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Arctic Village Alaska
68.08N - 145.32W
Population: 172
Location: Arctic Village is on the east fork of the Chandalar River, 100 miles north of Fort Yukon and 290 miles north of Fairbanks.
History: Until the 1950s, the Neets'aii Gwichin ("residents of the north side") lived a highly nomadic life. They traditionally used seasonal camps and semi-permanent settlements, such as Arctic Village, Christian, Venetie and Sheenjak, in pursuit of fish and game. They traded with Inupiat Eskimos on the Arctic coast. There is archaeological evidence that the Arctic Village area was population as early as 4,500 BC. In 1863, Archdeacon McDonald of Fort Yukon observed that the Chandalar Kutchin were important providers of caribou meat for the residents of Ft. Yukon. Reverend Albert Tritt, a Neets'aii Gwich'in born in 1880, wrote that his people led a nomadic life, traveling to the Arctic coast, Rampart, Old Crow, the Coleen River and Fort Yukon in the 1880s and 1890s. With the advent of firearms in the early 1900s, family groups began to gather more permanently at several locations; there was no longer a need to disperse into small groups to hunt caribou. The first permanent resident at the present village site was Chief Christian in 1909. In 1943, the Venetie Indian Reservation was established, due to the efforts of several area villagers to protect their land for subsistence use. The first school was built in 1959. When the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was passed in 1971, Venetie and Arctic Village opted for title to the 1.8 million acres of land in the former Reservation. Residents continue to use the community as a base of operations from which they pursue seasonal subsistence activities."
Culture: The Neets'aii Gwichin of Arctic Village lead a subsistence-based lifestyle. The village council is combined with Venetie.
Economy: The economy of Arctic Village is subsistence-based. Caribou, moose, sheep, porcupine, rabbit and ptarmigan are hunted. Freshwater fish, waterfowl and berries are also harvested. The school, clinic, village council and stores are the primary employers. Seasonal employment includes construction, fire fighting, guiding and conducting wildlife surveys for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Some residents trap or sell firewood for income.
Transportation: Air transportation provides the only year-round access to Arctic Village. Ice fog frequently interferes with air service in winter months. The 5,200' gravel airstrip is owned and managed by the Tribal Government. Local transportation is by 4 wheeler and snowmachine. Five residents maintain dog teams.
Climate: Arctic Village has a continental subarctic climate. Winters are long and harsh, summers are short but warm. The average high temperature during July ranges from 65 to 72; the average low temperature during January is well below zero. Extended periods of -50 to -60 are common. Extreme temperatures have been measured from -70 to 90. Precipitation averages 9 inches, with an annual snowfall of 52.8 inches.
Facilities: Water is derived from the Chandalar River, is treated and hauled by residents. Honeybuckets are hauled to a central depository, with a gravity line to the sewage lagoon. Residents rely on the washeteria for bathing and laundry, since homes are not plumbed. The village has requested funds to relocate the water intake to a safer source in the middle of the River, and to renovate the water treatment system and sewage lagoon. The landfill is not permitted.
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