ABSTRACT
This photo essay is trying to show how the concepts of “beauty” and “luck” emerged as structuring features of a collaborative effort to find adaptive solutions for repetitive flooding linked to climate change. Representations of Shishmaref, Alaska have been used in the media for decades to showcase the impacts of climate change. Shishmaref photographer Dennis Davis, in a joint project with anthropologist Elizabeth Marino, challenges these predominant narratives of a ‘disappearing’ Shishmaref by focusing on the deep wisdom and knowledge that have allowed Inupiat people to live in this place since time immemorial. We argue that the insights found in these photographs and local conceptualizations of “resilience” as beauty and luck, offer critical wisdom to many people and communities looking to respond to the climate crisis.
