Tribal Liaison testifies to the Inter-American Court on Human Rights

by Jessica Howard, Arctic Communications Specialist

On May 18, Morris Alexie, Permafrost Pathways Tribal Liaison for the Alaska Native Village of Nunapicuaq (Nunapitchuk), traveled for three days to South America to join EarthRights International and other Indigenous leaders from around the world at the Public Hearing on the Advisory Opinion on Climate Emergency and Human Rights.

More than 150 oral and a total of 265 written testimonies were received during the seven-day public hearing held in Barbados and Brazil. Indigenous Peoples, youth, Afro-descendant, Tribal, and rural communities, among others, testified with firsthand accounts of the severe impacts that climate change is having on their communities.

Prior to the hearing, EarthRights International and 25 allied communities and organizations prepared and submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights urging the Court to prioritize the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights in the face of climate change. The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights visited Nunapicuaq (Nunapitchuk) in 2023 to meet with the community about the environmental hazards unfolding in their village due to rapid Arctic warming.

Alaska Native communities—numbering 144—are imminently threatened by permafrost thaw, flooding, and/or erosion as the Arctic continues to warm faster than anywhere else on the planet. Many of these communities are now being forced to make difficult adaptation decisions—including community-wide relocation—to protect themselves and their cultural history and traditional ways of life.

Alexie brought powerful stories of permafrost thaw and other enduring climate and colonial impacts all the way from Alaska to the floor of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Manaus, Brazil. Below is the transcript.

“My name is Morris J. Alexie, and I am a Permafrost Pathways Liaison and former Tribal Administrator for Native Village of Nunapitchuk, which is located in Alaska in the United States. My Yup’ik name is “Chigusuk,” which means ice, similar to the ice that stabilizes my community. Our village is home to Alaska Native people of the central Yup’ik culture, which since time immemorial, our people were nomadic.

And we use the site Nunapitchuk for fishing and hunting during the spring and summer. In the early 1900s, the U. S. government built Nunapitchuk Village without consultation and surrounding nomadic people were forced to gather there under threat of imprisonment and taking our children away. For about 10 years, we have known that Nunapitchuk was not a safe place to live.

Nunapitchuk sits on top of permafrost, which is frozen ground, which is thawing because of rising temperatures. The permafrost thaw has caused our community to sink into the ground and our homes are collapsing. Our Tribal government passed a resolution to relocate to higher ground. We identified higher ground for relocation, but we cannot move because we do not have any funding sources or institutional support.

We asked the government for help, and they refused to help us, instead asking for evidence. This is a video of the government’s response, proving Nunapitchuk is unsafe. The government puts the burden on us to justify why we need to be safe. The government puts us in danger by forcing us to move to Nunapitchuk, which means the government bears responsibility for giving us healthy lives.

Quyana and thank you.”

Watch the video of Morris Alexie’s testimony and learn more about the compounding impacts of permafrost thaw and other ongoing climate hazards in the Native Village of Nunapicuaq (Nunapitchuk) through a four-part series produced by Alaska local media outlet KYUK at https://permafrost.woodwellclimate.org/alaska-native-yupik-among-indigenous-cultures-represented-at-international-hearing-on-human-rights-and-climate/

header photo: Morris Alexie providing testimony, along with other Indigenous leaders and afro-descendants, before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Manaus, Brazil. / video recording image