Kotzebue, Alaska
Encyclopedia
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,082 people, 889 households, and 656 families residing in the city. The population density was 114.1 people per square mile (44.1/km²). There were 1,007 housing units at an average density of 37.3 per square mile (14.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 19.47% White
, 0.32% Black
or African American
, 71.19% Native American
, 1.82% Asian
, 0.06% Pacific Islander
, 0.78% from other races
, and 6.36% from two or more races. Hispanic
or Latino
of any race were 1.17% 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
for the city was $18,289. About 9.2% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
, 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 the Russian Far East 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
http://www.weio.org/. With the arrival of the whalers, traders, gold seekers, and missionaries the trading center expanded.
Kotzebue, was known by natives as Kikiktagruk or Qikiqtagruk, which means "almost an island" in Inupiaq, the language of the Inupiat, which is a reference to the spit. The name of the town was later changed to Kotzebue after Baltic-German navigator Otto von Kotzebue
as well as the name of the Kotzebue Sound.
Reindeer
herding was introduced in the area in 1897. Although Alaska had caribou, the wild form of reindeer, the domesticated reindeer were brought to Alaska from Asia.
A United States post office was established in 1899.
Kotzebue is currently the largest city in the Northwest Arctic Borough
.
John Baker
and Ed Iten, both top 10 finishers in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, are residents of Kotzebue.
Kotzebue was a filming location for the 1991 film Salmonberries
.
Kotzebue is home to NANA Regional Corporation
and the health services organization, Maniilaq Association
.
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
.
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.32% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 71.19% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.82% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.06% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.78% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 6.36% from two or more races. Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race were 1.17% 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
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $18,289. About 9.2% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
History
There is archaeological evidence that Inupiat people have lived at Kotzebue since at least the 15th century. Because of its location, Kotzebue was a trading and gathering center for the entire area. The NoatakNoatak River
The Noatak River is a river in northwestern Alaska. The river's headwaters are on tall Mount Igikpak in the Schwatka Mountains of the Brooks Range in the Gates of the Arctic National Park. The Noatak flows generally westward approximately to the Chukchi Sea at Kotzebue Sound. The river's entire...
, Selawik
Selawik River
The Selawik River is a river in northwestern Alaska. It is about long. It runs from its origin in the Purcell Mountains through the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge and empties into Selawik Lake, which empties into the Kotzebue Sound in the Chukchi Sea. The river is approximately at the...
and Kobuk
Kobuk River
The Kobuk River is a river located in the Arctic region of northwestern Alaska in the United States. It is approximately long...
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 the Russian Far East 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
World Eskimo Indian Olympics
The World Eskimo-Indian Olympics is an annual event held over a four-day period in July or August, designed to preserve cultural practices and traditional survival skills essential to life in circumpolar areas of the world...
http://www.weio.org/. With the arrival of the whalers, traders, gold seekers, and missionaries the trading center expanded.
Kotzebue, was known by natives as Kikiktagruk or Qikiqtagruk, which means "almost an island" in Inupiaq, the language of the Inupiat, which is a reference to the spit. The name of the town was later changed to Kotzebue after Baltic-German navigator Otto von Kotzebue
Otto von Kotzebue
Otto von Kotzebue was a Baltic German navigator in Russian service....
as well as the name of the Kotzebue Sound.
Reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
herding was introduced in the area in 1897. Although Alaska had caribou, the wild form of reindeer, the domesticated reindeer were brought to Alaska from Asia.
A United States post office was established in 1899.
Kotzebue is currently the largest city in the Northwest Arctic Borough
Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska
-National protected areas:* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ** Chamisso Wilderness* Bering Land Bridge National Preserve * Cape Krusenstern National Monument* Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve...
.
John Baker
John Baker (musher)
John Quniaq Baker is self-employed American dog musher, pilot and motivational speaker of Inupiat descent who consistently places in the top 10 during the 1,000+ mi Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Baker won the 2011 Iditarod with a finish time of 8 Days 19 Hours 46 Minutes 39 Seconds.Baker started...
and Ed Iten, both top 10 finishers in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, are residents of Kotzebue.
Kotzebue was a filming location for the 1991 film Salmonberries
Salmonberries
Salmonberries is a 1991 drama film directed by Percy Adlon and written by Adlon and his son Felix. It stars k.d. lang as Kotzebue, a young woman of androgynous appearance who works as a miner in Alaska, and Rosel Zech as Roswitha, an East German immigrant and librarian...
.
Kotzebue is home to NANA Regional Corporation
NANA Regional Corporation
is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 in settlement of Alaska Native land claims. NANA was incorporated in Alaska on June 7, 1972. NANA is a for-profit corporation with a land base in the Kotzebue area in northwest...
and the health services organization, Maniilaq Association
Maniilaq
Maniiḷaq is a figure of Inupiat legend and history. He is said to have lived in the 19th Century before European colonialists arrived in his area of Northwest Alaska. He lived as a hunter and a healer in Northwest Alaska...
.
Airport
Kotzebue's Ralph Wien Memorial AirportRalph Wien Memorial Airport
Ralph Wien Memorial Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile south of the central business district of Kotzebue, a city on the Baldwin Peninsula in the Northwest Arctic Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska....
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
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
-Top destinations:-Scheduled cargo airlines:-Top destinations:-Scheduled cargo airlines:-Top destinations:-Scheduled cargo airlines:-Inter-terminal:...
and the Nome Airport
Nome Airport
Nome Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles west of the central business district of Nome, a city in the Nome Census Area of the U.S...
.
External links
- City of Kotzebue official website
- Northwest Arctic Borough School District