“I Think Even in Challenging Times We Can Still Be Uplifting”: Indigenous Women’s Experiences of Resilience to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Alaska
Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1. Background
1.2. Goal and Research Questions
- What are the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Indigenous women in urban and rural Alaska, and specifically what are the gendered implications in the personal, sociocultural, and economic domains?
- What are the strengths associated with women’s responses to COVID-19 that contribute to individual and community resilience during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and what are the constraints?
1.3. Conceptual Framework
2. Methodology
2.1. Study Region
2.2. Research Approach
Research Design Limitations
2.3. Research Principles
2.4. Data Collection and Interview Procedures
2.5. Data Management
2.6. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Personal Domain
3.1.1. Constraints to Personal Resilience During the Pandemic
- Limited communication, isolation, and loss of relationships: Social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and other restrictive social measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic had significant repercussions on various facets of women’s personal lives, profoundly impacting their mental health and psychological well-being:
“During the pandemic, it was very hard because you couldn’t visit your loved ones…it was very hard…”(The Nome rural area, 60s).
“We stayed inside our house for six weeks… we’re depressed because we haven’t socialized… We’re all human beings. We all crave social interaction with each other.”(Anchorage, 50s).
“I think I just got disconnected. A lot of my friendships have even ended just because we haven’t kept in touch for whatever reasons. I live alone… I think that people living alone have been forgotten…”(Anchorage, 30s).
“We use a lot of our body language and a lot of unspoken language and laughter, a lot of laughter.”(Nome/Anchorage, 30s).
“I feel like our technology use has really privileged the verbal communication… For those of us like myself that grew up not speaking so much and just being with somebody and being in their space, being in their energy and being able to provide that just comfort of self, it’s just not the same sitting on the telephone quietly with somebody… You can still text somebody, but it’s just not the same as sitting with them, and I think that’s part of it too, is all the non-verbal things…”(Anchorage, 40s).
“So that’s a new adjustment to getting used to going back to being a social person after not being very sociable. Now, I just don’t talk as much as I did before. It’s more of sweet, simple, cordial interactions instead of in-depth conversations of catching up with people.”(Anchorage, 40s).
- Grief, heightened stress levels, and an intensified sense of responsibility and guilt: In Alaska, Indigenous families extend beyond the Western concept of a nuclear family, encompassing a broader network of relatives, kinship, and community ties. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this extended family structure meant that many Indigenous communities experienced profound loss, as the virus claimed the lives of many family members, relatives, and entire community members. These losses caused deep personal grief:
“<In respect to> other women’s experiences… Looking back, it <the pandemic-author’s> did take a huge toll of stress, where I’ve noticed that it’s aged them just from the stress alone, from the pandemic and losing so many family members, that’s a huge toll and on making more mental health issues…”(Anchorage, 40s).
“It was very stressful and very scary with a virus that I didn’t know how it was going to affect. Am I washing my hands enough, am I cleaning the house enough, should I be going to work during the pandemic?”(Nome, 30s).
“The anxiety of not knowing if you’re going to be homeless the next day, and waiting for it, I think that’s the most terrifying thing about the pandemic…”(Anchorage, 30s).
“I think the most stressful thing for women in my hometown was worrying that their kids would get it <virus-authors> and get really sick or worrying about their Elders… I was more so thinking about my dad and my elderly family members…”(Nome/Anchorage, 30s).
“I was pregnant, which was very hard because I was in this constant unknown of am I going to bring the virus back, is it going to affect my baby, is it going to affect my dad, who is a lot older. I was in this constant unknown of whether I was doing the right thing by going to work, which was stressful and hard, especially as a nurse.”(This citation is anonymized to protect the participant’s privacy).
“… I should be going to work because I need to take care of my Elders because that’s something that’s super important and letting my Elders know that they’re not alone, that they’re not being forgotten, that they’re not outcasts or, … untouchables in a way, because we had a lot of people who were in the hospital that missed that interaction.”(A healthcare professional; this citation is anonymized to protect the participant’s privacy).
- Increased mental, emotional, and physical health problems: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected women’s physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being, manifesting in increased anxiety and depression. The cumulative toll has been substantial, as evidenced by numerous reports of exhaustion and exacerbated health concerns:
“In isolation, that’s when I started having more severe mental health issues and stuff like that.”(Anchorage, 30s).
“Ever since the pandemic I have lost my appetite… Now I’m down to 135 <pounds–authors>.”(Nome, 64+).
“I went through two and a half years of a living hell… I got COVID…. So, my health, hair loss… Because my kids were going through what they were going through, I didn’t get any healthcare for three years. I’m having to catch up all of my healthcare now… I don’t think people realize how hard it is to be homeless… If you don’t have a home and you haven’t had a home in more than a year, that’s really hard. Homeless, mental health care, on top of which…”(Anchorage, 40s).
“In our culture, women have always been the ones who were the caregivers. It probably fell on a lot of women in general to try to figure out how to care for their families, who’s getting the water, who’s getting the supplies, what are we going to do if we don’t have enough supplies? I feel like that’s something that I always have to think about because I’m a woman. I’m providing not only for my daughter, but also for my dad and worrying about who’s going to take care of him, who’s going to take care of my siblings.”(Nome, 30s).
“One of the things that will help us <is-authors> making sure that you do yourself care before you take care of others. That’s the hardest part women have to learn, because we’re so used to taking care of everyone else, and we don’t have enough for ourselves. You have to keep your teacup full.”(Anchorage, 30s).
“I think the biggest shift for me is, I basically realized that… in a lot of my friendships, I was overextending myself in certain ways that was really harmful to me. And that’s kind of at the root of why I didn’t have the support network that I needed during the pandemic. But I’ve learned to be more grounded and centered in myself… <Now-authors> I’m just being more intentional about who I keep close to me.”(Anchorage, 30s).
