Nunamiut Village – Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska

Nunamiut Village – Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska

Situated at 2,200 feet elevation on the divide between the Anaktuvuk and John Rivers in the central Brooks Range sits the last remaining settlement of the Nunamiut Eskimos.  The inland northern Inupiat Eskimo have lived in the area since at least 500 BC.  It sits on a caribou migration route and is one of several departure points for trips into Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve.

Because of the location you can plan on cool and cold weather regardless of the time of year you visit.  In the summer it will get to the 50′s and in January the average temperature is -14 degrees.  There to have extremes recorded from -56 to -91 degrees.  They receive an average of 11 inches of precipitation with an average snowfall of 63 inches per year.

The Nunamuit bands scattered for awhile in 1926-27 when the caribou were not there and due to the influx of western civilization.  In 1938 a number of them returned to the home area and in 1949 resettled the area.  It attracted Nanamuit form many other locations and villagers today have settled into a lifestyle that is more sedentary that the earlier lifestyle.  The City was incorporated in 1959.

The residents continue to depend on caribou and other natural resources for food, clothing and cultural continuity.  Visitors to the area that are going on to the Gates of Arctic National Park cause some disruption to the lifestyle of the people.

In order to respect the rights of the Nanamiut the Park Rangers ask visitors to follow these suggestions while in the area:

Introduce yourself. Be friendly, but respect the privacy of others.
Ask for permission if you wish to photograph local residents or their homes, particularly in the village, but also in the field.
Be sensitive toward the native village culture and lifestyle. Often it will differ from your own, so assume nothing and ask if you do not understand.
Respect any private property that you may encounter in the backcountry and leave it be. This includes structures, camps, traps, and what may often appear as abandoned property.

The village has designated a specific area for overnight camping which is located among the willows along the east side of the runway opposite the town.  Please check at the store, restaurant, community center or ranger station for more information on the requirements for camping here.  It is disrespectful toward the residents to camp within sight of the village so stay inside the designated area.

When you are planning to visit this area you must bring what you need with you.  Being a bush community supplies are limited and sometimes not available at all.

Today, Anaktuvuk Pass is a village of 250 people with regular air service, a village store, and a popular museum that highlights Nunamiut history and culture. Although the village offers only minimal visitor services, the NPS maintains a ranger station there, and visitors to Gates of the Arctic stage trips out of Anaktuvuk Pass when backpacking and floating the John River. Village residents still rely on caribou herds for most of their meat, though they also hunt Dall sheep and harvest trout and grayling, ptarmigan, and waterfowl. The people of Anaktuvuk Pass still trade for food resources from the Arctic coast like meat and blubber from seals and whales.

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