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An Alaskan Village Where Grizzlies Roam and Canada Rules (if Anyone Does)

By Dan Levin

HYDER, Alaska — If libertarians had an earthly paradise, it would probably be here in Hyder, Alaska. Separated from American governments and bureaucracies by immense wilderness, Hyder has no property taxes or police, and citizens can carry firearms openly. Yet the village, wedged between two Canadian borders, has long relied on neighboring Stewart, British Columbia, for groceries, electricity and other services.

So July 4 might be called Interdependence Day here. That’s when Canadians cross an unguarded United States border into Hyder and continue the Canada Day party that begins on July 1 — and that the Yankees heartily join.

In Hyder, the celebration includes a pet parade (“people dress ’em up and walk ’em down the street”) and an ugly vehicle contest (“they have to run, and that’s about it”). There is also a competition known as the Bush Woman Classic, in which women — and a few men in drag — must chop wood, flip a pancake, catch a fish (in a bucket), shoot a water gun at a man in a bear costume and then apply lipstick on the way to the finish line.

The spirit of international cooperation between Hyder and Stewart goes back to the early 1900s, when the two communities were founded as mining towns on the shores of a fjord abundant with salmon, seals and halibut. While they may be in separate countries, daily life has bound them ever closer through marriages, blizzards and bears that fail to respect international boundaries. President Obama even alluded to the bond when the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, visited the White House in March.

“It’s basically the same town. We’re just a little more free over here,” said Joel Graesser, a steel sculptor who fled New York City a decade ago for Hyder, where wolves occasionally venture into his outdoor studio.

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