In March 2025, ACAT, the Native Village of Gambell and the Native Village of Savoonga, filed a formal complaint with the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights. The complaint addresses the U.S. military’s toxic legacy on Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island), where formerly used defense sites have led to long-term contamination, violating the human rights of the Indigenous Yupik people.
Community-based research conducted by ACAT in partnership with the Tribes of Sivuqaq has documented the devastating multi-generational environmental and health harms perpetrated by the military. Sivuqaq Tribal leaders are demanding accountability from the U.S. government and call on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete responsible cleanup of the contamination.
In this webinar, ACAT Environmental Justice Director Vi Waghiyi will speak about the long-term impacts of contamination on the health, well-being, environment, and culture of Sivuqaq people.
Sivuqaq community leaders Cheryl Lowery, Sandra Gologergen, and Trisha Waghiyi will share firsthand accounts of the ongoing impacts of military pollution.
ACAT Executive Director and senior scientist Pamela Miller will present key findings from ACAT’s shared research documenting the health harms and persistent pollution on the island.
Featured Speakers
Cheryl Lowery serves on the Alaska Nannut Co-Management Council representing the Native Village of Gambell. The council is comprised of fifteen tribes in the Arctic that have traditionally hunted polar bears for subsistence.
Nawuukaq Sandra Gologergen was born and raised in Savoonga and currently serves as a Native Village of Savoonga Tribal Council member. She was a community health aide and worked as the Indian Child Welfare Program coordinator. She is a member of the Sivuqaq Working Group, which guides all aspects of ACAT’s Community-Based Research on Sivuqaq. Sandra cares deeply for the health of the lands and waters of Sivuqaq and is passionate about ensuring measures are in place to protect her people’s most vulnerable group, the children. She works to educate younger generations about the importance of protecting the land and to pass on the knowledge she has received from her ancestors.
Pamela Miller, the founder and Executive Director of ACAT since 1997, brings more than 35 years of research, education, and advocacy experience to her present work. In 2016, Pam was elected as Co-Chair of the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), a coalition of more than 600 environmental health and justice organizations working in 124 countries. She is also a principal investigator for community-based research projects supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Trisha Waghiyi is a youth representative and advocate from the Native Village of Savoonga. She graduated from high school in 2023 and works in the community as a substitute teacher. She also works at the Savoonga teen center and helps at elder lunches. Trisha is the great-granddaughter of the late Annie Alowa and strives to follow in her footsteps as a spokesperson for the health and well-being of her people.
Vi Pangunnaaq Waghiyi is a Sivuqaq Yupik, Native Village of Savoonga Tribal Citizen, mother, and grandmother. Since 2002, she has worked with ACAT and serves as Environmental Health and Justice Director. She was appointed by President Biden to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) in April 2021. She is a nationally recognized environmental justice leader and is frequently invited to speak locally, nationally, and internationally. Vi serves as a leader of the Global Indigenous Peoples Caucus that advises the United Nations international delegates for treaties concerning persistent organic pollutants. She served as a member of the Environmental Health Sciences Council that advises the NIEHS.
This webinar is hosted by the CHE-Alaska Partnership, which is coordinated by Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT). Driven by a core belief in environmental justice, ACAT empowers communities to eliminate exposure to toxics through collaborative research, shared science, education, organizing, and advocacy.