The IRA appropriates $220 million to the Department of the Interior’s (“DOI”) Bureau of Indian Affairs for Tribal climate resilience and adaptation programs. On November 30, 2023, the DOI announced that $40 million of those funds would be dedicated to voluntary community-driven relocation efforts. With additional sources of funding, the Department has identified 11 Tribes that have been severely impacted by climate change to receive relocation and adaptation grants.
This funding includes approximately $17.7 million for the relocation of infrastructure in the Newtok Village, the Native Village of Napakiak, and the Quinault Indian Nation, as well as planning grants of $5 million each for the Native Village of Point Lay, the Huslia Village, the Native Village of Fort Yukon, the Native Village of Nelson Lagoon, the Havasupai Tribe, the Yurok Tribe, the Chitimacha Tribe, and the Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe.