Deb Haaland, America’s first Native American U.S. Secretary of the Interior, journeyed to Taholah, a coastal Quinault Indian reservation community in Grays Harbor County, Washington, to discuss the impacts of climate change including rising oceans and erosion.
She also discussed the need to improve internet service to the remote area near the Olympic National Park southwest of Seattle.
“As coastal communities face the increasing threat of rising seas, coastal erosion and storm surges, our focus must be on bolstering climate resilience,” Haaland said, quoted in the Daily World.
The Quinault Nation includes 10 branches of Native American peoples including those of the Chinook, Chehalis and Puyallup peoples.
Haaland, a Democrat, was joined on the visit by U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Tacoma). Taholah Village had a population of 665 in 2019 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, down from over 800 in 2011.
The Daily World report said native people are relocating the coastal site of the village because of rising sea waters.
“We’ve seen homes and community centers in Taholah face water damage,” Kilmer said. “We’ve seen the Quileute Tribal School in La Push be in the crosshairs of a rising ocean. We’ve seen coastal challenges threaten public safety, public access, and cultural landmarks for these tribes and others, including the Hoh and Makah Tribes.”
Each of these communities are working to move to higher ground, Kilmer added.
"That’s why I’m working to ensure the federal government takes action to provide tribal communities with direct access to much needed resources to enhance their coastal resiliency and keep their people out of harm’s way,” he said.
The Biden Administration announced a “Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal” intended to allocate $466 million to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide relocation assistance, planning and design of infrastructure projects, with an additional $250 million for construction and repair of irrigation, power systems, dams, water sanitation and other facilities.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced $1 billion in grants would be made available to expand broadband internet services on tribal lands.
The report said, tribal leaders communicated to Haaland their concerns about rising oceans, the decline of salmon populations and how the federal government had failed to uphold its treaty responsibilities with native peoples.
