text: I totally understand why the residents of Shaktoolik wish stay where they are. I was lucky enough to visit there and found a nicely laid out place with content, happy residents. They had nice homes which were well maintained, a thriving reindeer herd and I witnessed ancient tales being pasted on in storytelling firsthand. It seemed to be as good as it gets.
  But this was long before more recent coastal erosion was an annual concern. For a long time this location served the village well but it's elevation above sea level was noticeably low even then. The old village of Shaktoolik was visible, barely, on a spit offshore of the current location and it was mostly underwater. I don't know when the current village location came to be but it was not the first place or probably even the second or third place.
  Once Bering Sea villages were made up of houses than were portable so changing locations was easier. Today people hope to fight the ocean to hold on but it is a battle which can't be won.