Talk:Diomede Islands

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[edit] Westernmost point in Alaska

Is furthest "west" being determined by the IDL or by hemisphere, making the western Aleutians the furthest easternmost points in the US? Tomer^talk 23:24, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Inappropriately placed addition

An anon added this to the "See also" section:

Diomede has been home to Natives of Alaska for Millenia and the village itself is older than the cities of Paris and London. The Imaqlaq (spelling and pronounciation ?) which means people of the sea are actually from three villages on both of the Diomede Islands. Trading was a big and highly guarded occupation among the people of the Islands. War parties were set up to take care of "would be interlopers" trying to "horn in" on their territory. Alliances usually were with the Russian Villages and family ties were strong between them. Until 1948, travel between the villages were regular trips and everyone lived with no regard to Political Borders.

That all changed when the "Iron Curtain" Fell on Diomede and the Russian Island. Little is known why the Iron Curtain fell in Diomede but it had something to do with the paranoia of both the United States and the Soviet Union at the time. In essence the Global effects of the "Cold War" hit the residents of both islands the hardest. Because residents of both of the russian villages on Big Diomede Island were forcibly removed from their homes to the Mainland. The residents of Little Diomede did not know of this event and traveled to the big island and were "captured" by the awaiting Russian Border guards. They were held for 56 days and treated as the equivalent of Prisoners of War. Their diet consisted of Black Bread and Water. As a result some of the Village residents that were captured died shortly after as the result of malnutrition. After long negotiations between the US and the Soviet Union, the Families were allowed to return home. Family ties between the Russian Villages and the residents of Little Diomede were severed for over 40 years with no way to contact family members being held in the relocation towns in mainland russia.

Someone should make sure this is not a copyvio and merge it into the existing article. —Keenan Pepper 22:54, 5 February 2006 (UTC)