The Last Days of Shishmaref

Shishmaref is a small island located in the far northwest corner of Alaska. It is known as home to an Inupiaq Eskimo community. But it will not be their home for very much longer. Due to global warming, the icebergs are melting and causing the ocean to get bigger and stronger. Every year the island loses five to ten feet as a result of powerful waves and coastal erosion. The irregular warm weather also shortens the Eskimo's hunting season, and they depend on sea mammals to survive. THE LAST DAYS OF SHISHMAREF follows three families and shows how their daily life is changing. Every day that they decide to stay in their town is a risk. But how can a society that does not even have running water afford to move in its entirety to another city? With costs projected to be over $100 million, the people of Shishmaref are running out of options. Environmentalists predict that the village will be wiped out and the island will be gone within the next ten years. Hoping to keep their way of life, the villagers face THE LAST DAYS OF SHISHMAREF. ( In English and Inupiaq with English subtitles)– L.W.