By Dr. Kristin Drexler
Faculty Member, School of STEM
with Dr. Michelle Watts
Associate Dean, School of Security and Global Studies
and Anthony Caole
Student, Doctor of Global Security
Note: This article is part 2 of a research trip involving travel to Kodiak, Alaska, to study the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Indigenous communities in North and Central America.
In Kodiak, we were fortunate to talk to community members about their pandemic experiences. Compared to other communities where we conducted interviews, a major difference in Kodiak was that they were never officially on lockdown according to our respondents.
People had to avoid large gatherings, but they continued to enjoy many outdoor activities during the pandemic. In many cases, teachers added outdoor activities for school children and suggested activities they could do at home.
Our respondents on Kodiak described how the community came together during the pandemic. People always made sure that community members were taken care of and helped each other whenever possible.
For example, people who were able to fish would share their haul with others, especially with elders who were isolated for their safety. This type of care was not unusual or unique to the pandemic; our respondents relayed that taking care of each other is the norm in their close-knit community.
We were able to speak with mayors and Village Public Safety Officers (some individuals hold both roles) about the challenges they faced during the pandemic. One of the biggest challenges for these island communities is obtaining basic supplies to fulfill basic needs and make repairs.
In one community, the rupture of a hydro turbine caused utility prices to increase exponentially. Replacement parts were hard to come by, particularly during the winter. In addition, VPSOs had to contend with people who did not want to comply with pandemic restrictions.
We spoke to a community member, Hanna Agasuuq Sholl, who recounted the impacts that both the vaccine and long COVID had on her, initially making her unable to continue her work as an artist. Her recovery was long and arduous, but ultimately successful.
A talented local artist and cultural ambassador, Hanna is the subject of documentary films and news articles on Native art and culture, and she recently opened an Indigenous arts and crystals shop in the central area of Kodiak. She strives to “continuously learn and share the complex and beautiful culture of the Sugpiaq/Alutiiq people.”
The Kodiak History Museum, the Oldest Building in Alaska
Anthony Caole, our research assistant and a former National Park Service interpreter at Sitka National Historic Museum, requested as his one outing (while recovering from COVID at the time) to go to the Kodiak History Museum.
The museum is located in the oldest standing building in Alaska and is designated as a National Historic Landmark. It was constructed by Russians as a store and storage facility (called a magazin) in 1808.
Our museum tour guides were the extremely knowledgeable curators Margaret Greutert and Lynn Walker, who explained the complicated history of the building. The museum is both a community landmark and symbol of Russian colonization.
During the “soft gold” rush, it was a sea otter pelt storehouse. Later, its uses ranged from a private residence, a party space for the USO and a boardinghouse.
The museum was both positively and negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The curators were able to apply for grants and take the time to catalog their collection.
However, they had a difficult experience when they tried to reopen the museum to the public. Using precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there was some visitor resistance to wearing masks.
This resistance resulted in a second museum closure; the managers felt it was wise to wait until conditions were more conducive to reopening. The museum is now fully open and thriving; they even had a temporary exhibit about the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring a multitude of contributions from the community.
Michelle and Kristi with the Kodiak History Museum curators. Images courtesy of Kristi Drexler and Michelle Watts.
The Beauty of Kodiak
During our time in Kodiak, we ventured out to several trails and vistas on the island. Also, the salmonberries were just getting ripe – the largest we have ever seen.
Most of our hikes were guided by Kristi’s attorney friend, Teka Lamade, who has lived in Kodiak for two years and who provides legal consultations for KANA. For better or worse, we didn’t see the Kodiak Brown Bear. This bear is the largest brown bear in the world, and its habitat is the Kodiak archipelago.
However, we walked some incredibly beautiful coastlines, picked wild salmonberries, watched bald eagles, hiked mossy temperate rainforest trails and saw stunning vistas. We were very grateful to have Teka’s guidance and resource knowledge along the way.
We explore beautiful Kodiak Island during our downtime. Images courtesy of Kristi Drexler and Michelle Watts.
Celebrating the 234th birthday of the US Coast Guard
On one of our daily hikes on Kodiak to nearby Spruce Cape – about a mile trail into a temperate rainforest to a beautiful coastal cliff overlook – we lucked upon a U.S. Coast Guard drill. Ground personnel and family members were present, so we decided to wait and watch as the helicopter(s) arrived.
Coast Guard personnel were rappelling out of a helicopter and being winched back in. It was a pretty spectacular scene!
