Locals were allowed to return in 1944, but the exposure to the outside world brought about many changes in the traditional lifestyle and community attitudes. In the 1950s, the Air Force constructed a White Alice radar communication site here, which provided some jobs. It was abandoned in late 1977. Culture Residents are known as Unangin, and Aleut is spoken in most homes. Subsistence activities, sheep and cattle raising, and fishing-related employment sustain the community.
Students are home-schooled through correspondence study.
Economy Most residents support themselves by working outside the village at crab canneries and on processing ships. The lack of a harbor and dock have limited fisheries-related activities. The village is interested in developing a small value-added fish processing plant and a sport fishing lodge to attract former residents who left Nikolski for economic reasons. 4,000 to 7,000 sheep, as well as 300 head of cattle and 30 horses graze over much of the island. Income is supplemented by subsistence activities, which provide a substantial part of the villagers' diets.