Today, the Biden administration announced a $135 million commitment to support the relocation of Tribal communities affected by climate change, including the Alaskan village of Newtok, which Patagonia has been working with in recent years.
Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert released the following statement:
“We’d like to publicly thank President Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland for providing this much-needed assistance to Indigenous communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Patagonia has been honored to work with the Newtok Village Council since February 2021 to support their plans to relocate from Newtok, Alaska upriver to Mertarvik to provide a more climate-resilient home where the hundreds of Yup’ik residents will be safe from sea level rise and erosion. We’d also like to thank the leaders in Newtok who are working to keep their culture and community intact, as well as the kids of Newtok and Mertarvik who spoke up and wrote letters to D.C., and the entire community who never lost hope. The other villages receiving the federal assistance that was announced today all face similar imminent threats. Globally, an estimated 1.4 billion people may have to relocate by 2060 due to rising seas, so this funding from the Biden-Harris administration will help inform future decisions to benefit other communities. It’s critical for the administration to keep pursuing aggressive climate goals that prioritize people and planet and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.”
View the Newtok film here.