Nuiqsut ( ik, Nuiqsat, ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

North Slope Borough The North Slope Borough is the northernmost borough in the US state of Alaska and thus, the northernmost county or equivalent of the United States as a whole. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,031. The borough seat and largest city i ...

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.S., ...

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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The population was 433 at the 2000 census and 402 as of the 2010 census.

Geography

Nuiqsut is located at (70.216338, -151.005725). Nuiqsut is in the North Slope Borough on the Nechelik Channel, about from the Beaufort Sea coast. It is located on the Colville River, about 5 miles north of its confluence with the

Itkillik River The Itkillik River is a tributary of the Colville River in the North Slope Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. The river flows northeast then northwest out of the Endicott Mountains near Oohlah Pass to meet the larger stream about southwest of ...

. 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 the ...

, the city has a total area of , all of it land. Air travel to the

Nuiqsut Airport Nuiqsut Airport is a public use airport located in Nuiqsut, a city in the North Slope Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is owned by North Slope Borough. Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA ...

provides the only year-round access to Nuiqsut. Nuiqsut is accessible during the winter via an

ice road An ice road or ice bridge is a human-made structure that runs on a frozen water surface (a river, a lake or a sea water expanse).Masterson, D. and Løset, S., 2011, ISO 19906: Bearing capacity of ice and ice roads, Proceedings of the 21st Inte ...

and was featured in season four episode one of the

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

television channel series ''

Ice Road Truckers ''Ice Road Truckers'' (commercially abbreviated ''IRT'') is a reality television series that premiered on History Channel, on June 17, 2007. It features the activities of drivers who operate trucks on seasonal routes crossing frozen lakes and ...

'', when a convoy of truckers delivered supplies to the village.

Demographics

Nuiqsut first appeared on the 1980 U.S. Census as an incorporated city, having incorporated in 1975. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, there were 402 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 87.1% Native American, 10.0% White, 0.2% Black and 2.7% from two or more races. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 433 people, 110 households, and 90 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 126 housing units at an average density of 13.7 per square mile (5.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 10.16%

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 on ...

, 0.23%

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 have o ...

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 ...

, 88.22% Native American, 0.46%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 0.92% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.23% of the population. There were 110 households, out of which 54.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 22.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.3% were non-families. 15.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.93 and the average family size was 4.24. In the city, the population was spread out, with 42.0% under 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 13.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 147.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 130.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $48,036, and the median income for a family was $46,875. Males had a median income of $31,667 versus $25,625 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 $14,876. About 3.2% of families and 2.4% 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 t ...

, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Business, commerce and social centers

There is one commercial store in Nuiqsut, one mail receiving location (operated by the City of Nuiqsut not the United States Postal Service), and one church (Presbyterian). Other areas of social activity include the city recreation center and the school. An elder's living center is also present.

Education

There is one school in Nuiqsut for grades kindergarten through 12th grade, Nuiqsut Trapper School of the

North Slope Borough School District North Slope Borough School District (NSBSD) is a school district headquartered in Utqiaġvik, Alaska (formerly Barrow). It serves all areas of the North Slope Borough. Text list/ref> Schools K-12 schools: * Alak School ( Wainwright) * Kali Sch ...

.Nuiqsuit
"

. Retrieved on February 14, 2017. The school also provides preschool. There are approximately 100 students. There are approximately 12 teachers and 6 other staff members. Many community functions are held in the school and it serves as social center as well as school. The school facilities also serve as an emergency shelter for the community in times of power outages.

Culture and history

The native people of the village are

Iñupiat The Iñupiat (or Inupiat, Iñupiaq or Inupiaq;) are a group of Alaska Natives, whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States border. Their current ...

. The village was re-established in the early 1970s when the residents moved to the region from

Utqiaġvik 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 ...

. For one year they lived in tents while housing was built. These original residents were the first to receive dividends from the oil companies in exchange for land use. The dividends are passed from the original shareholders on to the community member of their choice (often parent to child). Native traditions such as hunting (whale, caribou, fox, ptarmigan, etc.) and the making of native clothes and crafts continues, although the influence of modern society has reduced both need and interest in these activities to some degree. The traditional whale hunted by the whalers of Nuiqsut is the

bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus'') is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus ''Balaena''. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, ...

Natural resources

Nuiqsut is located in the midst of a vast quantity of oil. Many major oil companies have oil facilities in the region (

ConocoPhillips ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas. The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in ...

, Hilcorp, etc.). The relationship with the community of Nuiqsut is such that the oil company using the land, considered to be the property of the native Nuiqsut residents (Inupiat Eskimos), pay dividends to residents in exchange for use of the land. For many native residents, the dividends are the primary, or only, source of income, but the region's local development and global fossil fuel-generated climate disruption has had major negative impacts on their traditional hunting, fishing and whaling activities.Facing catastrophic climate change, they still can’t quit Big Oil
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', Juliet Eilperin, December 13, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.

Permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

thawing, rising sea levels and warming of the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

present a cash-versus-culture conundrum to the inhabitants.

Climate

References

{{Authority control Cities in North Slope Borough, Alaska Populated places of the Arctic United States Cities in Alaska