Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the
Northwest Arctic Borough in the
U.S. state of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
. It is the
borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska encompassing the borough. The population of the city was 3,102 as of the
2020 census,
down from 3,201 in 2010. The city has received an
All-America City award
The All-America City Award is a community recognition program in the United States given by the National Civic League. The award recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create strong ...
.
History
Etymology and prehistory
Owing to its location and relative size, Kotzebue served as a trading and gathering center for the various communities in the region. The
Noatak,
Selawik and
Kobuk Rivers drain into the Kotzebue Sound near Kotzebue to form a center for transportation to points inland. In addition to people from interior villages, inhabitants of far-eastern Asia, now the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...
, came to trade at Kotzebue. Furs, seal-oil, hides, rifles, ammunition, and seal skins were some of the items traded. People also gathered for competitions like the current
World Eskimo Indian Olympics. With the arrival of the whalers, traders, gold seekers, and missionaries the trading center expanded.
Kotzebue is also known as Qikiqtaġruk, means "small island" or "resembles an island" in the
Iñupiaq language. In the words of the late Iñupiaq elder Blanche Qapuk Lincoln of Kotzebue: "Iḷiḷgaaŋukapta tamarra pamna imiqaqtuq. Taavaasii kuuqahuni taiñña Adams-kutlu Ipaalook-kutlu, taapkuak piagun tavra. Taiñña suli Katyauratkutlu, Lena Norton tupqata piagun tavra kuuk suli taugani...Manna uvva qikiqtaq, Qikiqtaġruŋmik tavra atiqautiginiġaa qikiqtaupluni. Nunałhaiñġuqtuq marra pakma." ("When we were children there was water behind front street and a slough between the Ipalooks and Adams'. There was another slough over between Coppocks and Lena Norton's house...The island on Front Street led to Kotzebue being called Qikiqtaġruk because island in Iñupiaq is called ''qikiqtaq''.").
Kotzebue gets its name from the
Kotzebue Sound, which was named after
Otto von Kotzebue, a
Baltic German who explored the sound while searching for the
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the ...
in the service of Russia in 1818.
19th century
A
United States post office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...
was established in 1899.
20th and 21st century
In 1958,
Kotzebue Air Force Station
Kotzebue Air Force Station (AAC ID: F-24, LRR ID: A-12) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located south of Kotzebue, Alaska.
The ground control intercept (GCI) station was closed on 1 November 1983, ...
was completed. The radar site would be operated by on-site personnel until its deactivation in 1983 and the subsequent demolition of most of the station's structures. The
radome continues to operate, but is now mostly unattended.
In 1997, three 66-kw
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s were installed in Kotzebue, creating the northernmost wind farm in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. Today, the wind farm consists of 19 turbines, including two 900 kW EWT turbines. The total installed capacity has reached 3-MW, displacing approximately 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel every year.
On September 2, 2015, U.S. President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
gave a speech on
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
in Kotzebue, becoming the first sitting president to visit a site north of the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...
.
Since 2016, the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...
has deployed
MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters to Kotzebue from the beginning of July to the end of October as part of
Operation Arctic Shield
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
.
On December 3rd, 2018,
Mike Dunleavy was sworn in as the 12th
governor of Alaska in Kotzebue's high school gymnasium after inclement weather thwarted his plan to hold the ceremony in
Noorvik.
Geography
Kotzebue lies on a gravel
spit at the end of the
Baldwin Peninsula
The Baldwin Peninsula is a peninsula located on the Arctic Circle in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Alaska, at . It extends into Kotzebue Sound from the Alaska mainland and defines the south boundary of Hotham Inlet. It is 2–19 ...
in the
Kotzebue Sound. It is located at (66.897192, −162.585444),
approximately from
Noatak,
Kiana, and other nearby smaller communities. It is north of the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...
on Alaska's western coast.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land, and , or 5.76%, is water.
Kotzebue is home to the
NANA Regional Corporation
NANA Regional Corporation, Inc. (NANA) is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of Alaska Native land claims. NANA was incorporated in Alaska on June ...
, one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of Alaska Native land claims.
Kotzebue is a gateway to
Kobuk Valley National Park and other natural attractions of northern Alaska. The Northwest Arctic Heritage Center, operated by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...