- Imbalanced gender roles at home: During the pandemic, the lingering effects of colonization, which imposed Western gender roles, became increasingly evident. The study revealed that, similar to many Western societies experiencing significant impacts on gender roles and family dynamics during the pandemic, most Indigenous female participants saw their roles as primary caregivers and first responders at home intensified:
“I think a lot of women got a lot on their shoulders because they’re the mothers and the caretakers.”(Anchorage, 40s).
“I feel like it led to a lot of weight on the people taking care of the family, the moms who took care of not only their kids, but the Elders or taking care of their husbands…”(Anchorage, 30s).
“We stayed there <in Anchorage–authors> for two weeks and she <my daughter–authors> never got her tonsils removed… She missed quite a bit of school. I missed work.”(The Nome rural area, 40s).
“I think a lot of women… had to make sure everything was disinfected, and the kids were healthy and eating good.”(The Nome area, 40s).
- Limited availability of mental health support designed by and for Indigenous women: Our participants reported that the existing mental health system is insufficient in fully addressing the needs of Indigenous women due to their distinct life experiences, sociocultural backgrounds, and the ongoing impacts of historical trauma:
“I know mental health [support-authors] is … in such high demand… I asked specifically, when I was selecting a new therapist, no men. I want to be able to relate to … or I want someone to have an understanding of how historical trauma works, so they can empathize, but we’re not trauma bonding. That’s how a lot of women around Alaska bond; we trauma bond.”(Anchorage, 30s).
“I mean, we need mental health support, period. That’s crucial. We need a variety of mental health support… Because not everybody just needs an individual therapist. Some people need trauma therapists… We need outpatient all the way up to residential care providers. And right now, we know there’s a huge shortage.“(Anchorage, 40s).
3.1.2. Strengths for Resilience in the Personal Domain
- Adaptability to new technologies (personal online communication): The interviews revealed that the lack of social interaction with family, friends, and community was deeply felt, and the importance of technologies to continue social connections, even in virtual format, was emphasized as critical for supporting mental and emotional health and well-being:
“I was lucky, I had my phone, I had reliable service, I had the sense of community, I was able to contact my family to ask them how they were doing. That really helped me during the pandemic. I know not everybody was as fortunate as I was to have a phone or be able to contact other people to see and make sure that they were okay, “Do you have enough food? Are you making your bills? Are your kids driving you crazy? Do you want to talk about it?”(Nome, 30s).
“Being able to FaceTime was amazing, that was something that was very, very helpful in just having that connection… with our phones was probably the most helpful. I definitely feel like it helped women in particular, just having that connection with other moms and being able to talk about it or being able to talk to other friends and family was something that was super important.”(Nome, 30s).
- The COVID-19 pandemic compelled women to reconceptualize their priorities, redefine personal goals, and critically reevaluate their core values. Leading to a deeper focus on well-being, resilience, and meaningful relationships, it ultimately fostered a stronger sense of resilience in navigating challenges:
“I think I’ve learned to prioritize my mental health, and … and I’m really grateful for that. I’ve also reflected a lot on the quality of my friendships. I have a really great support network as a result. Yeah, I’m also just trying to focus more on gratitude. And regardless of my circumstances, just feeling grounded and confident in myself.”(Anchorage, 30s).
- Crisis preparedness and the capacity for renewing meaning: By reflecting on their personal histories, women sought to gain insights essential for crisis preparedness:
“…We grew up really conscious of disasters and prepared for them. My dad raised us, he would have us play, “Okay, a tsunami’s coming, you have 30 s to get whatever you need and get out of the house.” So, we would prepare for those kinds of things… I’ve always been kind of conscious about that, being able to be self-sustainable…”(Nome, 20s).
“COVID didn’t change how we harvested and gathered. If anything, we saw the importance of why it was so important to keep that <traditional subsistence-authors> going.”(Nome, 20s).
- The ability to reconceptualize resilience—from rigid endurance to fluid, gratitude-centered adaptive understanding—illuminates how Indigenous women’s experiences of the pandemic challenged conventional Western notions of strength and reshaped them through more relational, flexible coping strategies:
“My understanding of resilience has changed… Before, I used to think of it as, “Oh yeah, I can really take a beating and get back up,” and now it’s like even though I’m experiencing turbulent times, I can go with the flow a little bit. And that in and of itself is a protective factor. And then I still find something to be grateful about, regardless of those circumstances. So yeah, my concept of resilience has changed dramatically…I think to summarize it, it’s really rigidity versus flexibility.”(Anchorage, 30s).
- The ability to balance perspectives: One participant shared her approach to healing and self-determination, emphasizing the importance of cultivating balanced emotional responses that navigate between personal growth-oriented optimism and the acknowledgment of hardship in the broader context of the pandemic and beyond:
“I’m really glad that I decided to grow from these experiences because I do think it would be so easy to pursue really unhealthy coping mechanisms. I think a lot of people still are, but to me,… I can have a level of optimism about whatever comes my way now because I know that I will choose to grow and to be happy… We’re going to be talking about the pandemic …, but there is again, some beauty in that, regardless…I think it’s just really important to take a really balanced approach. I think it’s another point to be made, is I really do think that there is such a thing as toxic positivity. So, it is about finding that middle ground. I think even in challenging times we can still be uplifting.”(Anchorage, 30s).
- Resourcefulness and ability to support relatives in rural Alaska: For many rural communities, Indigenous urbanites became a resource dedicated to stabilizing entire extended families in home villages, especially in the first weeks/months of the pandemic.
