This week marks 36 years since the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill – a moment that forever changed our region, our lives, and our collective story.
For those of us who call Cordova home, the memory of March 24, 1989 is not abstract. It is deeply personal. We don’t need reminders of what was lost – we lived it. We watched it unfold in real time: The heartbreak, the devastation, and the long, drawn-out fight for justice all the way to the Supreme Court. But more than anything, we witnessed a community rise – again and again – because resilience wasn’t something we had to find; it was something we already carried.
Cordovans have always been resilient. I was 3 years old when the spill happened, so that resilience is all I’ve ever known. The spill didn’t just test it – it revealed it more clearly. It shaped how we advocate, how we protect our home and our fisheries, and how we show up for one another. It was also a catalyst in my own life. Growing up in the aftermath of the spill shaped my understanding of justice, voice, and responsibility. It drove me to become a lawyer, an advocate, and ultimately, the publisher of this newspaper.
I believe deeply in elevating voices and stories – especially in rural communities. That belief is rooted in what I learned growing up in Cordova. The legacy of Exxon Valdez lives on in all who lived through it, who stayed, who rebuilt, who raised families, and who continue to protect and harvest from this place we love.
This anniversary is more than a marker in time – it’s a reminder of who we are, what we’ve been through, and what we must continue to protect for those who come next. Now is not the time to be silent – it’s the time to be vocal, unified, and relentless – in whatever way that calls to each of us. That’s what is needed now – locally, nationally, and globally.
Rachel Kallander is the publisher of The Cordova Times.
