Thanks to funding made possible by the state’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA), the Quinault Indian Nation’s mission to face climate change head-on has gained more momentum.
Quinault recently announced that it will use $13 million in funding toward moving the villages of Taholah and Queets out of the Olympic Coast’s flooding and tsunami zone. The funds will help make possible a new building to house child and elder services, an emergency shelter on safe ground in Queets and a new water tank and pump house on higher ground in Taholah.
The funding will also help the tribe further develop a master plan and architectural drawings for a new museum and cultural center.
Quinault President Guy Capoeman and members of the tribal council were joined by Gov. Jay Inslee in Taholah in July for the announcement of the funding.
Capoeman said the project of moving the two villages is no small matter—but the tribe is up to it.
“To do that we have to have a plan—and we do have a plan,” he said.
Climate change has sharply increased threats to the tribe through sea level rise and flooding. Tsunamis, which could be triggered by earthquakes, pose another danger to residents of Taholah and Queets.
“We’re at ground zero,” Capoeman said. “We see these changes.”
As a response—and after study and community discussions—the tribe decided to move its structures and people to higher, safer ground. It’s a process that’s been underway for years.
“The Quinault people are an example of two things: people threatened by climate change, and people willing to do something about it,” Inslee said.
The recently announced funding for Quinault was part of $52 million for 28 federally recognized tribes within Washington state, as well as four federally recognized tribes with lands within the state. Unfortunately, an initiative on Washington ballots this fall seeks to repeal the act, at the expense of these programs.
Quinault Tribal Council President Guy Capoeman speaks at the July announcement of state funding to help move the villages of Taholah and Queets out of the Olympic Coast’s flooding and tsunami zone. Story: Trevor Pyle. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor.
