King Island (; ) (King's Island in early US sources) is an island in the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...

, west of Alaska. It is about west of Cape Douglas and is south of

Wales, Alaska Wales (, ) is a City (Alaska), city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census the population was 145, down from 152 in 2000. It is the westernmost city on the North ...

. Although it has been used as a winter home in the past, it is currently uninhabited.

Geography

King island is a small island located about offshore, south of the village of

and about 90 miles northwest of Nome. The island is about wide with steep slopes on all sides. It was named by

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

, first

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an to sight the island in 1778, for Lt. James King, a member of his party. It is part of the Bering Sea unit of the

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (often shortened to Alaska Maritime or AMNWR) is a United States National Wildlife Refuge comprising 2,400 islands, headlands, rocks, islets, spires and reefs in Alaska, with a total area of , of wh ...

Population

The island was once the winter home of a group of about 413 Inupiat who called themselves Asiuluk, meaning "people of the sea," or Ugiuvaŋmiut, from Ugiuvak, the village of King Island and "miut," meaning "people of" or "group of people". The Ugiuvaŋmiut spent their summers engaging in subsistence hunting and gathering on King Island and on the mainland near the location of present-day

Nome, Alaska Nome (; , , also ''Sitŋazuaq'', ''Siqnazuaq'') is a city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough, Alaska, Unorganized Borough of the US state of Alaska. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula c ...

. Their winters were spent in other subsistence activities, particularly hunting and fishing on the ice. Subsistence activities on and around the island included hunting

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

s and

walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobeni ...

es, crab fishing, and gathering bird eggs and other foods. The spring and summer was the important time of gathering to the Ukivokmiut, while the winters were the time of dance. Due to the limited daylight during the winter, the days were spent dancing in the "Qagri", or men's communal house. As an example, the month of December is known to the Uġiuvaŋmiut as ''Sauyatugvik'' or "the time of drumming". After the establishment of Nome, the islanders began to sell intricate carvings to residents of Nome during the summer.

Population relocation

In the mid-1900s the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

closed the school on Ugiuvak, forcefully taking the children of Ukivok to go to school on mainland Alaska, leaving the elders and adults to gather the needed food for winter. Because the children were not on the island to help gather food, the adults and elders had no choice but to move to mainland Alaska to make their living. By 1970, all King Island people had moved to mainland Alaska year-round. Although the King Islanders have moved off the island, they have kept a very distinct cultural identity, living a very similar life as they had on the island. Some King Islanders still return to the island to gather subsistence foods, such as walrus and seal. In 2005 and 2006, the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

(NSF) funded a research project which brought a few King Island natives back to the island. Some participants had not been back to the island in 50 years.

Demographics

King Island first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as the unincorporated native

eskimo ''Eskimo'' () is a controversial Endonym and exonym, exonym that refers to two closely related Indigenous peoples: Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Canadian Inuit, and the Greenlandic Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Sibe ...

village of "Ookivagamute." In 1890, it returned as Ukivok. It next appeared in 1910 as King Island and would continue to report until 1960, with the exception of 1950 when no figure was reported. It next reported as Ukivok again, classified as a native village (ANVSA) in 1980 and 1990, but with no residents. It has not reported since.

Gallery

File:King Island 3 2010-09-08.jpg, King Island File:King Island 2 2010-09-08.jpg, King Island: Rock formations that resemble ruins, on the saddle of the island File:KingIslandBoatsUSGSric00644.jpg, King Island residents in kayaks, about 1892. The kayaks are of the characteristic King Island style. Several carry more than one person or items on deck, and the paddlers are using single-blade paddles. Two-blade paddles were also used.

Stilt village

File:King Island Houses USGS ric00642.jpg, Ugiuvak about 1892. Walrus-hide summer houses and stone winter houses are visible. File:Across Arctic America p 344.png, Ugiuvak photographed on the Fifth Thule Expedition, between 1921 and 1924. File:Ukivok.jpg, Abandoned stilt village, photographed 1978. The large white building near the bottom of the slope is the former

school. File:King Island 1 2010-09-08.jpg, Ugiuvak in 2010

Notable people

Paul Tiulana Paul Tiulana (July 20, 1921 – July 17, 1994) was an Iñupiaq artist and dancer from Alaska. Originally from King Island, Tiulana was drafted in World War II and injured; his leg was broken and eventually amputated. He relocated to Nome durin ...

(1921–1994), Iñupiat artist and dancer born on the island.

Explanatory notes

External links

Ancient mask returned to Alaska ghost village
MSNBC, January 18, 2008
Photogallery of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of King Island, Alaska
Oregon State University, October 28, 2008

Survey of a King Island kayak

Deanna M Kingston, "King Island"
''Encyclopedia of the Arctic, A-F'' p 1090, Routledge, 2012.
Curtis, Edward P ''The North American Indian. Volume 20 - The Alaskan Eskimo.'' p 99-103
* https://web.archive.org/web/20130512233632/http://www.kawerak.org/tribalHomePages/kingIsland/ * http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/king-island-living-community-and-mystical-place {{Authority control Islands of the Bering Sea Islands of Alaska Ghost towns in Alaska Islands of Nome Census Area, Alaska Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Protected areas of Nome Census Area, Alaska Islands of Unorganized Borough, Alaska King island