Whittier, Alaska, a community under one roof (2015)
npr.org
npr.org
it seems like: cruise ships, tourism, port. Former Army base. Not clear if the "petroleum products terminal" and pipeline is still in use.
Alaskans are generally immensely friendly, community minded, happy and energetic. They give warm handshakes, look you in the eye and really mean the things they say. They don't say things that are hollow, and most of them know from first hand experience the American Dream is a crock.
Often people say Alaska feels a lot more like Northern Canada than it feels like the lower 48 of the US.
I miss my time there immensely.
(I lived in the Yukon, ~2hours from the border. I've been all over Alaska, have probably crossed the border ~50 times, summer and winter.)
Native Indian are somewhat detached from reality and you can expect anything from them. When I was bicycling Alaska Hiway, only those Injuns gave me beer and friendly advice. But one was very angry, I had been camping on "sacred lands".