The Makah and Shoalwater Bay Tribes’ lawsuits could signal a new avenue for tribal governments to recover climate costs from polluters.
Two Indigenous tribal governments on the northwest coast of Washington state are suing major oil and gas companies for their role in causing disastrous changes to the climate, which the tribes say have forced their communities on the Olympic Peninsula to relocate to higher ground.
The Makah Indian Tribe and Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, federally recognized sovereign Native Nations who have lived on their land in what is now Washington state for thousands of years, have already begun the process of uprooting homes, roads, and communal infrastructure to avoid being swallowed by the wrath of worsening storms and rapidly rising seas.