“…helping family stock up on supplies locally and to send stuff to the village.”(Anchorage, 40s).
- Ability to stay (re)connected with nature for physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing: In Indigenous communities, access to nature is vital to mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. The interviews suggest that cultural traditions are deeply intertwined with healing practices, emphasizing holistic approaches to health. Rooted in Indigenous traditions of deep connection to the natural world combined with traditional subsistence were sources of healing during the pandemic, strengthening personal resilience and spiritual health. While in most rural communities, even during lockdowns, access to nature was not significantly disturbed, in the urban environment, women had to make efforts to find a way to stay connected with nature:
“Fortunately, here in Anchorage, we were encouraged to get outdoors, enjoy our parks. So, I’m really thankful that we had those available to us… I started committing to daily walks outside, and I made a point of just being very present during those walks, regardless of the weather, and just appreciating what I observed and experienced.”(Anchorage, 30s).
“Me coming from a holistic lifestyle, and subsistence lifestyle, I feel as though I was better prepared for the pandemic because I was raised on the land… I already knew to be outside and love outside.”(Anchorage, 30s).
“During the pandemic and when I had Covid I think the traditional medicines were a very big plus…”(The Nome region, 60s).
“I do seek places of sanctuary here <in Anchorage–authors>, and when I see others struggling with finding their peace, I share that place with them, too.”(Anchorage, 30s).
- Adaptability to new working and studying conditions: Women had to adapt to new conditions, including remote study and work, and despite incredible challenges, particularly for those members of Indigenous communities living in overcrowded households, they demonstrated an extremely high level of resilience in pursuing their work and study duties:
“A lot of my <female> students, when I teach a distance class, I know a lot of them live with other people in crowded conditions… it’s clear they don’t have a quiet space to get away from it all. And apparently whoever else is in the house with them takes absolutely no regard to the fact that they’re trying to take a class… Most of them are actually mothers and wives. I totally admire them for that, because I could not focus in an environment like that… That might have been temporarily worse during the pandemic, when everybody was more cooped together. But that’s going to be a constant problem…“(Nome, non-Indigenous participant).
“…Sometimes they have to go to the library or the hospital to study or work.”(Nome, 64+).
- Despite challenges of isolation, many Indigenous women found ways to pursue their traditional activities and even developed new hobbies, demonstrating capacity to strengthen personal growth and ability to maintain social and cultural ties:
“…. I tried new hobbies, mostly crafts. I tried a little bit of beading, crocheting. I’ve tried some woodworking, and I really enjoy it… as I started doing these things, little by little, and also as more in person interactions were available, I was able to just grow the different activities and hobbies I got to try… I’ve gotten really into painting. I had a virtual skin sewing workshop that I attended, where we made mittens. It was led by an Elder who also shared a lot of life advice during the workshop, and just made a point to get to know each of us on a more personal level…”(Anchorage, 30s).
- A community-centered conception of personal happiness, indirectly reflected in our fourteen interviews, stands in contrast to Western, more individualistic notions of happiness, highlighting the relational and reciprocal dimensions of Indigenous women’s experiences. By centering community well-being and interconnectedness, Indigenous women offer an alternative framework for happiness and women’s agency rooted in collective empowerment and cultural resilience. A community-centered conception of personal happiness, as an Indigenous perspective indirectly mentioned by our interviewees, stands in contrast to Western more individualistic notions of happiness, highlighting the relational and reciprocal dimensions of Indigenous women’s experiences. By centering community well-being and interconnectedness, Indigenous women offer an alternative framework for happiness and women’s agency rooted in collective empowerment and cultural resilience. This perspective was explicitly articulated by one of our participants:
“I’ve learned that… just sharing with other people makes me happy, and having a sense of community, having a sense of togetherness, that really makes me happy.”(Anchorage, 30s).
3.2. Sociocultural Domain
3.2.1. Constraints to Social Resilience
- Intensified collective trauma and memories of the past: In the context of historical pandemics like Spanish flu and their impacts on Alaska communities, our research participants reflected on how past experiences shaped their feelings and responses to COVID-19. The pandemic enhanced never-fading memories of the Indigenous Peoples about the past pandemics and viruses brought to their communities from the outside, and it brought back collective trauma connected to grief and loss, especially for those whose families lost loved ones in the past:
“I think a big factor up here in our region was… the memory of great number of deaths happening because of sickness.”(Nome, 64+).
“Because in 1918 there was influenza, Spanish flu, and that’s what we really talked about. In some of our communities 90% of people died from the Spanish flu or influenza…So it brought up that feeling of this virus or something that we couldn’t see killing our people. We took it really seriously to keep our people safe, and especially our Elders.”(Nome, 20s).
“Spanish Flu… That almost wiped out my entire family. There was one lady left in our family.”(Anchorage, 20s).
- Increased inequality in power relationships at home: The interviews revealed underlying issues of inequality and insufficient respect in family relationships, mainly as a result of Western colonization, where some women’s voices and choices, particularly in health decisions and domestic environments, have been constrained. One of our research participants with the knowledge of domestic violence prevention, shared her concerns on various aspects of women’s life at home in the context of power dynamics in the relationship:
“I see marriages and relationships where there’s an inequity of power, or the male in the relationship takes more power and doesn’t allow as much power to the female. If the male is saying, “We don’t need to be vaccinated,” then that’s not really a choice that is made by the female…”(Nome, 64+).
