Climate Justice
Alaska is experiencing climate change like no other state in the country. We have warming waters, melting ice, erosion causing massive relocation needs for communities, wildfires across the state, record numbers of salmon dying before they can spawn, receding glaciers at alarming rates, and seasons changing that are affecting traditional hunting, fishing and gathering. We need to be at the forefront of solutions and at decision making tables. Our Indigenous leadership and stewardship on these lands for thousands of years have placed us in a unique position to be leaders of system changes and in the efforts around protecting our homelands.
The NPA/CF team worked together to develop a Statewide Climate Action Plan with the intent to identify clear cut solutions and ideas to present to our decision makers, learn from what are communities are already accomplishing, and carry out an action plan that will highlight solutions. Additionally, through an education campaign we will share stories demonstrating the impacts climate change is having on our communities and ways of life.
Partnerships
One of the greatest strengths at NPA/CF is the partnerships, collaborations and relationships that have been built which we know are key to making big changes. We work in collaboration with our partners who are doing amazing work on climate including Tribes all across the state, the Alaska Climate Alliance which includes many organizations and individuals working towards similar goals, Audubon, The Alaska Center, Native Movement, the Just Transition Community, and others.
NPA/CF Statewide Climate Action Plan
Our climate action plan was created in partnership with Alaskans from all over the state to inform, educate and find real solutions to advocate for and implement that will make an impact on reversing or stopping the harmful effects of climate change. The NPA/CF team has been working with partner organizations, individuals, and Tribes to conduct the research that will present us with ideas and solutions through actions that Alaskans are already taking, in addition to researching what other states are considering across the Nation. We gathered knowledge from our elders, spent time listening and working with Alaska’s youth who are on the front lines of advocating for action, and having discussions with innovators who are thinking outside the box for solutions. We know and understand the importance of doing this work together and we cannot make system changes without everyone at the table – non-profits, policy makers, innovators, Tribes, Native Corporations, business community, private sector, and all Alaskans.
Goals and Objectives
As an Indigenous led non-profit operating both a C3 and C4 organization Native Peoples Action and Native Peoples Action Community Fund is uniquely positioned to advance policy, work with our communities, and create climate action plans. Our top goals for this Statewide Climate Action Plan: 1) compile research on existing projects in Alaska related to climate solutions, 2) compile policy proposals from across the Nation that will shape ideas and actions that we can champion in Alaska, 3) create an economic and climate justice action plan rooted in the just transition framework, 4) carry out the action plans identified in the plan.
Education and Outreach
Working with our partners across the state we are creating an informative education outreach campaign on the effects of climate change as many communities and individuals across the state have felt real impacts to their home, hunting, fishing and daily lives because of the of the changing climate.
The education campaign has already been under way with the creation of Returning to Balance – a video done in partnership with Native Movement, The Alaska Center, Alaska Venture Fund, and SalmonState.
We have also created a series of four 30 second educational ads that are be running on local television, radio and social media. View them below!
Alaska Climate Story Bank
Everyone has a climate story to tell. From flooding and erosion of our riverbanks, changing fish camp stories, wildfires, unfamiliar migration patterns, rapid change in hunting areas to growing our own food sources. NPA’s climate story bank collects these stories to share with our decision makers so they are hearing directly from Alaskans.
