Indigenous communities facing climate change
From Alaska to China, I’ve documented the ways indigenous communities are dealing with the changing environment. On Yurok tribal lands in Northern California, the salmon run is at risk. In Quinhagak, a remote village in Alaska, the village is sinking as the permafrost melts. On the Tibetan Plateau, nomadic Tibetan herders act as stewards to China’s first national park.
Paulina Tom hunts birds with her friends on May 22, 2019, in Quinhagak, Alaska. Alaska Native subsistence is common among the Yup'ik population of Quinhagak who hunt, fish and gather.
Tibetan flags fly over mountains near the Mekong river in Angsai, on July 23, 2017 in Qinghai province, China. The region is part of Sanjiangyuan, the 'source of three rivers,' which will be China's first national park.
From left, Duoji Zhuoma and her husband, Cichengji, stand outside their home on in a resettlement area for nomadic Tibetan herders on July 21, 2017 in Yuegaizhen, China. The Chinese government is relocating herders off the grasslands on the Tibetan plateau in what will be Sanjiangyuan, China's first national park.
The sun sets across the cemetery as a storm passes through on May 20, 2019, in Quinhagak, Alaska. The melting permafrost is causing older crosses to tilt and sink in the cemetery.
Hoppow Norris stands for a portrait outside of his home in Crescent City, north of the Yurok Reservation on February 9, 2019 in Klamath, California. He is a member of the Yurok Tribe.
Abby Abinanti, Chief Judge of the Yurok Tribal Court, stands for a portrait near a Yurok dance pit on February 6, 2019 in Klamath, California. Judge Abinanti previously worked as a San Francisco Superior Court commissioner.
The sun sets over a town surrounded by the Yurok Reservation on February 9, 2019 in Klamath Glen, California.
Gilbert Myers, Junior, a fisheries technician with the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program, catches fish for a research project near the confluence of the Trinity and Klamath Rivers on September 9, 2021 in Weitchpec, California. Myers is a part of the "Ich Project" a group of biologists who examine the gills of salmon to detect the parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, known as "ich". Drought and low water levels along the Klamath River can lead to more diseases affecting the fish population
Gilbert Myers, Junior, a fisheries technician with the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program, catches fish for a research project near the confluence of the Trinity and Klamath Rivers on September 9, 2021 in Weitchpec, California. Myers is a part of the "Ich Project" a group of biologists who examine the gills of salmon to detect the parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, known as "ich". Drought and low water levels along the Klamath River can lead to more diseases affecting the fish population.
A Ravn air flight prepares to land on May 20, 2019, in Quinhagak, Alaska. Shifting rivers, erosion from the Bering Sea and permafrost melt are threatening the future of this Yupik village on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta coast of Alaska.
Warren Jones, President of Quinhagak's village corporation, Qanirtuuq Incorporated, holds an ancient Yupik masks on display at the Nunalleq Culture And Archaeology Center on May 21, 2019, in Quinhagak, Alaska. Qanirtuuq Incorporated teamed up with archeologists from Scotland to save thousands of Yupik artifacts from the threat of climate change. Quinhagak is home to the archaeological site, Nunalleq, meaning old village in Yup’ik.
At left, Angel Church picks "beach greens" with her family on May 22, 2019, in Quinhagak, Alaska. Alaska Native subsistence is common among the Yup'ik population of Quinhagak who hunt, fish and gather.
Children ride their bikes through the street on May 20, 2019, in Quinhagak, Alaska. Shifting rivers, erosion from the Bering Sea and permafrost melt are threatening the future of this Yupik village on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta coast of Alaska.
William Sharp looks out at a rainbow as a storm passes through on May 20, 2019, in Quinhagak, Alaska. Shifting rivers, erosion from the Bering Sea and permafrost melt are threatening the future of this Yupik village on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta coast of Alaska.