preview

Point Barrow Alaska Essay

Decent Essays

Barrow, Alaska is the United States’ northernmost city on the Arctic Ocean. Barrow is made up of a population of mostly Iñupiat Eskimo native and a fraction of Caucasian and other minority citizens. Point Barrow (n.d.) suggests that “archaeological evidence dates human habitation by Iñupiat Eskimos in the area from about 500 A.D.” The city was named for “Sir John Barrow, British promoter of Arctic exploration; its Iñupiaq name is Ukpeagvik, meaning ‘Place Where Owls Are Hunted’” (Point Barrow, n.d.). With scarce resources available, Iñupiat peoples subsist on the land and sea of north and northwest Alaska. “Construction of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line and exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve brought new people to the region” …show more content…

The majority of Iñupiat peoples live in the Northwest Arctic Borough and the North Slope Borough—which includes Barrow, Alaska (Stern, 2013). Bering Strait Iñupiat, Kotzebue Sound Iñupiat, North Alaska Coast Iñupiat (Tareumiut), and Interior North Iñupiat make up most of the worlds Native Iñupiat population (The Alaska Native Heritage Center Museum, 2011). Stern (2013) suggests that “archaeological evidence indicates that the Iñupiat region has been continuously occupied for the last 4,000 years, and roots of Iñupiaq culture can be traced archaeologically from the Birnik Culture through sites identified as part of the Thule tradition.” Iñupiat villages are mostly semi permanent and depend heavily on marine mammals like bowhead whales (aġviq in Iñupiaq) and seals, while also relying on caribou and other land animals (Sakakibara, 2011; Stern, 2013). Through their interactions with non-Natives the Iñupiaq-speaking peoples became a single cultural entity rather than a separate regional group (Stern, …show more content…

As important as it is, Arctic coastal sea ice plays a vital role in dynamics of the coastline, covers stretches of open water which serve as important biological habitats, and serves as a platform for a broad range of activities by residents and industries (Druckenmiller et al., 2009). Sea ice is also important because it is used as a platform for harvesting seals and whales in spring, transport of personnel and supplies to camps, and as a network of trails (Druckenmiller et al., 2009). Dangerous effects of climate change include “ice breakouts” which are when large chunks of ice that whalers are using as working areas break off of the main ice blocks and take whaling camps out to sea (Druckenmiller et al.,

Get Access