JUNEAU, AK (September 23, 2022) – The Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska's (Tlingit & Haida) Executive Council has approved a $10,000 donation to support relief efforts after devastating storms in Western Alaska. The funds will be donated to the Alaska Community Foundation.
The remnants of Pacific typhoon Merbok impacted about 1,000 miles of Western Alaska coastline. Strong winds and flooding destroyed dozens of home and cabins in about 40 communities including Nome, Golovin and Hooper Bay. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy issued a federal disaster declaration to get more recovery funds to the area.
Tlingit & Haida President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson and the Executive Council agreed it was crucial to give aid to the communities after an unprecedented weather event and unanimously approved the $10,000 donation.
“Our communities are on the front lines of climate change. We are seeing unprecedented times, changing weather patterns, coastal erosion, and impacts on our ways of life," President Peterson said. "Our ancestors set the precedent that we hold each other up through hard times. Our hearts go out to our relatives in Western Alaska. Tlingit & Haida is holding you up during this difficult time. I gu.aa y'ax x'wán (be strong, hang in there).”
In less than one week, the Alaska Community Foundation has raised more than $850,000.
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