What was the purpose of relocating Alaska Native people during World War II?

• A. To relocate them to the lower 48 for labor
• B. To protect them from invading Japanese
• C. To relocate them to Canada for resettlement
• D. To relocate them to remote villages for census purposes

Answer: (B)

Protecting Alaska Native communities from a real wartime threat drove these relocations. When Japan occupied parts of the Aleutians in 1942, coastal villages in western Alaska faced the danger of attack or capture. Government and military authorities moved many Alaska Native families inland or to safer inland locations to shield them, especially the most vulnerable, from harm. It wasn’t about sending people to labor or resettling them for census purposes, and there wasn’t a policy to move them to Canada. The relocation was a precaution tied to the defense situation during World War II, though it caused lasting changes to communities and traditional ways of life.