People from Diomede arrived in umiaks and stayed in Nome for the summer, trading and gathering items before they returned to their isolated village.

In summer time, they traveled with skin boats equipped with outboard motors to Siberia or Wales, Alaska.

Despite being officially forbidden, the Inuit from both islands occasionally visited their neighbors, sometimes under the cover of fog, to meet their relatives and exchange small gifts.

[4] At the beginning of the Cold War in the late 1940s, Big Diomede became a USSR (Soviet Union) military base, and all its native residents were removed to mainland Russia.

[4] When people from Little Diomede went too close to the Russian side or tried to visit their relatives on the neighboring island during World War II, they were arrested.

Teaching took place throughout the holidays and also on some weekends in order to complete the 180 days of schooling before the walrus migration started in Spring.

[17] Previously non-existent health care was improved with basic medication knowledge provided by seasonal teachers.

Cox performed the swim as a peace gesture, hoping to help improve American-Soviet relations during the final years of the Cold War.

Later that year the Soviet Secretary General Gorbachev travelled to Washington to sign a nuclear weapons treaty with American President Reagan.

The extreme moderating effect of the thawed Bering Sea produces very cool summers, with the result that most plants are unable to grow.

Diomede also appears on the census as Inalik, designated as an Alaska Native Village Statistical Area (ANVSA).

A new, larger church building built by Father Thomas Carlin and Brother Ignatius Jakes was completed on March 3, 1979.

The island also has a school, library, heliport and a satellite dish for television, telephone, fax, and internet service.

There is no bank or restaurant, and the supplies of the main store on the island are limited to food, beverage, clothing, firearms, ammunition, and fuel.

Snacks, clothing, diapers, and other items are often ordered from Anchorage Walmart and Fred Meyer stores by mail or parcel.

[35] In case of a major health emergency, patients are airlifted to the mainland hospital in Nome, weather permitting.

Frozen ground and lack of soil on the rocky island prevents digging graves, so rocks are piled on top of the burial sites instead.

[38] Ivory works are mainly sold in mainland Alaska in Fairbanks and Anchorage, but can occasionally be purchased online.

When Alaska was still connected to Siberia over 10,000 years ago by the Bering Land Bridge, the Little Diomede was not an island but was a part of Beringia and accessible by foot.

Later, Umiaks were used to visit the neighboring Big Diomede island for whale hunting and fishing, and later, to access mainland Alaska and Siberia.

The postal contract is one of the oldest in the nation, the only one that uses helicopters for delivering mail, and with a cost of over $300,000 annually, is the most expensive in Alaska.

Having very few economic development opportunities and a tight budget, the city charges non-business visitors arriving by plane or boat a $50.00 fee.

Senator Ted Stevens arrived to the island on October 29, 2002, for an overnight visit, he commented "I did not realize you were this remote".

He arrived by a National Guard Blackhawk helicopter, and it was the first time the island was visited by a statewide elected official.

Today, the village has the Diomede Heliport constructed by the U.S. Marine Corps in 2000 and owned by the Alaska Department of Transportation.

Since 2012, the United States Department of Transportation has subsidized scheduled weekly passenger service via helicopter between Diomede Heliport and Nome Airport.

Some bush pilots have occasionally landed on the top of the tuya which is rocky, but has a somewhat flat surface during the snowy winter.

The barge delivering supplies once a year and occasional other watercraft usually stay offshore due to conditions of the shoreline.

According to 2006 United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) documentation,[47] however, better access to the island will raise issues with its dedicated nature, environment, and local cultural traditions.

Though these proposals date back as far as the early 20th century, most of them have been just visions of individuals or groups or media, and have not resulted in governmental study by either the USA or Russia.