, serves as a community meeting space and visitor center to
Kobuk Valley National Park,
Noatak National Preserve and
Cape Krusenstern National Monument. Nearby
Selawik National Wildlife Refuge also maintains office space in the town.
Climate
Kotzebue has a dry
subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, g ...
(
Köppen ''Dfc''), with long, somewhat snowy, and very cold winters, and short, mild summers;
diurnal temperature variation is low to minimal throughout the year, with an annual normal of and a minimum normal of in October.
Monthly daily average temperatures range from in January to in July,
with an annual mean of .
Days with the maximum reaching at or above can be expected an average of six days per summer.
Precipitation is both most frequent and greatest during the summer months with August the wettest month averaging . Kotzebue average precipitation is per year.
Snowfall averages about a season (July through June of the next year).
Extreme temperatures have ranged from on March 16, 1930 to as recently as June 19, 2013.
;Notes:
Demographics
Kotzebue first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census under its predecessor unincorporated Inuit village named "Kikiktagamute." It did not appear again until 1910, then as Kotzebue. It formally incorporated in 1958.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 3,082 people, 889 households, and 656 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,007 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 71.2%
American Indian, 19.5%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 1.8%
Asian, 0.3%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.8% from
other races, and 6.4% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population.
There were 889 households, out of which 50.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.40 and the average family size was 3.93.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 39.8% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 4.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $57,163, and the median income for a family was $58,068. Males had a median income of $42,604 versus $36,453 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $18,289. About 9.2% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Kotzebue's
Ralph Wien Memorial Airport
Ralph Wien Memorial Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located on the south side of Kotzebue, a city on the Baldwin Peninsula in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska.
Facilities and aircraft
Ralph Wien Memorial Ai ...
is the one airport in the
Northwest Arctic Borough with regularly scheduled large commercial passenger aircraft service to and from
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and the
Nome Airport.
Health care
Kotzebue is home to the Maniilaq Association, a tribally-operated health and social services organization named after
Maniilaq Maniiḷaq (; ) is a figure of Iñupiat legend and history. He is said to have lived in the 19th century before colonialists arrived in his area of northwest Alaska. He lived as a hunter and a healer in northwest Alaska. Various stories about him in ...
and part of the
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) is a non-profit health organization based in Anchorage, Alaska, which provides health services to 158,000 Alaska Natives and American Indians in Alaska. Established in 1997, ANTHC is a consortium ...
. Maniilaq Health Center is the primary health care facility for the residents of the Northwest Arctic Borough. The facility houses an emergency room with local and medevac support for accident/trauma victims, as well as an ambulatory care clinic, dental and eye care clinics, a pharmacy, a specialty clinic, and an inpatient wing with 17 beds for recovering patients.
Health care providers at Maniilaq Health Center provide telemedicine support to Community Health Aides (CHAPs) in the outlying villages of the
Northwest Arctic Borough. The CHAPs, who work in village-based clinics, are trained in basic health assessment and can treat common illnesses. For more complicated cases, the CHAPs communicate with Maniilaq Health Center medical staff via phone, video-conference, and digital images.
Media
The ''
Arctic Sounder
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada ( Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm ( Greenland), Finland, Icela ...
'' is a weekly newspaper published by Alaska Media, LLC, which covers Kotzebue and the rest of the Northwest Arctic Borough along with the North Slope Borough (and its hub community of
Utqiagvik
Utqiagvik ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , formerly known as Barrow ()) is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in the ...
).
KOTZ
KOTZ is a non-commercial radio station in Kotzebue, Alaska
Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic a ...
, broadcasting at 720 on the
AM dial, is the public radio station serving Kotzebue, one of two Class A
clear-channel stations in the United States at that frequency (the other being
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
's
WGN). KOTZ operates an extensive
translator
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...
network serving the rest of the borough.
Education
Northwest Arctic Borough School District
Northwest Arctic Borough School District (NWABSD) is a school district headquartered in Kotzebue, Alaska.
In 1999 the district had 2,100 students in nine communities. Beginning circa 1999 the Anchorage company Education Resources Inc. was schedu ...
operates two schools in Kotzebue: June Nelson Elementary School (JNES) and
Kotzebue Middle High School
Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska encompassing t ...
(KMHS). they had 394 and 309 students, making them the largest schools in the district.
