Alaskan village wants to reunite with relatives in Russia

Indigenous people used to travel freely between the islands of Little Diomede, Alaska, and Big Diomede, Russia. The two islands are less than three miles apart, but Soviet policies required the inhabitants of Big Diomede to relocate to the Soviet mainland. Now the inhabitants of the tiny village on Little Diomede are being enabled to reunite with their relatives who once inhabited the other side, thanks to National Park Service grants of over $83,000. The grants were awarded in 2013, but the process of arranging the reunions has been time-consuming. There is a visit to Chukotka, Russia planned for next year, and there are also plans to invite the Russian relatives to Diomede within the next two years.