Observation by Debra Seetook:
There is erosion along the beach and there are sand dunes that are getting closer to a burial site. A few years ago, people had to cover up parts of the burial site that were becoming exposed. We are concerned because there are people buried there from a flu epidemic. We have had storms where waters get up to the sand dunes. There are also other graves of people who have passed away surrounding the burial site from the flu epidemic.
Mike Brubaker with Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium writes:
We have heard similar concerns from other communities (Brevig Mission, Teller, Golovin, St. Michaels) in the Bering Strait Region about erosion and handling remains from people who died from influenza and other epidemics. Thawing ground, reduced sea ice, and increased impacts from ocean waves are threatening or disturbing burial sites in many coastal areas. In some cases, community members have relocated remains or entire graveyards. Some of these were documented in ANTHC's 2015 report, Climate Change in the Bering Strait Region. The situation has become more urgent as warming and erosion have increased, and on the heels of record temperatures and rain this year.
Guidance from the State of Alaska, Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) (see attached document, Handling Human Remains from Burial Sites and Cemeteries) points out that the risk of infection from desiccated (dried) human remains is very low, but that safety precautions are advisable in certain cases. These include when remains are "recovered from a sealed coffin, have been constantly frozen or in very cold environments, or are known to have died from smallpox, anthrax or tetanus." This is because these three types of pathogens are quite resilient to cold and freezing.
In her post, Debra Seetok raised concerns about the influenza epidemic burial site. While smallpox (for example) burial sites may pose some health concerns, there is no known risk from influenza epidemic remains or burial sites. As stated in the DHSS fact sheet, "viable influenza virus from unearthed body tissues of people who died from the Spanish flu in 1918 has never been recovered in culture, even from tissues that have remained frozen." This means there is no evidence that the virus could still be infectious at these sites.
Currently, the best information source for communities dealing with the issue of grave relocation, may be other communities or local governments in Alaska that have actual experience with doing this. Max Neale writes about this in his comments below. There is however, important information that communities should be aware of about applicable laws in the State of Alaska. Here is some information from the attached fact sheets:
Laws and Protocols Pertaining to Discovery of Human Remains in Alaska - This fact sheet (see also website) informs on several laws about the discovery of human remains outside of a burial site or grave. AS 12.65.6 requires notification of a peace officer when death has been caused by unknown or criminal means because the site needs to be treated as a potential crime scene. AS 11.46.482 states that it is a felony to intentionally remove or disturb a grave. AS 41.35.200 makes the disturbance of historic, prehistoric, or archaeological sites (including graves) on State lands a misdemeanor. AS 18-50.250 requires a permit for the disinterment, transport, and re-interment of human remains. There are also federal laws for federal lands applying to archaeological remains (over 100-years-old), and to any remains of Native Americans covered under the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
Disinterment Permit - This is the permit required from the State of Alaska Department, Bureau of Vital Statistics that provides a record when remains are moved from one location to another for reburial or cremation. It is important that there is a record and that proper identification of the remains is tracked and recorded. The form is attached.
Max Neale, Grant Writer for the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities, writes:
Finding funding to relocate graveyards and gravesites may be challenging because it is not a typical community development, economic development, or hazard mitigation need. Perhaps cultural and health benefits would be the most compelling argument for support. Napakiak has moved its graveyard twice in response to erosion. I suspect they did it without outside funding. I’d recommend that communities with this issue start with community-wide erosion assessments that look at all threats to the community. I made a quick one-pager for ATCEM (see attached) with a few suggestions for getting started with environmental threats to infrastructure. If a community has the labor resources and equipment, they have the basic resources to do grave relocation themselves, and there are examples for this, including Napakiak and Noatak, etc. Otherwise additional funding may be possible as part of a larger community response to erosion impacts on infrastructure.
Comments from LEO Editors:
Strong storms, high tides, wind, waves, and flooding are all contributing factors in the erosion seen along the Bering Sea coast. In the US Army Corps of Engineers Baseline Erosion Assessment for Wales, they describe a significant storm in 2004 that caused 20 feet of coast to erode, leaving the cemetery, sewer lines, and septic leach fields vulnerable.