- “Definitely an increase in domestic violence”: The legacy of Western colonization, forced cultural assimilation, and trauma from the residential school system underpins ongoing negative effects on the community’s health in general and gender relations, which were exacerbated during the pandemic. Like in many Western societies, lockdowns and extended periods of home confinement increased the vulnerability of women to domestic violence and psychological abuse during the pandemic. Women in unsafe domestic situations faced increased risks within their own home—potentially trapped with their abusers and having limited availability to seek help hindered by the pandemic’s restrictions:
“I feel like rape has gone up. Domestic violence definitely went through the roof. Emotional violence… It’s not even a silent killer… I feel as there should be more attentiveness to emotional violence… We do a very good job of hiding and masking…”(Anchorage/Nome, 30s).
- Decreased community engagement and participation in sociocultural practices: In most Indigenous communities in Alaska, women are highly involved and often take a lead in cultural preservation. The restrictions on gatherings affected cultural practices and traditional ways of life. It was particularly disruptive because these activities are an essential part of maintaining social harmony and collective community health. They play an important role in connecting community members and fostering a sense of belonging and identity, as well as building invisible bridges that connect them to their past and the natural world. Ceremonial gatherings such as potlatches are important events where resources are shared, and social bonds are reinforced. During the pandemic, for many Elders and those without Internet access it was especially difficult to stay connected with their communities. While some adaptations were made, such as moving gatherings outdoors or conducting ceremonies in smaller groups in virtual spaces, the loss of these communal moments was deeply felt as the interviews reflected the importance of these activities, particularly for women seeking social support networks:
“I know that it impacted a lot of people in a lot of communities because we’re surrounded by community events. That’s something we thrive on, is being a community. It was hard…”(Anchorage/Nome, 30s).
“During Christmas holiday for one whole week we play Native games in the village and the whole community gathers in the gym… And that had to be put off for a couple of years”(The Nome area, 40s).
- Altered in-person food harvesting and sharing traditions: In many communities in Alaska, collective food harvesting reinforces social connections within the community and social bonds. It is a means of showing care, respect, and solidarity among members, ensuring that everyone is supported and included:
“It impacted the way that we were going about our daily lives… we didn’t have our same places we would go in the way of connecting with the land and being out on the land in the same way. We still did our fishing. We still did our berry picking. We just didn’t do it as a larger group and that was hard.”(Anchorage, 30s).
“I know it led to a lot more depression… going out and fishing or getting a whale and not being able to share that with your community because you’re afraid that somebody in the community would be sick and it would accidentally get passed through the food.”(Anchorage/Nome, 30s).
“… it’s not the same as being able to make somebody a plate of food and see them enjoy it… and you just can’t do that in the same way over a computer. You can drop something off at their house, so we did things like that where we’d do a little drop-off and then try to engage that way, but it’s still not exactly the same and it felt like a poor substitute for being together…”(Anchorage, 30s).
- Challenges in fulfilling the role of community caretakers: In many Indigenous communities in Alaska, women serve as the community caretakers contributing to the community’s well-being by providing emotional support, maintaining cultural practices, and caring for physical health. This role of women became even more critical during the time of the pandemic, but it was also more challenging to implement it:
“I feel like that’s been a problem for so many women in this area… just figuring out how to have these social connections, the love for one another, and how to demonstrate that.”(Anchorage, 40s).
“We knew that people were getting ill… and we weren’t able to be there to physically support them, to provide for them. It impacted the way that we were going about our daily lives… It was not just a loss of the people that have passed on due to the virus, but also just a loss of those times together.”(Anchorage, 40s).
- Increased racism and gender-based discrimination: The pandemic exacerbated previously existed social and economic inequities, which are often linked to gender-based discrimination and systemic racism, with many Indigenous women facing stigmatization due to their ethnicity or/and socio-economic status:
“about racism… All of that kind of seems to get exacerbated when people are stressed out.”(Anchorage, 30s).
“Nome is a very complicated community. There’s still racism here… I experience it practically every week, either personally or professionally… Being an Alaskan Native woman, I always have to prove myself. People see me, and they make an assumption about who I am, what I’ve done, what I have, where I work.”(Nome, 64+).
“A lot of the disparities that we face because of COVID-19 can be traced back to racism in America. Then on top of that, the people that have been experiencing these disparities, people that have been marginalized because of systemic racism, because we’ve been through generations now of colonization…”(Nome, 20s).
“Native People face really high disparities in all kinds of different areas. I know it’s not only women who are carrying those burdens, but I do think it is very often women who carry a lot of it.”(Anchorage, 30s).
- Elevated rates of being unhoused: In general, Indigenous women living in urban areas are particularly at risk of homelessness. They often face systemic barriers such as racism and gender discrimination, inadequate support services, and the lasting impacts of historical trauma and colonialism. With economic and employment insecurity, the pandemic also brought the brunt of additional challenges, including the threat of eviction due to reduced income, limited access to affordable housing, inefficient social services, and lack of strong support networks:
“My cousin… She lost her job during the pandemic, and she has faced eviction three times since then here in Anchorage… My cousin and her children are… homeless.”(Anchorage, 50s).
“We ended up bouncing around between Airbnb’s, hotels, motels, temp rentals, friends of family that let us stay on their couch, sleeping in our car, shelters… I was noticing is that there was a boom in homelessness around that time when the eviction moratorium ended.”(Anchorage, 40s).
“Some of the single moms I know are living in their cars. how can you be safe living in your car? … Because it’s not safe. This is Alaska where we have some of the highest rates of murdered and missing women.”(Anchorage, 40s).
“It’s not the place it used to be… I want quietness and calmness and not hearing gunshots and the traffic…, I guess I’m getting old, and I don’t want to deal with the nonsense anymore.”(Anchorage, 40s).
