Erosion of Russian Era Graves

Observation by Darlene Chiskok:

There are four burial sites in St. Michael, two of which are on the coast. One is an old Russian site from the TB epidemic. The other gravesite is on the north side of town. A community member brought remains to the IRA in a box. The only known set of bones that were recovered were reburied in the same area, but on higher ground. There were crosses and gates standing at one time in this area. They have all fallen over and it is still eroding. Relocation of remains is ongoing as residents find them. These are from burial sites from the Russian era. The Tribal Administrator reported collecting remains in a box and moving to a new location. Community was also the location of a military hospital at Fort St. Michael (1897-1925). Tribal Administrator reported that the eroded sites were a Russian era graveyard from an epidemic.

Comments from LEO Editors:

With rapid thawing of permafrost across the Arctic, many communities are facing impacts to infrastructure and in some cases relocation. Historical areas including burial sites are being lost and many are in need of relocation. St. Michael falls into this category as does nearby Brevig Mission, Teller, and Wales. Guidance and resources on how to relocate human remains in a culturally sensitive way is a priority. Also making sure this is done safely to reduce the risk of injury, emotional trauma from experiencing the unearthing of deceased family or ancestors, and to prevent any risk of infectious disease. In St. Michael, remains are appearing from these eroded burial sites. To the best of our knowledge, these are remains which have been decomposed, i.e., mostly bones. These are not examples of frozen or thawed remains that were preserved for long periods in permafrost. Some residents are trying to help by collecting remains and bringing them to the Tribal office. However, neither community members nor tribal staff have received any formal training on the assessment of sites or remains or in the advised precautions.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) (attached) points out that risk of infection from human remains is low, but that precautions (such as wearing gloves and glasses) is 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." As stated in the fact sheet, influenza virus has never before been recovered from frozen remains, so there is no known evidence of significant risk.

If remains are exposed we recommend following the State of Alaska DHSS guidance (see attached document) on handling remains: 

1) Use barrier precautions; 2) wear latex or vinyl gloves to protect your hands when handling human remains or caskets; 3) wear protective eye wear; 4) cover regular clothing that is disposable or can be washed with bleach; 5) use disposable dust masks in enclosed environments or where there may be a lot of dust in the air; 6) wash hands immediately after gloves are removed. If running water and soap aren’t available, use a waterless hand wash product with 70% alcohol; 7) avoid eating and drinking or smoking at the work area; 8) cover (protect) any open skin lesions that workers may have; 9) place any human remains found outside of caskets or from damaged and opened caskets in body bags.

Also see the attached Dis-internment Form which should be submitted to the State of Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics. Mike Brubaker