Kotzebue Sociocultural Monitoring Study
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-)/r 130 ; OCS Study Kotzebue Sociocultural MMS 88-0077 Monitoring Study Social and Economic Studies 1 I U.S. DepaRment of the Interior Mw!5Minera’sManagenentsAlaska Outer Continental ewice Shelf Region . L ._ J. —-- REBISTERCO Technical Report No. 130 CONTRACT NO. 14-12-0001-30379 FINAL TECHNICAL REP(3RT KOTZEBUE SOCIOCULTURAL MONITORING STUDY Submitted to Minerals Management Service U.S. Department of the Interior by Kevin Waring Associates in association with Steven McNabb Edward Busch Paul Wasserman Dr. Ernest Burch, Jr. Report Production by Scott’s Office Services This report has been reviewed by the Minerals Management Service and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Service, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use, This study was funded by the Minerals Management Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washingon, D.C. under contract number 14-12-0001-30379. December 1988 .-.. ——-. ABSTRACT The central purpose of this study is to provide a single source of data on demography and employment, formal and informal social institutions and infrastructure for analysis of sociocultural and socioeconomic condi- tions in Kotzebue, the administrative and commercial center for a northwest Alaska region of eleven Inupiaq villages with a 1985 population of about 5,790 persons and headquarters for the NANA Regional Corporation and for the recently (1986) formed Northwest Arctic Borough. The Kotzebue area was a social and trading cross-roads for hundreds of years before contact. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the region’s indigenous sociopolitical order had been virtually extinguished, numerous Western political, social and economic institutions had become established, and a period of institutional consolidation and~ later, Native political enfranchisement was beginning. This period saw the development of communications, transportation, commercial and administrative in- frastructure and, after 1971, the development of new and revived Native political institutions. The major population shifts that culminated in the emergence of Kotzebue as a modern regional center began after 1920 and accelerated during and after World War 11. In three decades, Kotzebue’s share of the region’s total population rose from about 19 percent in 1939 to 27 percent in 1950 to 40 percent in 1960 to 43 percent in 1970 and Kotzebue’s popula- tion grew five-fold from 372 in 1939 to 1,696 by 1970. Post-1970 popula- tion data suggest that, for the time being, the population shift from the hinterland villages to Kotzebue has stabilized. Recent data suggest a January 1987 population of about 2680 persons in Kotzebue. Before World War II, Kotzebue’s growth was limited by its modest subsistence and commercial resource endowment. Kotzebue’s ascent to regional economic and political preeminence was fortified by the growth of governmental programs and institutions in the region and the accelerating process of regionalization. During the 1960s and early 1970s, the federal government brought many new programs for housing, sanitation facilities, electrification, health care, pre-school education, manpower development, legal services and other basic services to the Kotzebue region. After 1970, rising state government expenditures stimulated public employment which in turn, fostered support sector growth. More recently, the drop in State petroleum income has reduced State funds for community development projects and revived the region’s concern about its economic dependence upon State and federal grants and programs. The Native land claims movement brought a parallel transfer of political power and economic resources to local entities. ANCSA implemen- tation propelled Kotzebue-area Alaska Natives into new administrative, economic and political arenas, with significant opportunities to influence local economic development and employment patterns. In Kotzebue, NANA Regional Corporation and Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corporation (the Kotzebue village corporation or KIC) capitalized on these opportunities in their economic ventures and staff development. Government dominates wage work in Kotzebue and the region, but this is due to (1) a deficient private sector economy that provided jobs to only 14 percent of the potential labor force and (2) a job-short economy which imposed a high rate of unemployment and non-participation upon the poten- i tial labor market. A 1988 employment inventory found only a minor amount of private employment in commercial fishing and fish processing, mining and the visitor industry. KIC and NANA Regional Corporation have become the two most influential private enterprises in Kotzebue. Lately, NANA has