Maggie Stutz

Maggie Stutz, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Anchorage, Alaska.

All summer, the small but mighty ACAT (Alaska Community Action on Toxics) team has been preparing for the big trip to Nome and Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island). Nome is a small remote town in northeastern Alaska, and Sivuqaq is a small island off the coast near Russia. Sivuqaq consists of three villages. Gambell is on the far side of the island by Russia; Savoonga is near the middle of the island; Northeast Cape is on the end of the island closest to Alaska.

During the Cold War, the United States Military established Aircraft Control and Warning radar stations, the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, and a line of Distant Early Warning stations on Sivuqaq. Between 1948 and 1956, seven military installations spread about 2500 acres on the native people of Gambell’s land. In 1951 the Native Village of Savoonga granted the Air Force land at Northeast Cape to build a White Alice site. A letter from the Savoonga Tribal Council to Charles Jenus, Area Director, Alaska Native Service, United States Air Force, dated April 7, 1951, shows how the people of Savoonga requested that any garbage or refuge not be dumped in the streams or beaches because it could affect the seal breeding grounds. When the military abandoned the bases, they left behind fuel drums containing petroleum products, containers of PCBs, and above and underground fuel tanks. These toxins contaminated the food sources the Yupik people have hunted and eaten for generations.

Between 1985 and 2014, the Army Corps of Engineers spent about $120 million on cleanup. Although in 2014, they determined the cleanup was sufficient, miles of wire, transformers, fuels, heavy metals, asbestos, solvents, and PCBs were left behind. People residing on the island collectively live on contaminated land and eat contaminated food. Due to the contamination, this population of 1,600 (about 800 per community on the island, Gambell and Savoonga) has higher percentages of PCBs and Mercury in their blood and higher rates of cancer than the rest of the United States.

The contamination of fish and other local resources is especially hard on the indigenous communities of Sivuqaq because about 70 to 80 percent of families eat traditional food —bowhead whale, walrus, and seals. Despite efforts to call on the U.S Army Corp of Engineers to reevaluate their cleanup efforts with the new data that the community of Sivuqaq and ACAT has collected, there has been no such effort.

Despite the disregard from the United States government, we went to Nome to conduct a field institute. We met about 20 people from the island in Nome and spent the week with them. We spent the mornings in the classroom learning about GPS systems, mercury, PCBs, PFAS, and other contaminants in the area and how to test for them. In the afternoons, we all went to different water sources in the town and tested for contaminants. We took water samples, set up mercury filters to test the air, and set traps for Stickleback fish. The week’s point was to teach people from Sivuqaq how to collect data, proving their environment is contaminated through Western scientific methods.

Our trip to Northeast Cape was canceled last minute due to runway issues on the island and was rescheduled for next year. Due to this, we headed back to Anchorage a week early. Although this schedule change was disappointing, my week in Nome was terrific. I learned a lot and met amazing people from the Island and around the country.

I love working with ACAT and helping this community fight back against this injustice. Still, I think about how we perpetuate Western science’s power over Indigenous knowledge. The people of Sivuqaq knew their environment was contaminated due to the military sites before we came in and “proved” it with Western science. The United States government only respects data and knowledge if it was found and “proven” through this Western research method. However, we only re-stated the facts the people from Sivuqaq have been saying for decades. Why do we respect and only listen to facts and statements if they have been found through the Western scientific method? There are other methods and ways to know if something is true. I understand that this is the system currently in place. It is helpful to find data through the Western scientific method that supports what the people of Sivuqaq have been saying to hold the government accountable because our legal system only respects and listens to data found through this method. But, I wish there was a way to fight back against the unequal weight we put on Western science.

Maggie Stutz, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Anchorage, Alaska.

How much does working within the system help? If the same entity supposed to protect a group of people is responsible for their pain and suffering, how will there be justice or compensation? These are the questions I have been grappling with during my summer project. I sit at my desk, reading court case after court case, act after act, doctrine after doctrine, hoping something in those words will help the people of Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island).

The military built two defense sites on Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island) during and after World War Two. The U.S Army Corps of Engineers claimed they cleaned up these sites, yet people are still getting sick. Past community-based participatory research conducted by Alaska Community Action on Toxics found elevated PCBs, OCPs, and mercury levels within these FUDS (formerly used defense sites). These toxins have also been found in people living on the island and in stickleback fish. This data means the people living in Sivuqaq have an increased risk for cancer, and the people living there are witnessing the rising cases within their lifetimes.

