NEWTOK Memory Maps

Intergenerational Activism Through Art

Teaching Artist:

Katie Basile is a documentary photographer and filmmaker whose work explores adaptation and resilience in Southwest Alaska.

"(Erosion) is separating our people, our traditions feel like they're fading. Our culture is slowly disappearing because we are so focused on getting everyone moved that we rarely do the things we used to do (such as fiddle dances and feasts). Our Elders that have passed are being buried away from their deceased family. Our siblings are growing up away from our grandparents Native land... where our grandparents raised our parents."

Newtok Memory Maps participant

Local Issue Addressed

Newtok, Alaska is a Central Yup’ik community and one of the country’s first villages forced to relocate because of climate change impacts. For decades, the permafrost under Newtok has been thawing, making the village unstable and unlivable. The Newtok Village Council has been actively raising awareness and funds for a village-wide move from Newtok to a newly constructed site, Mertarvik. While there is federal funding for relocation, it has been piecemeal, and the complexities of constructing a whole new village in one of Alaska’s most remote corners has delayed the transition, leaving residents stuck in Newtok as it erodes around them.

Finally, in 2019 the first few families made the nine-mile move to Mertarvik and five years later, in 2024, the last families moved across, completing the relocation. Newtok and Mertarvik are in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska where approximately 47 Alaska Native villages are threatened by flooding, erosion and permafrost thaw, and many of these communities also need to relocate .

Project Overview

Teaching Artist, Katie Basile, created Memory Maps, a multimedia project to give local youth and elders in environmentally threatened communities the opportunity to share personal stories of climate change impacts and to advocate for the continued relocation of their villages to safer land.

Between 2022 and 2024, 41 young people participated in the creation of digital stories that reflect on the effects of climate change in the villages of Napakiak and Newtok. Elders and youth from both villages
shared memories of the changing landscapes and the hopes they have for the future.

The digital story created in Napakiak was shared with legislative representatives and U.S. senators to raise awareness about how climate change is impacting the region. Not only did it develop and strengthen intergenerational relationships in the area, but the project garnered attention from state senators with the potential to affect future policy decisions.

Core Activities

• Participated in drone photography and video workshops to understand and document the geography of the region.

• Interviewed Elders about their histories and experiences on the land that has been lost, and created collaborative digital memory maps.

• Wrote news stories about their relocation for the local newspaper and radio station.

• Shared work with the school board, policy makers, and learned how
to present their work in public.

Social Impact Outcomes

Participating in intergenerational storytelling can be a powerful vehicle for both youth and elders to build trust, foster empathy, and practice active listening. Digital technologies allow for stories to be documented in imaginative ways and create a permanent record for future generations.

• Youth living in Newtok/ Mertarvik had an increased understanding of the science behind climate change and how it impacts the community.

• Youth and communities members learned how articulate their ideas and advocate for change.

• Students documented the impacts of climate change with photography and interviews with elders and community members.

• Projects were presented to student peers, community members, and
policy makers.

• Youth published their work through KYUK and other media outlets.

Skills and Competencies Measured

Explaining the link between climate change and local environmental issues
Conducting intergenerational video interviews
Presenting work to a wider audience

Data Collection Methods

Digital storytelling
Questionnaires
Conversation and group reflection

"I’m excited to further my education by going to college in Fairbanks next year. I’m going to be studying environmental journalism to get my bachelor degree. My goal is to help people. I want to write people’s stories and let their voices be heard when they can’t speak up."

Newtok Memory Maps participant