Barry Rodrigue dit Roderick served in the U.S. Air Force, including an assignment in Alaska from 1972-1973. He had become an opponent of the Vietnam War during his service and, while stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, in Anchorage, he sought discharge as a conscientious objector. When denied, he deserted, in protest, to Canada. However, Canada was in the process of closing off refugee status for American war resistors, so he returned to the United States. He served time in military brigs and was then given an honorable discharge. This experience, combined with subsequent experiences in rural Alaska (see MS 269), began his social activism.

In 1979, Dr. Rodrigue joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), became a union delegate, and organized the IWW's Southeast Alaska General Membership Branch. He also founded the Alaska Solidarity Federation (ASF), which focused on addressing social justice issues. The groups' members periodically worked with Common Ground, a coalition of Left activists in Alaska who published a journal, which was also called Common Ground. They cooperated with progressive, issue-oriented groups, such as Juneau Third World Perspective. For example, one focus of their activities was on the Central American conflicts, particularly the Contra War in Nicaragua. As a result of the latter work, Dr.Rodrigue organized the Alaska-Nicaragua Fisheries Project, which sought to raise awareness and send supplies from Alaska fishing communities to commercial fishing people in Nicaragua. In this effort, they worked in cooperation with IMPESCA, the Sandinista Fisheries Department.

Dr. Rodrigue also collected historical materials on progressive community action in the course of researching and writing his histories of Southeast Alaska and Admiralty Island. He currently is an associate professor at the University of Southern Maine in Lewiston, Maine. [Condensed and paraphrased from donor’s notes. More notes available].