Ten-part series from Tour of Anchorage champion Holly Brooks.
NEW FACES, NEW CITY
Child's cancer treatment spans two worlds
In a community where many are poor and uneasy with English-speaking culture, some view doctors with suspicion, as expensive and alien. For them, a shaman may function as a primary health care practitioner, a choice of tradition over science that can turn deadly when an illness grows serious.
From Darfur to a strange new home
Safi Ali fled militiamen across desert land in Sudan, carrying only water on his back. The sun set and rose so many times, he stopped counting. In Chad, he slept in refugee camps plagued with sickness, starvation and flies. He's moved from city to city, through Africa and the Middle East, searching for work and the lost faces of his family.
TALES OF THE CITY
Tibetan exiles find kindred spirits in Anchorage
Lobsang Dorjee has never seen Tibet, the land where his parents grew up. He has never seen the faces of the aunts, uncles and cousins left behind. He knows them only through stories.
When Liz Posey, Jonathan Teeters, Kokayi and Toccarra Nosakhere took their seats in a small Midtown boardroom on a recent snowy afternoon, it wasn't to talk corporate strategy, it was to plot a revolution.
Duck out of the cold and into the tiny corner gas station on West International Airport Road at the right time of day, and chances are you'll run into a woman in a ball gown.
Woman helps tell a story of Lao people
Xayasana Lounmala, 23, could barely make it through "Refugee Nation," a performance at Out North Theater that delves deep into the Lao American experience. He didn't know what to expect, but it sure wasn't sitting there in tears.
New Faces, New City: Finding room in city parks
In the lingering summer night, Pena Field off Muldoon felt like an exotic bazaar in an Asian port.
"What are you?" The question came at Tafi Toleafoa from a young woman across the computer lab. People always want to know, but they rarely ask out loud. Students wear the question on their faces the first day of class.
Refugees find hope in Mountain View garden
For Bee Vang, the neat bundles of cilantro and stacks of red radishes under her tent at the Wednesday farmers' market mean more than just some cash at the end of the season.
In downtown cemetery, a spot for Muslims
A 1998 newspaper story about two Muslim children mistakenly buried on top of each other in Palmer left Ake Dobrova weak with outrage.
About two years ago, Sung Tae Kim and his pastor, Chong Chin Park, were sitting in the parking lot at Home Depot when the pastor asked Kim to describe the woman he'd like to marry.
With offerings of food and money, family members feed and support the dead, drawing their spirits closer.
Andrei Jacobs' father is Yup'ik. His mother is black. Make him pick a race on a government form and he will check the box that says "Alaska Native."
TV offers new Alaskans a portal to life left behind
Advances in satellite television over the last five years, coupled with demographic trends, are changing what people are watching in Alaska's largest city.
Across continents and cultures, a family grows
Rafael Martinez, of a rural Mexican village, followed opportunity to Anchorage in 1997 and took a job at Burger King. On the way to work one day, he found a woman named Josephine Lott.
With gongs, bells and incense smoke, Hmong people from Muldoon to South Anchorage are calling to the spirits this time of year.
Anchorage's immigrant population has grown quickly in recent years, changing city schoolrooms, courtrooms, restaurant menus and, maybe soon, election outcomes.
Couple become new U.S. citizens
Bernardino and Paulina Lansang, both in their mid-70s, came to the United States six years ago from the Philippines. They became American citizens in September.
Money-wiring services, available in Anchorage grocery stores, banks and a growing crop of storefronts like Centro de Servicio Hispano, have become increasingly common.
Fireweed Lane is a gritty Midtown avenue lined with worn parking lots and '70s-era strip malls, where Korean is spoken almost as frequently as English.
The best Lao speaker among her siblings, Toc Soneoulay has been the link between her parents and the English-speaking world.
As burden or honor, translation often falls to family
More than ever, people need translation services in medical clinics, schools and government offices across the city.
New, growing populations of immigrants and minorities have changed the feel of the city, from high school dances to funerals.
The population of Alaska's biggest city is changing in dramatic, fundamental ways, and the aisles of Wal-Mart are one good place to see the changes.
MAP
Got your lights up? Post a photo with your address and then plot out the best tour in town.
STORY
A Hmong mother is torn between treating her child's cancer with shamanism and modern medicine.
SECTION
A conviction in federal court and a loss in a U.S. Senate race has brought an end to his illustrious political career.
PHOTOS
Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, brought consumers out in droves.
SLIDE SHOW
About 5,000 people were served turkey and all the fixings during this year's annual Thanksgiving Blessing.
STORY
Barbara Franks lost her son to suicide and two days later, her husband to colon cancer. Now she shares her story and works in suicide prevention.
STORY
As Anchorage expands, rapid growth in Hillside poses unique development challenges.
VIDEO
Steve Montgomery talks about the Single Action Shooting Society during a November event.
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