Epilogue: Alaska's Climate Refugees

Bear at the Bone Pile

Kaktovik, Alaska

Each autumn polar bears flee the receding pack ice and reap the bounty of the Inupiat fall whaling season. The village of kaktovik is allowed to harvest three bowhead whales during the season, and the bears congregate here to feed off of what the Inupiat don't use.

A Fragile Sanctuary

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 1002 Area, Kaktovik, Alaska

A family of polar bears swims in formation in the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - the portion of the refuge that the oild and gas industry and its allies in government have tried to develop for nearly four decades. These bears are heading towards the remains of three bowhead whale carcasses harvested by the Inupiat during the traditional fall whale hunt. Both the bears and the Inupiat depend upon the whale hunt for their survival.

The Animals Need Ice to exist

"The animals need ice to exist," says Inupiat hunter and guide Robert Thompson. "It's sad that an animal that has been here thousands of years may die out in my lifetime."

A Vulnerable Minority

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, kaktovik, Alaska

"Without public outcry for strong federal intervention and support for this small minority, the forces arrayed against the survival of their culture are too blind and too powerful to be deterred." - Peter Matthiessen

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