Eroding Indigenous Sovereignty - The Margin

About 40 miles north, on the Coast, The Chinook’s Indian Nation’s headquarters, a flimsy wooden house in Bay Center, Willapa Bay, lies on a thin strip of land about, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. The area, where thousands of the Tribe’s records are held in boxes, storage units, and various buildings, is exposed to severe risk of flooding and increased average high tide. It is projected that flood levels may be between 3 feet, 5 inches to 4 feet, 1 inch by 2050. Blue signs alerting passersby of the tsunami zone dot the land surrounding the Nation’s headquarters. The sea level rise can increase the intensity and frequency of a future tsunami.