3.2.2. Strengths for Resilience in Social Domain
- Stewardship position of women: Being predominantly in the Western gender role framework, and often without strong support from their male counterparts, women yet became true stewards of the social sustainability and resilience of their families and their communities:
“In Nome, I’ve seen it <community harmony and balance–authors> improve quite a bit. There are so many women working so hard to make sure that our people are taken care of.”(Anchorage, 30s).
“I feel like a lot of times women are the ones who are problem-solving for all the people that they know…”(Anchorage, 30s).
“The grocery stores were bare…. the shelves were very empty, similar to big hub communities… One of the things that I did, because people that are on food assistance, their money comes in on the first of every month, I was campaigning to tell people that had leisure money to not go shopping from the 1st to the 3rd, just so that people that were on Food Stamps or on WIC could go food shopping when the shelves were stocked…We started doing small acts of kindness. Somebody from the big community would send us a big box of goodies and we’d distribute out little note cards that had positive notes on there, little snacks, berry buckets. Throughout COVID we were just handing those out to anybody that needed something in a safe way. So usually, we’d drop them off at their door…”(Nome, 20s).
“During the pandemic, not a lot of people knew how to fill out the applications. I filled out all the applications for my family. It probably went back to other moms, probably filled out for their family members… I was the main person to fill out everything… They weren’t sure what to put down, they weren’t sure how to budget something… I’m the main person to do all the paperwork for anything when it comes to my family.”(Nome, 30s).
“I know it’s really hard, but just trying to think about everyone in the communities, their holistic health… it’s just a different worldview.”(Anchorage, 30s).
“I think that if we can raise community awareness to get people to not only know about this but to care about this, so that we can improve how we are to each other, how we are to the environment, to create this global consciousness of care and love and compassion… It’s not going to happen overnight, but I feel like as long as we’re keeping that in mind, we’re going in the right direction.”(Nome, 20s).
- Adaptability to new technologies (community virtual gatherings, etc.): Traditional gatherings, sharing meetings, talking circles, ceremonies, although mostly taking place in a virtual environment, became a powerful tool of maintaining culture and, in this way, addressing specific Indigenous women’s needs:
“I should mention how my life changed, everything went virtual, and I got really good at holding virtual space. Because that’s naturally what I do, I’ll hold space in a circle, but we had to adapt it to holding it on a computer, but it was still good, and it was still engaging, and people got to share and grow relationships that way.”(Nome, 20s).
“People that didn’t have a good employer, they had to pay for their own internet, and it was a lot… now it’s a lot better, but for about the first year of the pandemic, it was very expensive. So, the surrounding villages, if you went to Savoonga, or Diomede especially, it was not possible for them to do a virtual space like that. They were still teleconferencing in on their phone.”(Nome, 20s).
- Ability to keep solidarity and provide mutual support: The interviews indicated that women play a crucial role in providing support to their families and maintaining social connectedness in their communities:
“The first start of the pandemic, I think we handled it pretty well in our community. Even though it spread, we all helped each other overcome it. And the ladies, we all supported each other. Not too much support from the men, but we did it.”(The Nome region, 40s).
“Definitely supporting, offering, reaching out to people, creating teams or creating groups to sit and just have coffee if they want to vent about something. Definitely utilizing our phones a lot, in terms of communication and being together and knowing we’re going through a pandemic again together or just knowing that we went through something together.”(Nome, 30s).
- Ability to form women’s support groups and practice healing traditions: The interview narratives demonstrate that women were able to heal emotional wounds by supporting each other, by exercising innovative approaches to maintaining emotional and mental health. Some women acknowledged a therapeutic effect of these women gatherings:
“…there were online women wellness groups, art groups, conversation, Zoom meetings where you were able to interact with familiar faces and chit chat. That was a nice break from the reality of the pandemic.”(Anchorage, 40s).
“…I would think more gatherings just to talk to each other and let everything out and see what everybody else’s experiences and what they went through when they had COVID or what we should watch out for or what helps, like stinkweed juice or something.”(The Nome region, 40s).
“We had Elders that came in every day when we started, we would start off in prayer. So, we’d have an Elder pray, and they would light a seal oil lamp, and it was all virtual. It was kind of cool that we could still practice that kind of ceremonial and prayer and remembrance in a virtual space.”(Nome, 20s).
- Ability to preserve and re-engage with traditional cultural activities: Women have sought creative ways to (re)engage with and explore new traditional cultural activities through virtual gatherings such as beading, sewing, carving workshops, and Zoom women’s talking circle meetings. These sessions offered a safe space for sharing techniques, learning, and providing emotional support during isolating times:
“… technology, one of the things that has been helpful… to do some of these activities that we did before the pandemic in a different way. I have beading circles where we would get together on Zoom and just bead and chat and continue our practice there. That’s been a good one. And a different way of sharing…”(Anchorage, 40s).
“We do a lot of hand sewing up here, whether it’s sewing baby booties or full-size mukluks… There was this lady who had pre-assembled them and precut everything for one size. Then she would hold a virtual circle and facilitate sewing it online. So, there were people all across the state, mostly Alaska Native… there are a lot of women… they did the sewing circle, and it was all virtual.”(Nome, 20s).
- Strengthened sense of community and belonging: Indigenous communities in Alaska with extended kinship networks ensure that all members are cared for by a wide circle of relatives and the community, not only immediate family members. These networks were particularly crucial for our female participants, who, in return, contributed to strengthening these social structures as well as a sense of community and belonging:
“I feel like that sense of community really helps with anything, when it comes to being a mom, working and raising our kids, and worrying about our kids and worrying about our Elders, because I feel like that has always been our job.”(Nome, 30s).