Most of my summer project is researching legal precedents for a suit against the military. I have studied the Due process Clause- Bodily Integrity, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, and the Community Right to Know Act. These are helpful but never guarantee a just outcome for the community members affected by this tragedy. I have tried to find ways around sovereign immunity and have realized that it is improbable that these people will ever see their day in court.

Although I am filled with anger and hopelessness with these thoughts, I keep on working. I know that anything I can contribute is a step in the right direction. Every time I reach a dead end, that is a path someone later on no longer has to go down, and helps the organizations get one step closer to finding a solution. I wonder if working within the legal system that was created and is run by the government that has hurt the community members of Sivuqaq will work. There is no guarantee of any positive outcome, but is that a reason not to try?

Alaska Community Action on Toxics researches the levels and health effects of these toxins, informs the community members, and advocates internationally for bans. Next week we are traveling to Nome, Alaska and Sivuqaq to conduct more research and help community members learn how to test their water for toxins. Actions such as those are concrete ways one can see a positive impact being made within these hurt communities. Pamela Miller, the founder of Alaska Community Action on Toxics, was present at the Joint Conference of the Parties of the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions on hazardous chemical management in June. An outcome of the convention was PFAS getting added to the list for global elimination. This step in the right direction is a tangible way to see the organization and project I am a part of making a difference, giving me hope for the future.

I am still left wondering if working toward a better and healthier future is possible while operating within the rules created by the government responsible for these issues. I do not think it is, but I do not know what else to do.

Maggie Stutz, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Anchorage, Alaska. I just arrived in Anchorage, Alaska, three days ago. I landed Friday afternoon, and the following day Alaska Community Action on Toxics participated in a charity run for breast cancer. Alaska Community Action on Toxics had a booth around other organizations. We handed out cookies while explaining what we do as an organization and asking people to sign a petition to try and regulate toxic chemicals, such as PFAS, from being put in cosmetics. Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substance is linked to cancer but is still used in many water-resistant products such as non-stick pans, water-resistant clothing, and waterproof makeup products. 

My first impression of the organization is that everyone is extremely welcoming and friendly. They care deeply about their work and look out for their fellow employees. Today was my first day at the office in Anchorage. My supervisor gave me an orientation. She explained the geography of Alaska, where we will go, and the communities in each area. She explained the non-profit’s principles of inclusion, the community’s right to knowledge, environmental justice, and a culture of caring and wellness. 

Part of my orientation was learning about past interns and the work they performed. I saw pictures of past interns dissecting fish and drawing community members’ blood to test for toxins like PFAS. 

I spent most of my first day in the office filling out paperwork and reading past research done by the non-profit to understand our projects better this summer. Alaska Community Action on Toxics takes its community-based research seriously, involving community members in every step of the process. My first impressions are that they care deeply about the community, and it will be a fantastic place to work this summer.

Maggie Stutz, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Anchorage, Alaska. This summer, I will be working with Alaska Community Action on Toxics. This organization endeavors to further Alaskan’s human right to a healthy environment, bodily health, and knowledge. The United Nations acknowledges that access to a clean environment, water, air, and physical health are human rights. This summer, I will be working to ensure these rights are protected and bring justice to those denied them. 

Alaska Community Action on Toxics has conducted community-based research in the North East Cape and Sivuqaq communities. Elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury, and other toxic chemicals have been found in the watershed at an abandoned defense site. Chemicals have also been found in the Suqi and Tapisaggak rivers, drinking water, food, and in the air. I will study the health effects of exposure to these chemicals and determine measures to protect the people in the North East Cape from these toxins. We will work to restore the Suqi river, ensuring people’s right to a clean environment and water.

I will help analyze health effects and investigate the amount of these chemicals in the North East Cape environment. I will research the reparations process, putting together an argument with legal precedent and law, for the community of Sivuqaq. I will explain how the government has violated human rights by polluting the water and land.

I will also participate in the “Protecting Future Generations” project, which partners with the Field Sampling Institute in Nome, to research PCBs and flame retardants in the environment. We will put together a summit, informational sheets, and toolkits for community members. There will be community meetings where scientists, researchers, and working groups will discuss the results in a way that is accessible to anyone.

My project connects to human rights because this research brings a scientific base for claims of health problems directly caused by toxic chemicals from military bases. This research will provide evidence and a factual basis to build a case against the United States government and its violation of this community’s right to a safe and clean environment and health. Moreover, this project educates community members about their environment. The health effects and damage have been done, now the government needs to clean up their mess, and give the people affected reparations and access to healthcare to build better lives.