Educational Media Reviews Online

This alarming documentary tells the story of a small tribal community, Kivalina, that is located on a tiny island between the Chukchi Sea and the Kivalina River in Alaska. For several decades, the residents on the island, the Inupiaq Eskimo, have had to survive while managing the environmental impact of climate change on the quality of their lives. The increasing annual temperatures have contributed to a number of worrying issues, including the melting of arctic glaciers, decreasing sea-ice and rising sea levels, and land erosion. As a result, the island has been constantly sinking. Due to the continuous loss of land, the residents of Kivalina must be relocated.

The authors use observation techniques to demonstrate how such environmental consequences affect everything on the island and create serious problems such as overcrowded housing and limited ability to build new houses, food stores, and other buildings, shortage of drinking water, lack of toilets and waste disposal, and constant flooding. The participation in traditional outdoor activities, such as hunting, fishing, and berry harvesting become more difficult and dangerous, leading to food insecurity. Since the future for this community is unknown, many residents suffer from depression, high anxiety, and many other health problems. As a result, the suicide rate is uncommonly high.

While Kivalina brings awareness to the environmental disaster in Alaska through the perceptive observation of the humanitarian crisis, it does not explore the complicated topic any further. It does not help to explain why the state and national authorities have managed the situation so poorly for such a long period of time.

The documentary is appropriate for public and academic library collections.