3.3. Economic Domain
3.3.1. Constraints to Economic Resilience During the Pandemic
- Persistent gender division of labor and low-paid female occupations/positions: In addition to the continuous legacy of colonialism and cultural assimilation that is associated with the segregation of labor sectors of the economy into ‘female’ and ‘male’ domains, the pandemic particularly exacerbated the working conditions and system of compensation in female-dominated sectors like healthcare. For instance, most frontline workers in the communities were women, and they were the ones who took disproportionate risks:
“I think… about health aids. The health aids are the medical personnel in the village communities, and they’re all women. I can’t imagine the feeling of responsibility that they had when it was during that first year <of the pandemic–authors>. They probably all got a lot of gray hair that year, because it’s so much responsibility.” (Nome, 64+.) “There were even health aides getting COVID. And if it came to a real emergency, they would still have to see the patient and risk getting COVID themselves. So, the health aides played a big role in keeping the community safe.”(The Nome area, 40s).
“The hardest hit parts of the economy, by my estimation, are parts that … are often seen as women’s work. So that’s teachers, teachers’ aides, daycare providers, home healthcare providers, caregiving positions… They’re low wage jobs, when you think about the amount of time that these people put in, and is it commensurate with the amount that they’re getting paid? No, it is not. Why can’t we subsidize women’s jobs? If you have pay equity, then women can afford housing.”(Anchorage, 40s).
- Altered working conditions, stalled careers, and Zoom fatigue: While three participants emphasized the convenience of working from home, so they can be closely involved with their family members and have better control over homeschooling with their children, nine participants mentioned struggling with social isolation and distraction while working from home, highlighting the need for social interaction and the difficulty in maintaining productivity outside of a pre-pandemic socially oriented office environment. This transition to remote work was a significant adjustment, with our participant recounting the following:
“I worked at home for almost a year… My productivity, my work morale, my enthusiasm to work… Gone! Remote work from home did not work. I am a social butterfly.”(Anchorage, 50s).
“Not enough office space to work with, off the table. Their kids bothered them. No room to work or study. Sometimes they have to go to the library or the hospital to study or work.”(Nome, 64+).
“During this period, I have to take care of my children. Even when I’m trying to work from home, I’m always distracted by my children.”(Nome, 20s).
“Daycare centers in Anchorage got shut down… I can’t imagine trying to have to work and find viable trustworthy daycare providers during the pandemic.”(Anchorage, 50s).
“… the schools closed; all the daycares closed. I couldn’t work. I wasn’t able to finish my semester. I lost my student job because the campus is closed, so you can’t work. I lost income. I had to drop from being a full-time student to being a part-time student because I’m still homeschooling <my> kids… Now, I’m a single mom also…”(Anchorage, 40s).
“It was within the lockdown where I had opportunities with Zoom like going to… conferences… and even taking classes. It was a good thing to take up the time and have something to do and look forward to. But on the other hand, from doing so many Zoom meetings, I got Zoom exhaustion, because I’m also on boards… having back-to-back different Zoom meetings…”(Anchorage, 40s).
- Increased job losses, job instability, and insecurity: Job losses and reduced income were significant stressors, particularly for single mothers living outside of their communities and in low-wage jobs. The interviews reveal instances of women facing eviction and struggling to access necessities, underlining the gendered impact of economic downturns. The economic impact of the pandemic disproportionately affected Indigenous women living in urban areas, particularly those in precarious employment, those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and single mothers. While eleven participants mentioned receiving support from community, Tribal organizations, Native Corporations, and from the government, the economic uncertainty was a significant challenge. Four participants mentioned that the struggle to meet basic needs and avoid eviction was a significant stressor for many women in their community. Economic challenges were highlighted, with stories of job loss, difficulty finding new work, and the strain of navigating unemployment benefits. This was especially pronounced for those in sectors hit hard by the pandemic (like tourism, arts and crafts, leisure services, restaurant businesses, etc.) or where remote work was not an option:
“I haven’t been able to work consistently for the past couple years and when I do work, I overwork because I don’t want to ever have that space in between where I could be homeless again”(Anchorage, 30s).
- Another constraint to resilience is the diminished financial capacity related to lack of overlapping resources from state and Indigenous institutions to support their people, which especially affects Indigenous women living in urban areas. During the pandemic, it was clear that these capacities were insufficient to protect Indigenous urbanites in a critical situation and prevent many female households from falling below poverty line:
“Before then <the pandemic-authors>, it was like, “Oh no, you’re going to be homeless? No, we’re not going to allow that to happen. We’re going to try to do as much as we can to prevent that from happening”; now it’s, “Oh, I’m sorry you’re having a hard time.” … I dedicated my life to my communities, and not receiving the help that we needed, or we were promised for housing, that was baffling.”(Anchorage, 30s).
“Applying for TANF, applying for Medicaid, applying for food stamps, all became virtual… I’m going to say these are women who really don’t have access to a handheld cell phone where they could just look up or scan and email their documents.”(Anchorage, 50s).
- Geographical complications and eligibility gaps: Five research participants who lived away from their ancestral lands experienced severe financial hardship due to job losses or reduced work hours:
“Tribes were also offering COVID rent relief, but the issue you run into with tribal rent relief is some tribes required that you had to live within the tribal service area. A good example would be the Nome Eskimo community, which is a tribe here in Alaska. If you’re a member of the Nome Eskimo Community, they want you to live within the Nome area. Well, not all tribal members of the Nome Eskimo Community live in Nome… maybe you grew up there, but you moved away because there’s no housing. There’s no employment. There’s no childcare. So then how do you support yourself financially? I know some tribes, if you didn’t live within the tribal service area, you didn’t get rent relief. And then a lot of these places, everything was closed, like the welfare office, the food stamp office, the housing office. If all these offices are closed and you don’t have a computer or you don’t have internet, how do you apply for them?”(Anchorage, 40s).
