The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to collaborate with multiple tribal partners in efforts to remove marine debris from our waterways and support communities that work to reduce the impacts of marine debris on our shores. Through our grant programs, regional action plans, and community-building efforts, the NOAA Marine Debris Program strives to bring together the many groups that work tirelessly to protect our shorelines and ocean. On Native American Heritage Day, in celebration of our tribal partners’ rich ancestral heritage and commitment to stewardship, we are highlighting some active and recently completed projects that partner with or are led by native communities. Learn more about each of the projects, the impacts of marine debris on native communities, and native leadership in coastal restoration.
The Aleut Community of St. Paul Island and Douglas Indian Association in Alaska
Supported with funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the University of Alaska Fairbanks is working with partners to establish a Center for Marine Debris. This center is a collaborative effort to serve the emergent needs of the marine debris community across the state, including information sharing and connections on best practices in debris collection, monitoring, analysis, transport, and disposal. As part of this project, the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island will conduct sonar surveys to identify and quantify legacy derelict crab pots around St. Paul Island, one of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea. In the waters around Juneau in Southeast Alaska, the Douglas Indian Association will survey to find, tag, and remove derelict crab pots from the Gastineau Channel.
Additionally, in September 2024, the University of Alaska Fairbanks announced $1.2 million in federal funding for six marine debris removal awards selected under the 2024 Community Marine Debris Removal Grant Program. Each of these subaward projects support the priorities captured in the draft Alaska Marine Debris Action Plan. The projects will remove and dispose of marine debris and conduct community-focused education and outreach activities in order to provide tangible benefits to coastal and marine habitats, communities, and economies across Alaska.
Four of these selected projects directly involve meaningful engagement with tribal communities across Alaska:
The Chevak Native Village
The City of Chevak will remove marine debris in Chevak generated by Typhoon Merbok in September 2022. The storm caused massive damage to subsistence gear and fish camps, exacerbated riverbank erosion, leaving marine debris littered across the land surrounding the community. This project will improve the safety of Chevak residents and protect the local environment that they rely on by hiring local workers to collect and remove this marine debris.
The Village of Kotlik
Zender Environmental Health and Research Group will work collaboratively with the community of Kotlik and the Kotlik Tribal Environmental Health Coordinator in support of a community-led marine debris removal effort. The project will clean up marine debris in three high-traffic sites in the community, improve waste management infrastructure, and work with local high school students to raise community awareness about the need for proper waste management.
The Native Village of Goodnews Bay
The Native Village of Goodnews Bay will remove marine debris from the beaches and shorelines of Goodnews Bay and the Village of Platinum. Twice a month during summer months, groups will remove debris from both the eastern and western sides of the bay. Community members will organize cleanups and conduct community education efforts to prevent future debris.
The Native Villages of Brevig Mission and Wales
Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation will work with the communities of Brevig Mission and Wales to remove marine debris on over 25 miles of local shoreline. This project will address historical areas with large amounts of marine debris and hire residents as crew members, conducting pre-season assessments to prioritize areas for in-season removal.
Many communities in Alaska rely on the ocean for their livelihood, transportation, food and other resources that have been impacted by the changing climate. The combined efforts of the UAF project support groups in identifying and implementing optimal marine debris removal and disposal approaches to protect and preserve culturally and commercially important resources.
Read more about the University of Alaska Fairbanks project and its work on debris removal and capacity building through a regional center for marine debris in Alaska.
The Yakutat Tlingit Tribe in Alaska
The City of Yakutat is the farthest north community in Southeast Alaska and is home to a significant Alaskan native population. Historically, the expansive shoreline was a significant connection to trade routes for the Tlingit and Athabascan peoples and it remains an important cultural and economic resource. With support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program and in collaboration with multiple partners led by the City and Borough of Yakutat, including the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe, this project removed 107,790 pounds of marine debris from over fifty miles of shoreline. The debris was sorted, categorized, and weighed in Yakutat to better understand the composition and patterns common to that region. This work also prioritized the reuse and recycling of items wherever possible and built local awareness of litter and removal efforts.
Read more about marine debris prevention and removal in Yakutat, Alaska.
