safe, small towns

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by DannyL

True.
it's a hard fact for some people to stomach, but it's true.
Especially if money and jobs are involved.

So show me a town/village that is about 60% Native where they don't tolerate non-Natives well...

I would suggest that if you can find even one, it's the exception which proves the rule. Barrow is a typical example because it is supposedly right at 60% Native, and I would present you the fact that 40% of the population here is non-Native as proof that Natives here in general tolerate non-Natives very well!

Bethel, Kotzebue, Dillingham and others are not different.

[Rance]

West side of Cook Inlet.

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by Rance

West side of Cook Inlet.

Which proves my point rather nicely.

Note that virtually all of Alaska's villages or towns that are have a majority that amounts to only 50-80% either Native or Non-Native are places where everyone is tolerated well. Examples are Barrow (64%), Aniak (73%), Fort Yukon (88%), Cantwell (27%), Kotzebue (77%), Dillingham (61%), Bethel (68%), McGrath (55%), Naknek (57%), Nenana (47%), Nome (59%), and Galena (67%). (I don't offhand know of an exception.)

While Tyonek and other places that do not tolerate others well, such as Delta Junction, Deltana, Diamond Ridge, Eagle, Chicken, Healy, and North Pole are all more than 90% one or the other. In this group there are more exceptions than not, and there is a noticable characteristic too (being a majority Native rather than non-Native). Two exceptions absent that characteristic are Ester and Salcha, while those that have that characteristic and are exceptions are the two hundred or so Native villages in Alaska.

Another way to look at it is this, you are much better off in Alaska being non-Native in a Native village than to be Native in a non-Native village.

[mal_flisk]

Good point there Floyd.

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by calicocutie

What are the safest small towns in Alaska? By small I mean less than 5000 people. Even less than 1000 is of interest to us. We would like to find a small town with a good bookstore and a Library, not too far to a food store and a friendly, helpful community of people. Any suggestion? Thanks

Well Dutch Harbor is a bit off the beaten trail, has a first class library, is friendly and lots of Book at the Safeway store....

Dillingham is great and again, off the beaten path and pretty neat.

As is Cordova, Valdez and a host of other small towns.

Do you want to be "On" the road system or "Off"

[Metlakatla]

Personally, I never felt not-tolerated for being white; though I do recall a lot of friction during the last logging boom. It wasn't racially motivated but at times I heard it expressed that way.

[Marty Van Diest]

Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson

Another way to look at it is this, you are much better off in Alaska being non-Native in a Native village than to be Native in a non-Native village.

I don't know about everything else stated in this thread, but this statement is absolutely correct.