- Disrupted subsistence activities and increased food insecurity: The pandemic presented challenges to subsistence activities, adding to traditional food insecurity problems. In addition, Indigenous women in remote communities, particularly young mothers, also faced additional challenges, such as a milk formula deficit. Restrictions on travel and gathering affected subsistence activities, crucial for many communities’ food supply—both in remote villages and urban communities:
“We had a huge impact on our fishing. We cut fish and dry them for the winter, or we just put away fish. There’s not much time in the summer, it goes by so quickly. And it took a lot of the schedule out of our fishing time, being in quarantine and having to stay in most of the time to avoid possibly getting COVID. It really affected our subsistence.”(The Nome area, 40s).
3.3.2. Strengths for Economic Resilience
- Ability to exercise gender equality traditions in the subsistence economy (mainly in rural areas): In Alaska Indigenous communities, all genders play a pivotal role in the subsistence economy, a vital aspect of their communities’ cultural and economic sustainability.
“In terms of food, I’ve been very fortunate that a lot of the men in our family were hunters and gatherers, so we did keep that up. We did go to camp all the time, going moose hunting, seal hunting. That’s something that the whole family takes part in, so we did keep doing that, going fishing, going berry picking. So, in that aspect, that’s equally shared across our family, and nothing has really changed.”(Nome, 20s).
“Up here (the Nome region–authors) majority of our people that have lived here for a while do a lot of harvesting and gathering… I could say this confidently, if the grocery stores were gone, we would still have food in our home. If we have fuel, that’s the thing.”(Nome, 20s).
- Women’s engagement in the wage and mixed economy: For Indigenous women, participation in the wage economy provided greater financial stability, enhancing the overall economic well-being of their families and communities:
“Because I had a full-time job, I had savings, my work wasn’t interrupted, I was really grateful for that. I was able to keep working, keep getting a paycheck…”(Nome, 20s).
- Capacity to strengthen professional growth (mostly urban): Many women, particularly urban residents with better access to the Internet, demonstrated remarkable resilience as they were open to exploring various ways to grow professionally. Free online courses and conferences were particularly popular. Attending conferences was reported as highly beneficial as it allowed women to gain new insights, stay updated, improve networking, and foster relationships that can support personal development and future career advancement:
“One of the things that was good that did come out of the pandemic was… more access to different conferences that I wish I would’ve gone to in person before the pandemic and wasn’t able to. I was able to attend these conferences online and take language classes for free or a limited low amount of payment for the classes. And then got me in contact with other linguistics or companies that provided online support for language publications… And I really enjoyed the conferences that I had attended. And one of them was an international Indigenous conference that was in 2021, and it was all virtual and it had different Indigenous small businesses and small women businesses and how they’re boosting their economy.”(Anchorage, 40s).
- Ability to start women-led community-oriented businesses (mainly in urban areas): During the course of the pandemic, there were possibilities to use simplified procedures for registering businesses, and some Indigenous women in urban settings used this opportunity. Many of these female-led businesses are based on the values of mutual support and solidarity, and care for Elders and all Indigenous community members allowed easing the burden of navigating through the pandemic:
“I had a catering service that I did door-to-door… I didn’t want payment, I wanted people to cause a positive ripple effect with each other, and that’s what I did with my catering… My first order was a lady who had never spent a birthday without her family, and it was her first birthday completely alone. So, I went upstairs, dropped off the cookies, and I said, “You can order as much as you want, you can order whatever you want; just pay what you can afford… We’re very good friends now… So, that’s part of how I tried to continue to help my community.”(Anchorage/Nome, 30s).
- Shifts in workplace values: As our participant shared, she experienced a pandemic-influenced personal reevaluation of workplace relationships, aligning with an Indigenous-informed ethic of mutual support and reciprocity—an approach that is often absent in the traditional Western leadership model, which is rooted in more hierarchical and transactional norms:
“Since I am looking for jobs and because I’ve had some kind of traumatic work experience this year, I’m very much seeking an employer who respects me… I want to learn how they’ll support me as an employee rather than only focusing on what I can do for them. It’s about reciprocity really, and not just in terms of employment, but in all aspects of life.”(Anchorage, 30s).
