Village of Nunamiut people was settled in 1949; it's now in Gates of the Arctic park
Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska, is the last remaining settlement of the Nunamiut (inland northern Inupiat Eskimo).
Anaktuvuk Pass, with a population of about 280 people, sits at 2,200 feet elevation on the divide between the Anaktuvuk and John rivers in the central Brooks Range. It's in the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve, just outside the national park.
The climate of Anaktuvuk Pass is strongly continental. Due to its high elevation, summers are cool. The average temperature in January is minus 14; the average summer temperature is 50. Extremes have been recorded from minus 56 to 91. Precipitation averages 11 inches, with snowfall of 63 inches per year.
Alaska Natives represent 88 percent of the population. A federally recognized tribe is located in the community. Anaktuvuk Pass is a Nunamiut Eskimo community dependent upon subsistence activities.
The sale, importation, and possession of alcohol are banned in the village. During the April 2000 U.S. census, there were 101 total housing units, and 17 were vacant.
History
Nunamiut bands left the Brooks Range and scattered due to the collapse of caribou in 1926-27, and also because of cultural changes brought by the influx of western civilization. In 1938, however, several Nunamiut families left the coast and returned to the mountains at Killik River and Chandler Lake.
In 1949, the Chandler Lake group moved to Anaktuvuk Pass -- "the place of caribou droppings" -- where they were later joined by the Killik River group. This settlement attracted Nunamiut from many other locations, and villagers today lead a somewhat more sedentary lifestyle than in earlier nomadic times.
The city was incorporated in 1959. A Presbyterian Church was constructed in 1966.
Source: Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development