Home
June Nelson Elementary School. Retrieved on March 26, 2017.
There is one private school run by the Native Village of Kotzebue called Nikaitchuat Iḷisaġviat. It is an Inupiaq language immersion school for grades PK through one.
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) operates their Chukchi Campus which offers classes, a library and other community services.
Notable people
* John Baker (c. 1962), winner of the 2011 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race; his finishing time that year established a race record, which stood until broken by Dallas Seavey three years later
* Willie Hensley
William L. "Willie" Hensley (born June 17, 1941), also known by his Iñupiaq name Iġġiaġruk (), is a semi-retired Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Alaska known for his work regarding Native Alaskan land rights. Hensley played a c ...
(born 1941), former state Representative, former state Senator, one of key founders of NANA Regional Corporation, instrumental in the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
* Katherine Keith, Author o
Epic Solitude
co-owner of Remote Solutions, LLC with John Baker.
* Reggie Joule
Reginald L. "Reggie" Joule, Jr. (born July 14, 1952) is a politician in the U.S. state of Alaska. Until recently, Joule served a three-year term as mayor of the Northwest Arctic Borough, having been elected to that position in 2012. He announ ...
(born 1952), who represented Kotzebue and surrounding area in the Alaska House of Representatives for eight terms followed by a single term as borough mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
, achieved minor national fame during the 1970s and 1980s for his exploits in the World Eskimo Indian Olympics, including two appearances on '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''
* Seth Kantner
Seth Kantner is an American writer from the state of Alaska who has attended the University of Alaska and studied journalism at the University of Montana. He has worked as a photographer, trapper, fisherman, mechanic and igloo-builder and now lives ...
, novelist
* John Lincoln (born 1981), member of the Alaska House of Representatives
* Segundo Llorente (1906–1989), Spanish-born Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
, philosopher, author and politician
* Adam Stennett
Adam Stennett (born 1972 in Kotzebue, Alaska) is an internationally exhibited American painter based in Brooklyn, New York best known for his hyperrealist works. He was raised in Oregon and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in from Willamette ...
(born 1972), painter
Toxins
Although, no "toxic releases" come "from within the bounds of this small tundra metropolis, Kotzebue, the methods used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s in their Toxic Releases Inventory (TRI) reports that in 2016, Kotzebue, with only 7,500 inhabitants, "produced" 756 million pounds of toxins. The TRI placed Kotzebue as the most toxic place in the United States. The second most toxic was Bingham Canyon, Utah at 200 million pounds of toxins. However, as ''National Geographic'' explains, the source of the toxins is not Kotzebue, but Alaska's Red Dog mine
The Red Dog mine is a large zinc and lead mine in a remote region of Alaska, about north of Kotzebue, which is owned and operated by the Canadian mining company Teck Resources. It is located within the boundaries of the Red Dog Mine census- ...
. Since the mine is located in a remote area in Alaska, the toxic release is linked to the nearest "city"— Kotzebue. The EPA says that when a "facility" is "not located in a city, town, village, or similar entity will often list a nearby city." ''National Geographic'' says that, "All 756 million pounds of toxic chemicals attributed to "Kotzebue" on the TRI dataset came from one of the world's largest zinc and lead mines, the Red Dog mine, which is located about 80 miles north of Kotzebue." At the county level the Northwest Arctic of Alaska leads the list with 756,000,000 pounds of toxins. The state of Alaska produces three times more toxins than every other American state—834 million pounds.
References
Further reading
*Anderson, Douglas D., and Robert A. Henning. ''The Kotzebue Basin''. Alaska geographic, v. 8, no. 3. Anchorage: Alaska Geographic Society, 1981.
*Giddings, J. Louis, and Douglas D. Anderson. ''Beach Ridge Archeology of Cape Krusenstern Eskimo and Pre-Eskimo Settlements Around Kotzebue Sound, Alaska''. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1986.
*Lucier, Charles V., and James W. VanStone. ''Traditional Beluga Drives of the Iñupiat of Kotzebue Sound, Alaska''. Fieldiana, new ser., no. 25. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1995.
External links
* of the City of Kotzebue
*
{{authority control
Borough seats in Alaska
Chukchi Sea
Cities in Alaska
Cities in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska
Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Arctic Ocean
Populated places of the Arctic United States