dedicated ~ts entrepreneurial efforts to develop its Red !XIg mine property in affiliation with Cominco Alaska. Once the mine begins operation, it will become the region’s first substantial basic industry, contributing to the region’s employment base and, indirectly, to Kotzebue’s economy. Kotzebue is incorporated as a second class city with a city manager form of government and a seven-member council. The City currently exer- cises these governmental powers: water, sewer and solid waste; police protection and jail facilities; fire protection; streets and sidewalks; recreation; community center; animal control; licensing of taxis; public transportation; planning, platting and land use regulation; building code and inspection; libraries; and flood plain management. Approximately $2,945,200 or 53 percent of the City’s anticipated FY 1988 revenues were locally generated, with the balance coming from State and federal sources. The Northwest Arctic Borough was incorporated as a first class borough in 1986, with its headquarters in Kotzebue. The Borough immediate- ly assumed the powers of planning, platting and land-use regulation. The School District, which serves all eleven villages in the region, became part of the borough and the existing coastal management and regional strategy planning functions were transferred from their former sponsor! Maniilaq Association, to the Borough. Health services for Kotzebue and the region are provided through the Indian Health Services Kotzebue Service Unit and Maniilaq Association. In general, flaniilaq Association has provided the community of Kotzebue with a comprehensive and well-organized health and social services system. Today,. the institutional and sociopolitical climate is characterized by homogeneity and unity, perhaps more so than any other ANCSA region. The region itself is compact and geographically well-defined and the boundaries of most of its administrative and political units are identical. Too , regional unity and cohesion are promoted by institutional ideologies that advocate consensus, regional planning, and cultural integrity. The NANA region’s leadership is widely respected for its political acumen. This reputation is supported by the consistent presence of the region’s leader- ship in State government (e.g., .the Governor’s Office, line agencies and commissions) and the legislature. The success of the borough incorporation effort was due in large part due to the ability of the region’s leadership to work effectively within the state governmental system. Subsistence remains an important cultural and economic activity though with several significant changes from historic patterns due to such factors as habitat destruction, centralization and sedentarization of the popula- tion, shifting resource availability and commercial and employment concerns associated with the cash economy. Still, the ideological or symbolic aspects of subsistence activity are principal components of cultural institutions in this region. Subsistence practices help sustain kinship patterns, socialization practices, and mutual support conventions. This is undoubtedly why subsistence has assumed critical political or ideologi- cal overtones in the NANA region. Kotzebue institutions have been virtual- ly unanimous in their support for protection of subsistence rights and key habitats in the NANA region since the mid-1960s. ii ..-.k4.L_ :. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract . ..~ Table of Contents . iii ListofTables. .Vi ListofFigures. .Xiii ListofAcronymns. .XV Foreword. xvii 10 INTRODUCTION 1. Setting. 2. History. ; 3. The Community Today. 16 4. Summary. 33 11. POPULATION Population Size and Composition. 37 ;: Recent Population Trends . 42 3. Household Size and Composition . 63 4. Recent Trends in Household Size and Composition. 66 5. Education Levels. 74 6. Marriage Patterns. 82 Migration. .102 i Summary. .108 111. ECONOMY 1. Historic Overview . ., . 113 2. Employment. .128 Government Employment. 158 Private Sector Employment. 160 3. CostofLiving. .169 4. Transfer Payments. .171 5. Summary. .174 IV. FORMAL INSTITUTIONS 1. Government. .181 CityofKotzebue. 181 Northwest Arctic Borough . 194 Quad Board . ...205 Tribal Governments (IRA and NWIC). 210 . 111 . ‘.\ TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) 2. Health . .....S-” . 212 Agencies and Services. 0 . : 212 Kotzebue Hospital/Service Unit. , . 212 Maniilaq Association. * . 214 Health Services Division. 0 0 . 215 1. The Safety Program . * . 215 2. The Community Health Practitioners . 215 . 3. The Consumer Education Program . ● : 216 4. The Dental Care Program. ✎ . 216 5. The Emergency Medical Services Program . ✎ 6. The Environmental Health Program . ✎ 7. The Regional Eye Care Program. 0 . e . 219 8. The Health Education Program . $ . 219 9. The Social