Community Is Power: How Bristol Bay’s Local Communities Stood Up to Extraction, Pollution and Injustice

Bristol Bay, Alaska, is home to one of the world’s largest and most sustainable salmon fisheries. Cared for and stewarded by local communities, the bay is the source of more than half the world’s sockeye salmon and has been sustainably fished for generations. The region is home to thriving ecosystems and pristine wild landscapes — and over half a trillion dollars worth of heavy metals. 

Since the late 1990s, the Pebble Project — a project of the major mining company Northern Dynasty — has had its sights on the hills above Bristol Bay for the location of what it hoped would be Pebble Mine. The company planned for Pebble Mine to be North America’s largest open-pit mine, more than 2 miles wide and up to 1 mile deep with an additional facility to house more than approximately 10 billion tons of waste. The proposed site for Pebble Mine sits at the base of two of Bristol Bay’s largest rivers — meaning an accident at the mine would funnel billions of tons of toxic waste directly into the bay.

The company promised the mine would be safe and would bring an influx of jobs and money to the local communities. But given the mining industry’s track record of devastating accidents, the locals decided the Pebble Mine was not a risk they were willing to take. What followed was a David-and-Goliath-style fight between the local community and the powerful mining company. And just like in the story, David — the people who call Bristol Bay home — won.

The “UNEARTH” documentary, Executive Produced by Erin Brockovich, tells this incredible story by following two groups of siblings — AlexAnna and Christina Salmon, two sisters and activists who live in Igiugig Alaska, and two brothers, Dune and Aube Strickland, who are commercial Bristol Bay-based fishermen. Bolstered by their friends’ and neighbors’ voices, together they fought to protect from pollution the lands they live on and protect the unique ecosystem that provides not just for their communities but for the world.

Thanks to their advocacy, the Pebble Mine will not be built in Bristol Bay — at least for now. However, as the film makes clear, the future for Bristol Bay and communities like it remains uncertain. 

“Whether we like it or not, the world we live in relies intensely on mined materials,” explains Aube Strickland. “We are in the position where the system that allows this to happen doesn’t fit what we value and why we value it,” he said. 

It will take many more people like the Salmon sisters and Strickland brothers to make lasting change, especially because a transition to renewable energy may necessitate more mining to extract the minerals needed to create batteries for electric vehicles, artificial intelligence data centers and more. However, many advocates believe that the mining industry can and must make changes to limit the often irreversible harm done to public health and the planet. 

As a nonprofit fiscal sponsor, we believe in the power of community action to protect our country’s lands and waters and ensure everyone lives in a safe and clean environment. Through UNEARTH’s partnership with the former project, Resilient Foundation, Windward Fund was able to support this film’s creation. We are proud to share “UNEARTH” and its hopeful message. 

You can stream the documentary on Documentary+ or sign up to host a community screening.