4. Discussion
Limitations and Future Research
5. Conclusions: Lessons of Resilience Through a Gender Lens
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Research Principles | Description of Principles Implemented in This Study |
---|---|
A suitable time frame selection for interviews [52] | The research team adjusted the interview schedule in accordance with the Indigenous seasonal calendar and traditional subsistence activities (hunting, fishing, gathering, etc.), ceremonies, etc. Usually, most research activities are conducted during academic summer breaks and can cause additional disruptions to communities during the busy hunting/fishing/gathering season. To prevent the most inconvenience, the community visits were scheduled for November–December. |
Research responsive to community needs [52] | The research goal, objectives, and questions should be relevant to community needs to ensure that the outcomes are practical, meaningful, and beneficial for addressing the specific challenges the community faces. |
Safety-first approach | Given the elevated risks and consequences while working with remote communities and to minimize any possible risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the preparation for in-person interviews included updated booster vaccination, masks, daily home testing, and keeping social distance. |
Humanized research (interviews) procedures | The research team created a welcoming, safe, and conveniently located physical space that would be private and quiet with a relaxed and informal atmosphere where participants would feel safe, comfortable, and less intimidated so they are more comfortable for open conversation. Special attention was given to the details, including different seating options, ambient lights, comfortable temperature, Indigenous ivory carvings, and a natural hide rug placed on the coach that was appreciated by many participants. Although it is usually recommended for focus groups format to provide coffee/tea and snacks for participants, the team adapted this practice as comfort food and refreshments are not only appreciated by research participants but also may trigger a temporary feeling of calm and stress relief [53,54,55] and “fuel a positive environment” [46] (p. 83). |
“A voice-centered approach to interpretation” [56] (p. 213) | The research team included extensive quotes from the interviews in the paper to allow readers to directly engage with the participants’ voices and to ensure that their experiences are conveyed in their own words, adding credibility to the research findings. |
Indigenous holistic and multi-layered approach to health and well-being [46,52] | To the best possible degree, the researchers incorporated Indigenous “wholistic” and multi-layered approach to health and well-being, “which encompasses the spiritual, emotional, metal, and physical elements of being, <while also acknowledging> past, present and future” [46] (p. 74), into the research’s conceptual framework. |
A “two-eyed seeing” approach [57] | Working together, Indigenous and non-Indigenous research team members were using “one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing” to learn about gender inequality issues, underlying conditions, and possible solutions and using “the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledges and way of knowing and to using both these eyes together, for the benefit of all” [57] (p. 335). |
Open-ended questions that invite personal storytelling and are also practically oriented [51] | The open-ended interview questions were designed to allow the engagement of participants in meaningful conversation and sharing through personal stories that “are born of connections within the world and are recounted relationally” [51] (p. 158). Some research questions are intentionally designed to not only to generate knowledge but also to shape policy and practice in ways that benefit Indigenous lives, highlighting the far-reaching impact of research. [51] (p. 242). |
Indigenous communities’ control over research, data collection, and analysis processes [52,58] | Through local partnerships we received the approval from the Alaska Area Institutional Review Board (AAIRB) and Tribal Research Review from the Norton Sound Health Corporation Research Ethics and Review (NSCH RERB) Board to conduct research, including data collection and analysis. |
Research verification/soliciting feedback/knowledge-sharing and reporting back [45,52] | The preliminary results of the study were disseminated to all research participants who had email access. This distribution aimed to facilitate knowledge sharing, ensure the accuracy of the interpretations, and invite participant feedback to refine the final version of the paper [45] (p. 115). |
Approval on data dissemination from the local Indigenous entity [52] | The approval for use of the research materials (including quotes from the interviews) for publication and presentation at the conferences was obtained from the NSCH RERB. |
Contribution to Indigenous culture and language [59] | To ensure the research is contributing to Indigenous language revitalization, the most significant study findings and quotes from the interviews will be translated into Iñupiaq, a regional language in the Nome area, and published on the COVID-GEA project website and social media platforms in both written and oral forms. |
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Personal | Sociocultural | Economic | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Constraints | Strengths | Constraints | Strengths | Constraints | Strengths |
Limited communication, isolation, and loss of relationships. Grief, heightened stress levels, and an intensified sense of responsibility and guilt. Increased mental, emotional, and physical health problems. Imbalanced gender roles at home (mostly urban). Limited availability of mental health support designed by and for Indigenous women. | Adaptability to new technologies (personal online communication). Ability to reconceptualize priorities, redefine personal goals, and reevaluate personal values. Crisis preparedness and the capacity for renewing meaning and value. Ability to reconceptualize resilience. Ability to balance perspectives. Resourcefulness, ability to support relatives in rural Alaska (mostly urban). Ability to stay (re)connected with nature for physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing. Adaptability to new working and studying conditions. Capacity to strengthen personal growth (mostly urban). A community-centered conception of personal happiness. | Intensified collective trauma and memories of the past. Increased inequality in power relationships at home. Increased domestic violence. Decreased community engagement and participation in sociocultural practices. Challenges in fulfilling the role of community caretakers (mostly rural). Increased racism and gender-based discrimination (mostly urban). Elevated rates of being unhoused (mostly urban). | Stewardship position of women. Adaptability to new technologies (community virtual gatherings, etc.). Ability to keep solidarity and provide mutual support (mostly rural). Ability to form women’s support groups and practice female healing traditions. Ability of female Elders to preserve spiritual guidance. Ability to preserve and re-engage with traditional cultural activities. Strengthened sense of community and belonging (mostly rural). | Persistent gender division of labor; low-paid female occupations/positions (mostly urban). Altered working and studying conditions and stalled careers. Zoom fatigue. Increased job losses, job instability and insecurity (mostly urban) Diminished financial capacity. Geographical complications and eligibility gaps (mostly urban). Disrupted subsistence activities, increased food insecurity. | Women’s engagement in the wage and mixed economy. Capacity to strengthen professional growth (mostly urban). Ability to exercise gender equality traditions in subsistence economy (mostly rural). Ability to start women-led community-oriented or Indigenous cultures-oriented businesses (mostly urban). Shifts in workplace values. |
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Rozanova-Smith, M.; Apok, C.; Petrov, A.N. “I Think Even in Challenging Times We Can Still Be Uplifting”: Indigenous Women’s Experiences of Resilience to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Alaska. Societies 2025, 15, 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15050122
Rozanova-Smith M, Apok C, Petrov AN. “I Think Even in Challenging Times We Can Still Be Uplifting”: Indigenous Women’s Experiences of Resilience to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Alaska. Societies. 2025; 15(5):122. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15050122
Chicago/Turabian StyleRozanova-Smith, Marya, Charlene Apok, and Andrey N. Petrov. 2025. "“I Think Even in Challenging Times We Can Still Be Uplifting”: Indigenous Women’s Experiences of Resilience to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Alaska" Societies 15, no. 5: 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15050122
APA StyleRozanova-Smith, M., Apok, C., & Petrov, A. N. (2025). “I Think Even in Challenging Times We Can Still Be Uplifting”: Indigenous Women’s Experiences of Resilience to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Alaska. Societies, 15(5), 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15050122