Children in Newtok, Alaska, play near crumbling permafrost cliffs that are now within a few dozen feet of numerous homes. While I was photographing there, multiple unsafe homes were being demolished, and a handful of families were in the process of packing up to live in temporary housing for the summer. Months later villagers began relocating to a new site nine miles upriver this fall—the first of 12 Alaskan villages that may be forced to relocate. May 5th, 2019.The Yupik village of Newtok, Alaska, population 380, is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and the coastline shrinks due erosion. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has begun relocation as a direct result of climate change—pioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo.

On a summer bird hunt, Kenyon Kassaiuli, Jonah Andy, Larry Charles, and Reese John cross a flooded walkway in Newtok, Alaska. May 27th, 2019. The Yupik village of Newtok, Alaska, population 380, is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws. Erosion has already wiped out nearly a mile of Newtok’s land, and it is estimated that in three to five years it could be underwater. The entire village is in the process of moving to Mertarvik, a new village site about nine miles away. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has already begun relocation as a direct result of climate change—pioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo. 

Reese John plays with his slingshot on a piling from a recently demolished home in Newtok, Alaska. May 28th, 2019. Just a few dozen feet away are crumbling cliffs of permafrost falling into the Ninglik River. Erosion has already gobbled up approximately one mile of NewtokÕs land, and the entire village is sinking as the permafrost beneath the ground thaws. The demolished homes leave behind a playground of construction materials for local children. As much as the kids I met seemed to enjoy climbing and jumping all over these structures, they also made sure to tell me multiple times about the brand-new playground they were going to have very soon. Nine miles upriver is the site of a new village, Mertarvik, where the entire Newtok community will be relocating this fall. Newtok is the first village in Alaska that has already begun relocation as a result of climate changeÑpioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo.Ê

Children play on top of Newtok, Alaska's aging water treatment facilities. May 27th, 2019. Homes in Newtok do not have running water, plumbing or flush toilets; residents must gather their own water from this facility. However after 20 years of flooding, erosion and thawing permafrost, the residents of Newtok have started moving to a new village where they will have proper plumbing. The Yupik village of Newtok, Alaska, population 380, is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and the coastline shrinks due erosion. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has begun relocation as a direct result of climate changeÑpioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo. This relocation has taken decades to happen, and in the meantime Newtok's "temporary" status has justified a total lack of state and federal investment in the community's infrastructure, utility and social services.

Naun Lala braids freshly caught river herring in order to dry the fish out in the sun in Newtok, Alaska, a Yupik village of roughly 380 people. May 26th, 2019. Subsistence-based practices such as gathering eggs, hunting, and fishing are a way of life in Newtok, crucial to everything from culture and economy to nutrition and survival. Alaska native communities like Newtok are inextricably tied to the land, yet will be some of the first communities in the world forced to relocate as a result of climate change. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has begun relocation as a direct result of climate change—pioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo. The entire village is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and the coastline shrinks due erosion.

Freshly caught herring gets dried in the traditional way in Newtok, Alaska, a Yupik village of roughly 380 people. May 26th, 2019. Subsistence-based practices such as gathering eggs, hunting, and fishing are a way of life in Newtok, crucial to everything from culture and economy to nutrition and survival. Alaska native communities like Newtok are inextricably tied to the land, yet will be some of the first communities in the world forced to relocate as a result of climate change. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has begun relocation as a direct result of climate change—pioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo. The entire village is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and the coastline shrinks due erosion.

Kaleigh Charles collects goose eggs with her family along the Ninglick River in western Alaska. The Charles family live nearby in Newtok, a Yupik village of roughly 380 people. May 26th, 2019. Subsistence-based practices such as gathering eggs, hunting, and fishing are a way of life in Newtok, crucial to everything from culture and economy to nutrition and survival. Alaska native communities like Newtok are inextricably tied to the land, yet will be some of the first communities in the world forced to relocate as a result of climate change.ÊNewtok is the first community in Alaska that has begun relocation as a direct result of climate changeÑpioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo. The entire village is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and the coastline shrinks due erosion.

Kaleigh Charles collects goose eggs with her family along the Ninglick River in western Alaska. The Charles family live nearby in Newtok, a Yupik village of roughly 380 people. May 26th, 2019. Subsistence-based practices such as gathering eggs, hunting, and fishing are a way of life in Newtok, crucial to everything from culture and economy to nutrition and survival. Alaska native communities like Newtok are inextricably tied to the land, yet will be some of the first communities in the world forced to relocate as a result of climate change. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has begun relocation as a direct result of climate change—pioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo. The entire village is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and the coastline shrinks due erosion.

Boys on a summer bird hunt in the flooding village of Newtok, Alaska. May 27th, 2019. The Yupik village of Newtok, Alaska, population 380, is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws. Erosion has already wiped out nearly a mile of Newtok’s land, and it is estimated that in three to five years it could be underwater. The entire village is in the process of moving to Mertarvik, a new village site about nine miles away. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has already begun relocation as a direct result of climate change—pioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo. 

