00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 46                                                                     
01 Recognizing the sovereign decisions of the communities of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok to                                    
02 relocate in the wake of the devastation caused by Typhoon Halong; affirming the right                                   
03 of Alaska Native communities to self-determination; and urging full state and federal                                   
04 support for relocation of those communities.                                                                            
05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
06       WHEREAS, on October 11, 2025, Typhoon Halong brought hurricane-force winds                                      
07 and record flooding to several Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages and affected over 50 villages                             
08 total; and                                                                                                              
09       WHEREAS Typhoon Halong triggered the largest airlift in the state's history, with                               
10 nearly the entire populations of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok evacuated by military aircraft; and                            
11       WHEREAS community members in Kipnuk and Kwigillingok have voted to relocate                                     
12 their villages to safer ground; and                                                                                     
13       WHEREAS the decades-long effort to relocate from Newtok to Mertarvik                                            
14 demonstrates that a clear institutional framework and sustained funding is needed to undergo                            
15 community relocation without prolonging the suffering of displaced people;                                              

01       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature                                                                
02            (1)  recognizes and honors the sovereign decisions of the Alaska Native                                      
03 communities of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok to relocate as an exercise of tribal sovereignty and                             
04 community self-determination that the state must support, not direct;                                                   
05            (2)  affirms the federal government's trust obligation to respect the rights of                              
06 Alaska Native communities to determine their own future, including where to live and when                               
07 to move;                                                                                                                
08            (3)  urges the Governor to develop a clear, community-centered relocation                                    
09 framework with a reliable timeline, dedicated state appropriations, and interagency                                     
10 coordination;                                                                                                           
11 (4)  urges the state's congressional delegation to restore and expand federal                                           
12 funding for community relocation on an emergency basis and to oppose any federal actions                                
13 that cancel, redirect, or delay disaster relief for affected communities;                                               
14 (5)  calls on state and federal agencies to help establish an interim village in a                                      
15 community-selected location for the evacuated residents of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok; and                                 
16 (6)  commits to continued engagement with Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta                                                         
17 communities on all legislative actions needed to fully and swiftly support relocation efforts.                          
18 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, Chair of                                     
19 the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs; the Honorable Mike Dunleavy, Governor of                                   
20 Alaska; Major General Torrence W. Saxe, Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard and                               
21 commissioner of military and veterans' affairs; Bryan Fisher, Director, Department of Military                          
22 and Veterans' Affairs, division of homeland security and emergency management; the Native                               
23 Village of Kipnuk; the Kwigillingok IRA Council; Thaddeus Tikiun, Jr., Chair, the                                       
24 Association of Village Council Presidents; and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senator, and                            
25 the Honorable Nicholas Begich, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in                                 
26 Congress.