The first climate refugees in the lower 48 will be indigenous peoples from Washington state. The Quinault Indian Nation of the Olympic Peninsula has already begun the process of relocating further inland as the Pacific Ocean threatens to wash away their ancestral home. This is tragic. Not only were these native peoples the victims of genocide, epidemic, and discrimination and dispossessed of their land and culture, now they must surrender what little land they have left due to ACC and the burning of fossil fuels, a process by which they benefited very little.
Furthermore, the glacier that feeds the Quinault River (which the QIN has relied on for thousands of years as a fishing people, known for centuries for high quality salmon) has melted completely. The glacier was very important for the river system's ecology by providing a steady stream of cold water, which is now gone. You'd think Big Oil would be satisfied with the damage they've done thus far, but they're trying to further intrude on the Quinault by sending for oil trains through their land.
Faced by these and other injustices, native nations have adopted advocacy and litigation practices of the dominant Euroamerican society. This includes advocacy and protest at international meetings on climate change, such as COP 21. The QIN as a sovereign nation is considering formally adopting the Kyoto Protocol, despite the United States' refusal to adopt it.
Ahearn, Ashley (2015). Facing rising waters a native tribe takes its plea to Paris climate talks. http://www.npr.org/2015/12/01/455745765/facing-rising-waters-a-native-tribe-takes-its-plea-to-paris-climate-talks
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