General information
Anaktuvuk Pass is located on a divide between the Anaktuvuk and John rivers in the central Brooks Range. The village lies about 250 miles northwest of Fairbanks and about the same distance southeast of Barrow. Anaktuvuk is perhaps the most scenic village on the North Slope, surrounded by tall mountains and near rivers and lakes. The community is located in the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.
Anaktuvuk Pass, a historic caribou migration route, is the last remaining settlement of the inland Iñupiat, the Nunamiut. The original nomadic Nunamiut left the Brooks Range and scattered in the early 1900s, mostly due to the collapse of the caribou population. By the 1940s, several Nunamiut families returned to the area and settled at the broad, treeless Anaktuvuk Pass, “the place of caribou droppings.” The community was incorporated as a second class city in 1957.
There is a year-round museum in Anaktuvuk Pass that focuses on the early natural, geological and cultural history of the area, including the migration of people across the Bering Land Bridge. The museum also displays Nunamiut clothing, household goods and hunting implements used around the time of the first contact with Westerners.
Population/Economy
In 2015, there were 393 people living in Anaktuvuk Pass and according to the 2014 State of Alaska employment statistics 149 residents are employed. Iñupiat make up 84.2 percent of the population. Anaktuvuk’s economy is largely based on subsistence hunting of caribou. The public sector employs 76% of all workers. Residents also produce caribou skin masks and carvings for sale.
Quality of Life
The North Slope Borough provides Anaktuvuk Pass with public electricity and piped water and sewer services. The NSB also provides trash pick-up free of charge.
A health clinic staffed by community health aides is open during the day and available at all times for emergencies. Anaktuvuk has a public safety building and a fire station equipped with fire engines and an ambulance.
Public education is provided by the Nunamiut School, with classes from pre-school through grade 12. Vocational education and adult basic education is also available.
The local village corporation, Nunamiut Corporation, owns a grocery and merchandise store, and also sells propane fuel and gasoline. The sale or possession of alcoholic beverages is prohibited by law.
Transportation to Anaktuvuk Pass is available via scheduled and chartered flights from Fairbanks or Barrow. Cargo arrives by air transport. Communications in the village include phone, mail, public radio, internet and cable television.
Links
Contact
City of Anaktuvuk Pass
PO Box 21030
Anaktuvuk Pass, AK 99721
Phone Number: (907) 661-3612
Nunamiut Corporation
PO Box 21009
Anaktuvuk Pass, AK 99721
Phone Number: (907) 661-3026
Nagsragmiut
PO Box 21023
Anaktuvuk Pass, AK 99721
Phone Number: (907) 661-2575
