lIIFFiwco~ Technical Report Number 74 — I Social and Economic ,~:.. .. .. .... .... .. .. ... ..:,: Studies Program . .. .. i ,...%%%%. ... ... ,...%..%%%%%%%%. ...%..... .. ... .... .. .. .... .. .. ‘:.:.:.:.:.:,:.:.:.:.:.:.:.x.:.:.: ,.:.:.y . .:::>,: .. .. .. .. ... ‘y . ,?. :. ~:...- . > Sponsor: :2 Minerals Management :.:.;+ ,:+r Service Alaska Outer Continental P- . -.+x:.... ... ... .. Shelf Region CHUKCHI SEA SOCIOCULTURAL SYSTEMS BASELINE ANALYSIS TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 74 Contract No. AA851 - CTO-58 ALASKA OCS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC STUDIES PROGRAM CHUKCHI SEA SOCIOCULTURAL SYSTEMS BASELINE ANALYSIS Prepared by CULTURAL DYNAMICS, LTD. Prepared for MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE ALASKA OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF REGION September 1983 NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Minerals Management Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region, in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for its con- tents or use thereof. Alaska OCS Social and Economic Studies Program Chukchi Sea Sociocultural Systems. Baseline Analysis Prepared by Cultural Dynamics, Ltd. Nancy Yaw Davis 719% N Street Principal Investigator Anchorage, AK 99501 Steven McNabb Research Associate -ii- TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES . vii LIST OF TABLES . viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION. 1 Major findings . 2 Format of the Report . 5 Assumptions . 10 Methodology . 12 RESEARCH PERSONNEL. 12 RESEARCH PROCESS. 13 DATA LIMITATIONS. 19 Definitions . 20 Ethical Considerations . 24 Literature Resources . e . 25 CHAPTER 11. THE STUDY AREA . 31 Historical Background. 31 Demography. 35 Physical location. Communitv Analvsis . H NORTHkRN SEidARD PENINSULA . 49 Deering. 50 Candle. 52 Buckland . 53 KOBUK-NOATAK COMMUNITIES. s . 55 Shungnak . 56 Kobuk. o . 57 Ambler . 58 Kiana. 59 Noorvik. 60 Selawik. 61 Noatak . 63 COASTAL . 65 Kival ina . REGIONAL TOWN . “ ;: Kotzebue . 70 MILITARY SITES. 76 Summary. 78 -iii- CHAPTER III. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION. 79 Introduction. , 79 Kinship and Family . ...79 FAMILY. 82 Namesakes. ~~ Adoption. Age Groups and Child Raising. 88 CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE. ;: OLD AGE . Women’s and Men’s Roles . 97 Village Organizations . 104 THE CHURCHES. ~06 INUPIAT IL ITQUSIAT . 115 Intervillage Ties . 121 Intergroup Relations. 129 CHAPTER IV. SERVICES & FACILITIES . 137 Schools. 137 ECONOMIC CONS ID ER~Ti ONS: : : : : : : : : : 138 INTERACTION WITH SOCIAL STRUCTURE. 140 PERSONNEL TURNOVER . 143 EDUCATIONAL CONTENT. 145 THE INUPIAQ LANGUAGE . 149 SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS . 151 SUMMARY. .154 Health and Health Services. 154 DATA PRO BLESS . ...156 BASIC TRENDS. 157 VILLAGE VARIATIONS . 159 REGIONAL VARIATIONS. 161 SOCIAL PROBLEMS . 162 Housing. 165 1980 CENSUS OF POPU~A+ION”AND’ HhU;ING: : : 172 Transportation . 175 Communication. 181 TELEPHONES. 181 CITIZEN BAND RADIOS: : : : : : : : : : : : 1$2 RADIO. 183 TELEVISION: : : : :: : : : : : : : : : : 184 Summary. .189 CHAPTER V. