After decades of government inaction put them in the direct path of a slow moving climate disaster, the Indigenous village of Newtok, Alaska, may still be able to keep their community intact, but their future hinges on the political will of those in power and finding the money to build a new village.
Join us on April 19th for a conversation with Newtok resident and film subject, Della Carl and her father, George Carl, Yup’ik culture bearer and professor at University of Alaska in Anchorage, Marie Meade, and the Newtok filmmakers, Andrew Burton and Michael Kirby Smith. This event will be moderated by activist, cultural educator and actor, Dallas Goldtooth.
Water will erase Newtok, Alaska. Built on a delta at the edge of the Bering Sea, the tiny Yup’ik village has been dealing with melting permafrost, river erosion and decaying infrastructure for decades. To keep their culture and community intact, the 360 Yup’ik residents must relocate their entire village to stable ground upriver while facing a federal government that has failed to take appropriate action to combat climate change. In moving their village, they will become some of America’s first 21st century climate refugees. It is a verité portrait of a village seeking justice in the face of climate disaster. This spring, in advance of the April release, we are organizing an online conversation around the film as well as local community screenings.
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Please join us on Tuesday, April 19th at 5pm PDT // 8pm EDT for a conversation to learn more about how the federal government that has failed to take appropriate action to combat climate change, what’s at stake, what we can learn from Newtok and how our collective action can support climate justice. Featured speakers include:
- Activist, Cultural Educator + Actor, Dallas Goldtooth
- Newtok Resident and Film Subject, Della Carl
- Newtok Resident and Film Subject, George Carl
- Yup’ik Culture Bearer and Professor, University of Alaska, Anchorage, Marie Meade
- Newtok Filmmakers, Andrew Burton and Michael Kirby Smith
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Newtok, Alaska Deserves Justice.
Learn more and take action: patagonia.com/newtok
To host a screening of the film for your school, organization, corporation, or other groups please complete the form linked here.
If you are an individual interested in viewing the film, please contact newtok@rocofilms.com
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RSVP above and please find the Zoom link below to access the panel.
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https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85496099613
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Dallas Goldtooth is an Isanti Dakota and Dine man from Cansayapi village within Oceti Sakowin territory, in what is currently called Minnesota. He is the national Keep It In The Ground campaigner for the Indigenous Environmental Network, focusing his work on uplifting and supporting frontline Indigenous communities fighting fossil fuel extraction on Indigenous lands. He has traveled extensively across North America as a public speaker and organizer, addressing the needs and issues that affect Indigenous peoples today. He is a film producer, playwright, actor, and a comedian. He co-founded The 1491s, an all-indigenous social media group that uses comedy and satire as a means of critical social dialogue. He is also a Dakota language activist, cultural teacher, dedicated father and loving husband.
Della Carl grew up and lived in Newtok until she left home to pursue a university education. She studied in Fairbanks and spent portions of her adult life in other Alaskan cities and towns before returning to the village. The encroaching river forced Della and her three children to move in with her parents and extended family. With scarce housing and economic opportunities in Newtok, Della must choose between providing economic security for her children and offering emotional support as they crash headlong into the move across the river.
Village Councilmember George Carl has been present for Newtok’s political struggles and cultural successes since the village was founded. Born in the traditional village of Kayalavik, George and his parents moved to Newtok in the 1950s after federal authorities threatened the Yup’ik people with jail if they didn’t assimilate to a Western education system. There, he lived in a sod house before leaving the village for boarding school. He returned to work on the construction crew that built the homes that are currently threatened with collapse. A longtime member of the village council, he has lobbied for support for the move from federal and state authorities. He is Della’s father.
Marie Meade is a Yup'ik anthropologist and language professor at University of Alaska, Anchorage. Her family is originally from Kailavik, which is where the people of Newtok were located prior to the government-forced relocation to Newtok. She has been helping us conduct interviews with villagers in Yup'ik. She is considered a culture bearer throughout the Yupik communities of the Yukon-Kuskokwim region.
Michael Kirby Smith and Andrew Burton are documentary filmmakers and photojournalists who have covered conflict, protest, natural disasters and presidential campaigns for outlets including The New York Times, The New Yorker, National Geographic, The Washington Post, TIME and Getty Images. Their work has been honored by the Pulitzer Prize (Finalist, 2016); Sundance Institute (Grantees, 2019); Photographer of the Year International (2011); American Photography (32 & 34) and PDN Photo Annual, amongst others.
In 2016 Burton and Smith set out to make a film that showed the impact of climate change on an American community in real time. They logged nearly 300 days in Newtok, Alaska, until production ended in 2020. In the coming years, they hope to continue supporting Newtok’s efforts to complete its move through the body of photography and reporting they completed during the creation of the film.