Women gather at the home of Lisa and Jeff Charles in Newtok, Alaska, a Yupik village of roughly 380 people, for a traditional hunting celebration after their daughter Rayna's first successful ptarmigan hunt. The Charles family gifted the birds to elders, handed out food and threw sweets in the air. May 26th, 2019. Subsistence-based practices such as gathering eggs, hunting, and fishing are a way of life in Newtok, crucial to everything from culture and economy to nutrition and survival. Alaska native communities like Newtok are inextricably tied to the land, yet will be some of the first communities in the world forced to relocate as a result of climate change.ÊNewtok is the first community in Alaska that has begun relocation as a direct result of climate changeÑpioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo. The entire village is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and the coastline shrinks due erosion.

Girls play along outside one of the homes set to be demolished in Newtok, Alaska. May, 2019. Homes rest on pilings in the village of Newtok in western Alaska. This Yupik village (population 380), located along the Ninglik River in the lower Kuskokwim Delta, is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws. The entire village is in the process of moving to Mertarvik, a new village site about nine miles away built on rocky ground.

Jasmine Kassaiuli in her bedroom in Newtok, Alaska. Her ceiling recently split in two as a result of thawing permafrost underneath the ground destroying the house's foundation. May 27th, 2019. The Yupik village of Newtok, Alaska, population 380, is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and the coastline shrinks due erosion. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has begun relocation as a direct result of climate change-pioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo.

The Newtok School will be one of the first schools in the USA to shutter as a result of climate change. The building is sinking, and was a main motivator for the village to relocate permanently. June 2, 2019. The Yupik village of Newtok, Alaska, population 380, is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws. Erosion has already wiped out nearly a mile of NewtokÕs land, and it is estimated that in three to five years it could be underwater. The entire village is in the process of moving to Mertarvik, a new village site about nine miles away. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has already begun relocation as a direct result of climate changeÑpioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo.Ê

Clarissa and Aaliyah sit on top of a plywood board used to walk safely on sinking mud in Newtok, Alaska. May 28th, 2019. Behind them are crumbling permafrost cliffs that have become too dangerous for nearby homes. At the time, multiple unsafe homes were being demolished, and a handful of families were in the process of packing up to live in temporary housing for the summer. The entire village is moving to a new site nine miles upriver this fallÑthe first of 12 Alaskan villages that may be forced to relocate.

Monica Kasayuli walks across a flooded walkway on her way home in Newtok, Alaska. May 26th, 2019. Her home was deemed unsafe and she was packing at the time to move to temporary FEMA housing, before becoming one of Newtok's "pioneers." Currently Monica and her children are part of the first wave of residents in Mertarvik, a new village site about nine miles away built on rocky ground.The Yupik village of Newtok, Alaska, population 380, is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and its coastline is gobbled up by erosion.

Jasmine and Kenyon Kassaiuli in their living room in Newtok, Alaska. Their ceiling recently split in two as a result of thawing permafrost underneath the ground destroying the house's foundation.

Two young girls play on a family member's phone while sitting on a broken down snowmobile in Newtok, Alaska. Smart phones are ubiquitous in the village. June 2, 2019.The Yupik village of Newtok, Alaska, population 380, is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and the coastline shrinks due erosion. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has begun relocation as a direct result of climate change-pioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo.

Children in Newtok, Alaska, play near crumbling permafrost cliffs that are now within a few dozen feet of numerous homes. May 31st, 2019.The Yupik village of Newtok, Alaska, population 380, is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and the coastline shrinks due erosion. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has begun relocation as a direct result of climate changeÑpioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo.

Sarah Orlinsky Maitland chopping wood in her home in the Catskills of New York. Photo by Katie OrlinskyRELEASE ATTACHED

Monica Kasayuli dries herring in a shed outside her then-home in Newtok, Alaska. At the time, Monica's home had been deemed unsafe and she was packing up her family to move to temporary FEMA housing. Currently Monica and her children have left Newtok altogether to live about nine miles away in the new village site Mertarvik. May 30th, 2019.The entire village of Newtok is currently in the process of moving to Mertarvik. It is the first community in Alaska that has already begun relocation as a result of climate change—pioneering a process that many Alaskan villages may one day undergo. Newtok, a 380 person Yupik Native village along the Ninglick river, is one of the most urgent and extreme examples of climate change today. The entire village is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws and it is estimated that in only 3-5 years the entire village will be underwater. Erosion has already wiped out nearly a mile of Newtok’s land, with thawing permafrost rapidly accelerating the loss. Alaska native communities like Newtok are inextricably tied to the land, yet will be some of the first communities in the world forced to relocate as a result of climate change. 

The Yupik village of Newtok in western Alaska, population 380, flanked by the Ninglik and Newtok Rivers. May 25th, 2019. The village is sinking as the permafrost beneath it thaws. Erosion has already wiped out nearly a mile of NewtokÕs land, and it is estimated that in three to five years it could be underwater. The entire village is in the process of moving to Mertarvik, a new village site about nine miles away. Newtok is the first community in Alaska that has already begun relocation as a result of climate changeÑpioneering a process that many other Alaskan villages may soon undergo.Ê