Stronger Together / Kammanatut Atausigun / Iknaqataghaghluta Qerngaamta: Bering Strait Communities Respond to the Covid-19 Pandemic

A collection of first-person narratives offering a vivid, nuanced look at the lived and shared experiences of Bering Strait communities in the COVID-19 era, Stronger Together is a unique collaboration between the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum in Nome, Alaska, and over forty community members, artists, and poets from across the Bering Strait region.

The featured artists narrativize works inspired by the pandemic, from walrus ivory masks and sealskin face coverings to scenes of subsistence activities and informal family portraits. Full-color illustrations enliven the text with vibrant images of local community members, activities, and artwork from those who call this northern expanse of rolling tundra and icy seas home.

Stronger Together features hopeful and redemptive behind-the-scenes perspectives of how remote Alaskan communities endured the COVID-19 pandemic and appeals to anyone looking for hopeful and redemptive stories of this time, as well as museum, public arts, and culture program administrators; student and scholars of Indigenous and Alaska Native languages and culture; the Alaska anthropology community; artists and art enthusiasts; and those with a general interest in Alaska.

Amy Phillips-Chan is director of the Alaska State Libraries, Archives, and Museums in Juneau, Alaska, on the homelands of the Áak’w Kwáan Tlingit. From 2015 to 2022 she served as the director of the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum in Nome, Alaska, on the traditional homeland of the Bering Strait Inupiat. She is honored to partner with communities and organizations on collaborations that foster the coproduction of knowledge regarding the rich history and cultural heritage of Alaska.