Story Time w/ Aunt Phil: The ‘Lost Alaskans’

Imagine being deemed insane through a jury trial, and then sent to the Lower 48 for treatment in the dead of winter before planes and automobiles were available to transport you south. That’s what happened to some Alaskans at the turn of the last century.
The opening of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute in 1962 marked a dramatic change in the way Alaska handled those who suffered from mental illness. Construction of the facility meant Alaskans might find treatment for their mental illnesses