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION. o . 0 . 0 191 Recent Political History. 191 Kinship and Politics . 193 BOUNDARIES. 195 Conflict and Conflict Re;oiution. 196 Leadership. 199 LEADERSHIP AND” T~E” NAtIbN~L”G~A~D: : : : : 200 -iv- WOMEN AND POLITICS. 202 BALANCING POWER. 205 vILLAGE LEADERSHIP; “AiI iLLU~T~A~16N: : : 206 SUMMARY. 207 The Land Claims . 208 ANCSA Corporations. 213 NANA HISTORY. 213 NANA THEMES. 217 CORPORATE GOALS: : : : : : : : : : : : : 220 NANA BUSINESSES. 221 RELATIONS OUTSIDE’TH~ ~E&ION: : : : : : : 222 KIKIKTAGURUK INUPIAT CORP . 225 Management of Federal Lands. 226 Maniilaq Association. , . 228 Regional Strategy Meetings . 230 Federal-State-Local Relationships. 236 Borough Government. 239 OCS and CZM. 241 ocs AND THE ~IiLAiEs; i981: : : : : : : : 244 Summary. 247 CHAPTER WI. ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION . 249 Introduction . 249 Ocean, River and Land. : : : : ~ : : : : : : 250 Subsistence Activities . 254 BACKGROUND. 254 SEA MAMMAL H~R~ES+. : :“ : : : : : : : : : 257 Bowhead Whaling: Kivalina 1981. 260 Beluga Hunting: Elephant Point, 1981. 261 FISH HARVEST. 265 CARIBOU. 271 PRODUCTION, ”DiS+RiBUtIi)N” AilD” “ “ . “ . CONSUMPTION CYCLES . 280 CONSTRAINTS ON Harvesting : : : : : : : : 285 FOOD PREFERENCES . 288 DISTRIBUTION AND REDiS+RiBilTiOfi : : : : : 290 BOWHEAD WHALE REDISTRIBUTION. , . 296 BELUGA DISTRIBUTION . 298 SUMMARY. 302 Regulations: Some New Taboos. 303 Subsistence Laws. 307 Jobs. 309 WORK TRADITION AND E~P~RiENC~ : : : : : : 309 MINING . 312 REINDEER iiERDiN~ : : : : : : : : : : : : 316 HORTICULTURE. 317 TOURISM. 318 COMMERCIAL FISHING : : : : : : : : : : : 320 PIPELINE HIRE. 322 VILLAGE CONSTRUCTION.Ji)B; : : : : : : : : 325 -v- SUMMARY . 327 Government Programs . 330 Village Costs . 333 Future Considerations . 336 EMPLOYMENT . 336 NANA AND MANIILAQ PLANS. 338 Final Note. 340 CHAPTER VII. TRENDS AND SUMMARY. 347 Change. 347 The Old Days. 348 The Future. 351 Kival ina relocation . 352 Inupiat Values. 354 Summary of Findings . 356 References. .360 , -vi- LIST OF FIGURES 1. Map of the General Study Area. 7 2. Communities in the Study Area. 8 3. The NANA Region. 9 4. Relative Distances of villages from Kotzebue . 46 5. Subsistence Activities as a Process Cycle. 281 6. Structural Flow of Subsistence Activities. 283 7. General Beluga Distribution . 299 8. Beluga Maktak Distribution: 3 examples . 300 , -vii- -. LIST OF TABLES 1. Northwest Alaskan Eskimo Societies in the 1816-1842 Period . 36 2. Population Estimates, 1800-1960. 38 3. U.S. Census Bureau Population by Place . 39 4. Population by Ethnic Designation . 42 5. Changing Native/Non-Native Proportions . 43 6. Village Rank According to Size: NANA Region . 45 7. Comparison of coastal and river locations. 47 8. Comparison of 1978 Vital Statistics. 161 9. Housing Units built in the NANA Region 1975-82 . 170 10. Housing Units: 1970and 1980 . 173 11. Number and Type of Vehicles found in Villages,1978 180 12. NANA Village Enrollments. 209 ‘ 13. Total Estimated Harvest, c. 1972. 256 14. Sea Mammal Harvest . “. 258 15. Fish Harvest, c. 1972. 268 16. Summary of Kivalina Subsistence Fish Harvest, 1982 270 17. Caribou Harvest, c. 1972 . 272 18. