Fawn Sharp, serves as of the Quinault Nation of Washington, president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and vice president of the National Congress of American Indians. Photo from United South and Eastern Tribes
Fawn Sharp, the president of the Quinault Nation, calls on states and federal governments to support clean energy alternatives and stem the negative impacts of climate change:
Quinault tribal members can attest to the urgency of climate change from an up-close and personal perspective. We’re being forced to relocate part of our village of Taholah on the Washington coast. Ocean encroachment, increasingly severe storm surges and flooding are forcing more than 1,000 of our people to permanently move to higher ground. Tribes are not primary contributors to weather changes. Blame it on industrial smoke stacks, thousands of cars that clog the freeways and exploiters who destroy natural habitat. But we’re often the first to feel the impact because of our proximity and connection with rivers, inland seas and the ocean. The ancient Mount Anderson glacier that feeds our Quinault River and Lake Quinault has now disappeared. We’ve witnessed the desecration of our ocean being polluted by greenhouse gases through acidification, causing the food chain for salmon and other sacred natural resources to dwindle. The glaciers in our mountains not only provide water for drinking and agriculture; they also provide the flow of cool water in rivers that salmon need to survive. In the face of record high temperatures, massive wildfires and more intense droughts, more people than ever are beginning to understand the realities of climate change, and the urgency intensifies every year.Get the Story:
Fawn Sharp: Tribes have up close perspective on climate change (The Seattle Times 4/24)
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