Arctic Alaska

No truly primitive group could exist under such conditions. Only by means of a highly complex technology and a highly developed knowledge of natural phenomena could human beings penetrate the Arctic.

Helge Larsen and Froelich Rainey

Harvesting and sharing of naturally occurring renewable resources are central to life in Alaska's Native villages. The bulk of the protein diet comes from the environment. But the value of subsistence is much greater than just food put on the table. Hunting and gathering, the sharing of food, and the beliefs surrounding these activities tie families and communities together as well as connecting people to their environment. Unless otherwise noted the majority of the population in the following communities are Inupiat. They are listed in the order in which they will be visited by the mv Arctic Sunrise.

Gambell and Savoonga - (GAM-buhl) (suh-VOONG-guh)

Gambell and Savoonga are Siberian Yupik communities located on opposite sides of Niyrakpak Lagoon on the north side of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. The island was permanently settled approximately 2,300 years ago by people who migrated north and east from the Okhotsk Sea in Siberia. It lies 31 miles to the east of Russia and 124 miles west of the Alaska mainland. Vitus Bering named the island in honor of the saint's day on which he found it in 1728.

Gambell (population 636) is named for a missionary couple who drowned while returning to the island in 1898. It is one of the island's original settlements. Savoonga (population 615) is an Eskimo name. It was established at what had been a reindeer herding camp in 1917. St. Lawrence Island is home to the largest seabird colonies in the Bering Sea. Polynyas, or open water areas within the sea ice pack, form off the island in winter and are critical habitat for marine mammals, including bowhead whales, as well as for birds.

Bering Strait

The Bering Strait is a dynamic and productive marine environment. It is the gateway for marine life migrating to and from the Chukchi Sea and Arctic Ocean. The major lead (linear opening in the pack ice) that stretches from the Yukon Delta to the Bering Strait is an important migratory pathway for waterfowl in the spring. In summer these waters support major seabird nesting colonies. The strait is used by 14 species of marine mammals.

Wales

The village is named after Cape Prince of Wales, which Capt. James Cook named in 1778. The cape and village are at the narrowest part of the Bering Strait. The location provides excellent opportunities for subsistence hunting and fishing, but the fast current also makes it dangerous. The village has a population of 165.

Kotzebue (KAWT-se-byoo)

The city of Kotzebue (population 2,621) lies north of the Arctic Circle on a long peninsula jutting into Kotzebue Sound. The sound was named after Lt. Otto von Kotzebue of the Rurik, who explored the southern Arctic shore of Alaska in 1816, looking for the Northwest Passage. The NANA Corporation is based here. A non-profit association, Maniilaq, named for an Eskimo prophet, provides social and health-related services for the region.

Deering

Deering is a small community (population 141) established in 1901 as a supply station for mining operations in the interior. It was named after the schooner Abbie M. Deering. An older abandoned village site called Inmachukmuit is about two miles south of the present location.

Point Hope

The city of Point Hope (population 764) is located on a spit that juts into the Chukchi Sea. The earliest evidence of human habitation in this area dates about BC 600, although the eroding coastline may have obliterated earlier remains. Point Hope was named by Captain Frederick Beechey of the HMS Blossom in 1826 in honor of a friend. The village of Point Hope has a long history of activism, dating back to the 19th century when the Tikirannuit refused to allow a whaling station to be built by white men. When it was established five miles away, they refused to work there. This stubbornness reared its head again in more recent history. During the 1960's the then Atomic Energy Commission and Lawrence Radiation Laboratory (later renamed the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) headed by Edward Teller, made plans to detonate five nuclear bombs thirty-one miles away from Point Hope. Point Hope's determination prevented "Project Chariot" from moving forward. An excellent account of the episode called The Firecracker Boys was written by Dan O'Neill in 1992 after USDOE documents were declassified.

Point Lay

Point Lay is a busy village near the Kokolik River Delta. It is the smallest North Slope Borough community (population 180). The old village site was resettled in 1972 (although Dorcas and Warren Neakok never left). The village was moved, then moved again to the present "DEW Line" site.

Kasegaluk Lagoon

Kasegaluk hosts a summer concentration of 2,000-3,000 belukhas from late June to mid-August. It also has the largest known concentration of spotted seals in Alaska (over 2,000 in late summer, early autumn).

Wainwright

Wainwright (population 563) is situated on a long bight that affects sea-ice conditions as well as marine resource concentrations. It was founded in 1904, in an area settled for centuries. It was named by Captian Fredrick Beechey of the HMS Blossom after the ship's astronomer.

Peard Bay

Peard Bay supports major concentrations of oldsquaw and king and common eiders between late July and late September; from mid-August to mid-September the North Slope population of black brant congregate there. It is also important belukha whale habitat.

Barrow (BAIR-oh)

The City of Barrow is (population 4,276) located a few miles southwest of Point Barrow. The city is the regional center for the North Slope Borough. Arctic Slope Regional Corporation is headquartered here along with the not-for profit Arctic Slope Native Association, which focuses on social and health-related services for the region. Point Barrow is the northernmost point in the UnitedStates, and the demarcation point between the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. It was named after the secretary of the British Admiralty by Beechey of the HMS Blossom.