Chefornak tribal police officers told Alaska State Troopers that they had been shot at by Christopher Wasili, 39, and that one of the officers returned fire.
The federal government is giving millions of dollars to tribal communities in Alaska to help them move to higher ground. The relocations are necessary because of the effects of climate change.
The Cama-i Dance Festival returned to Bethel last weekend after two years on hiatus due to the pandemic. For dancers from the village of Chefornak, it was a chance to finally honor loved ones lost over the last few years with neighbors from around the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
Credit Elyssa Loughlin / KYUK
Alaska State Troopers arrested a Chefornak man for a list of charges, including terroristic threatening of health care workers offering COVID-19 vaccines.
On July 15, a tribal police officer in Chefornak called the Alaska State Troopers. According to a trooper affidavit, the officer reported that two men were walking around the village with long guns. The men were protesting the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation’s plans to send a team to Chefornak to distribute COVID-19 vaccines.
One of the men protesting was Eric Wasili, age 38, who the affidavit says has “extensive history” with troopers. The men were not breaking any laws, but troopers advised the Chefornak Tribal Council to contact them if the men’s protest continued, so that troopers could escort the health care workers if necessary.