Kipnuk, AK

Advocates are still seeking volunteers to run a polling site in Kwigillingok, another village badly damaged by ex-Typhoon Halong a year ago.

Emi Grace and her beloved doll, Baby, fled their Kipnuk home when the storm struck. A year later, as her family builds a new life in Anchorage, Baby remains a small but meaningful connection to home.

Over the past year, Kipnuk residents and contractors have been working to repair the storm-battered village. Crews on the ground say it’s a physical — and emotional — investment, even as the long-term future of the community remains in question.

Thirteen-year-old Usukcaq is now adapting to life in Nome, where roads and cars are new to her. She’s learning to stick her head out the window. She still loves salmonberries.

On a crisp October evening near the Nome Airport, 13-year-old Usukcaq’s short legs fluttered across the tundra. She wore a bright pink coat over her sandy-colored fur to keep her warm and spottable, just in case she wandered too close to a herd of muskox looming on a bluff. A year ago, the flat, boggy […]