Fierce climate, sacred ground : an ethnography of climate change in Shishmaref, Alaska /
Elizabeth Marino.
- Fairbanks : University of Alaska Press, (c)2015.
- 1 online resource (xii, 122 pages) : illustrations
Includes bibliographies and index.
Figures and Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1: It's the End of the World, and Shishmaref Is Everywhere -- Chapter 2: Unnatural Natural Disasters -- Chapter 3: Flooding and Erosion in Shishmaref: The Anatomy of a Climate Change Disaster -- Chapter 4: Seal Oil Lamps and Pre-Fab Housing: A History of Colonialism in Shishmaref -- Chapter 5: Finding a Way Forward: Trust, Distrust, and Alaska Native Relocation Planning in the Twenty-first Century -- Chapter 6: The Tenacity of Home -- Chapter 7: The Ethics of Climate Change -- Notes -- Index.
Fierce Climate, Sacred Ground is an ethnographic account of the impacts of climate change in Shishmaref, Alaska. In this small Iupiaq community, flooding and erosion are forcing community members to consider relocation as the only possible solution for long-term safety. However, a tangled web of policy obstacles, lack of funding, and organizational challenges leaves the community without a clear way forward, creating serious questions of how to maintain cultural identity under the new climate regime. Elizabeth Marino analyzes this unique and grounded example of a warming world as a confluence of political injustice, histories of colonialism, global climate change, and contemporary development decisions. The book merges theoretical insights from disaster studies, political analysis, and passages from field notes into an eminently readable text for a wide audience. This is an ethnography of climate change; a glimpse into the lived experiences of a global phenomenon.
9781602232679
Human beings--Effect of climate on--Alaska--Shishmaref. Ethnology--Alaska--Shishmaref. Climatic changes--Alaska--Shishmaref. Inupiat--Alaska--Shishmaref.