The Akiak Native Community in Alaska
In partnership with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the NOAA Marine Debris Program awarded the first Ocean Odyssey Marine Debris Awards for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility in 2024. The Kuskokwim River is a major interior river system that connects the people and wildlife of the boreal forest of Alaska. The Akiak Native Community will remove debris resulting from extreme riverbank erosion that has occurred in Akiak, Alaska over time. The Akiak Native Community will lead work to remove debris along the riverbank and thereby prevent debris from flowing down the Kuskokwim River to the Kuskokwim Bay and Bering Sea.
Learn more about this project by visiting the Marine Debris Clearinghouse.
The Native Village of Afognak in Alaska
The Kodiak archipelago, a group of islands south of the main land-mass of Alaska, is home to many tribal communities. Another awardee of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation 2024 Ocean Odyssey Marine Debris Awards for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility, the Native Village of Afognak, will coordinate and carry out a marine debris cleanup at Catcher Beach on Afognak Island, a stretch of shoreline known for high debris accumulation. In 1964, this native village was destroyed by an earthquake and tidal wave forcing tribal members to relocate away from the historic village site and leaving behind lots of marine debris. Local youth and interns will clean up the beach and existing trails in Afognak Village, which are important areas for the tribal community.
Learn more about this project by visiting the Marine Debris Clearinghouse.
The Makah Tribe in Washington
The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation received nearly $15 million in funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law from the NOAA Marine Debris Program to remove large-scale debris from five national marine sanctuaries across three states, including in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in partnership with the Makah Tribe.
This year, the Foundation worked to remove 15 derelict vessels that were abandoned in the Makah Marina in Neah Bay and transport them to disposal and recycling facilities. Contractors also demolished and removed an estimated 3,000 tons of debris from a massive concrete and steel bridge pontoon. This was once a temporary section of Interstate-90 across Lake Washington in Seattle, and was sunken in Neah Bay for more than 30 years.
Removing large debris from Neah Bay benefits the environment, public health, and local economy. The Makah Marina supports Tribal fisheries, community wellbeing, cultural customs, and recreation and tourism, all of which rely on clean water, thriving fisheries, and navigational safety. Watch as crews remove large debris, and read more about the project on the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation’s website.
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in Washington
In the community of Port Townsend, Washington, derelict crab traps pose a threat to wildlife, in particular the Dungeness crab population. With funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, the Innerspace Exploration Team partnered with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Clallam and Jefferson County Marine Resources Committees, and the Fiero Marine Science Center to identify and remove derelict crab pots. S’Klallam, Salish for “The Strong People”, have been hunting and fishing in their Usual and Accustomed Waters of Discovery and Sequim Bay for generations. This project, which wraps up in December 2024, surveyed both of the bays using sidescan sonar to detect and remove derelict crab traps. 337 derelict crab traps have been removed and a new, local database of the information collected has been established to further community education.
Read more about how the S’Klallam Jamestown Tribe partnered on derelict fishing gear removal efforts in Washington.
The Squaxin Island Tribe in Washington
In the southern Puget Sound, the Squaxin Island Tribe, known as “the People of the Water,” has a rich culture closely tied to the marine environment. Squaxin Island is looked upon by the Tribe as the bond that unites their past, present, and future generations. The island is only accessible to tribal members and is used for fishing, hunting, shellfish gathering, camping, and other activities. Abandoned and derelict vessels can be sources of pollution and negatively impact sensitive salmon habitat. With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the NOAA Marine Debris Program in partnership with the Washington Department of Natural Resources, will remove eight vessels from Tribal tidelands.
Read more about removing and preventing derelict vessels on tribal tidelands in Washington.
The Bay Mills Indian Community and Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Michigan
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a unique freshwater haven that is home to the Bay Mills Indian Community and Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. The Ojibwe word for Lake Superior, "Gichigami,” translates to large lake or sea. In addition to being the largest of the five Great Lakes and the second largest lake in the world by surface area, Lake Superior is an important resource for both communities’ livelihoods, including the Keweenaw fish hatchery.
In efforts to reduce marine debris along the Lake Superior shoreline with funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, the Superior Watershed Partnership partnered with these two tribal communities, Earthkeepers, the City of Marquette, and over 125 community volunteers to implement impactful clean-up events. During these events, 10 tons of tires and other large debris were removed from the waters surrounding L’Anse and Baraga by volunteer divers and onshore helpers. This clean-up effort was successful due to the collaboration between the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Baraga County and Village, and L’Anse Village. Crews have also worked in the coastal wetland areas to recover additional debris and clean 150 acres of sensitive coastal aquatic habitat..
Read more about the Lake Superior marine debris and outreach in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