Anthony also told us about the role the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service played in rescuing the survivors of the 1912 Novarupta volcanic eruption that affected Kodiak. Captain Perry, commander of the Manning, took survivors and transported them several hundred miles down the Alaska Peninsula coastline.
The survivors were dropped off on the beach, creating a refugee camp that became the village of Perryville, named in Captain Perry’s honor. Over a hundred years later, Perryville used the Small Business Association’s 8(a) program to receive a contract to provide staffing support to the Coast Guard.”
In conclusion, this field research was enriching in a variety of ways. With the interviews we’ve conducted from 2022-2024, we have found some compelling trends and fascinating stories we would love to continue examining. We hope our research will be useful for the communities we have visited; we also hope our research will contribute to a growing body of literature on COVID-19 pandemic impacts.
About the Authors
Dr. Kristin Drexler is a full-time faculty member in the Space Studies and Earth Sciences Department. She teaches geography, environmental science, conservation of natural resources, earth and planetary sciences, and sustainability for the School of STEM.
Dr. Drexler holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from New Mexico State University and a master’s degree in Latin American studies with an emphasis in natural resources management from Ohio University. She earned her Ph.D. in educational leadership at New Mexico State University with research in socioecological systems, sustainable agroecology, and community education.
Dr. Drexler earned the Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching Award for the School of STEM (2020) and the Dr. Wallace E. Boston Leadership Award (2021). Dr. Drexler has conducted numerous community surveys in Belize and Guatemala regarding agroforestry, conservation, sustainable agriculture, and COVID-19 impacts and is a co-investigator for the multi-year research study, “A Case Study Comparison of Pandemic Experience of Indigenous Groups in the Americas.”
In the late 1990s, Dr. Drexler served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Belize; she co-founded Full Basket Belize, a 501(c)(3) and has served on its Board of Directors since 2005. Drexler produced the award-winning short film Yochi; she also founded “Science Talks with Dr. Drexler and Friends” to assist teachers during the pandemic. Dr. Drexler also co-directs the Gila Film School and has produced seven documentary films sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service to celebrate the centennial of the Gila Wilderness this year. She also serves as a faculty advisor for the University’s wSTEM, AWIS and SACNAS chapters.
Dr. Michelle Watts is the Associate Dean of the Department of Security and Global Studies, where she also teaches in the doctoral program. She has a bachelor’s degree in international studies from American University, a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. in international development from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Dr. Watts has collaborated with colleagues on nine research grants encompassing a wide range of topics. Her work includes “Bomberos, Maestros y Psicólogos: Guatemalan Civil Society Response to the Volcano of Fire Disaster,” “Making Sovereignty Mean Something: Native Nations and Creative Adaptation,” “Drugs, Thugs, and the Diablos Rojos: Perils and Progress in Panama,” “Seguridad del Canal de Panamá: Una Década Después de la Salida de Estados Unidos” (Security of the Panama Canal: One Decade after U.S. Departure), and “Game of Norms: Panama, the International Community, and Indigenous Rights.” She is the principal investigator for the research study, “A Case Study Comparison of Pandemic Experience of Indigenous Groups in the Americas.”
Anthony Caole is a doctoral student in Global Security at the University. He serves as President/CEO for Three Star Government Solutions, owned by Oceanside Corporation, the ANCSA village corporation for the Sugpiaq village of Perryville, Alaska.
Mr. Caole is a former Tribal Administrator (Native Village of Kwinhagak), and former Senior Management Consultant at Northern Management, a Division of CE2 Engineers, Inc. He has spearheaded millions of dollars in rural infrastructure development projects for remote communities in Alaska.
From 2011 until 2019, Mr. Caole served as Regional Director (Contractor) for the Alaska Region T/TA Center, a Resource of the Administration for Native Americans. He was responsible for overseeing statewide training and technical assistance in support of the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) competitive grant programs, which focus on social and economic development as well as language preservation and maintenance in Native communities both in Alaska and nationally.
In 2021, his firm was awarded two major federal contracts to provide national training and technical assistance to SAMHSA Native Connections Grantees as well as operate the national SAMHSA Tribal Training and Technical Assistance Center, addressing substance misuse and suicide prevention for Native youth. Mr. Caole has more than 30 years living in and working for indigenous communities.
He completed his B.A. in rural development from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), and subsequently completed a master’s degree in International and Intercultural Management from the School for International Training (SIT). He is currently a doctoral student in the University’s Global Security Program, focusing on Arctic maritime security issues impacting Bering Sea indigenous communities, with a particular focus on East Asia’s Arctic ambitions.
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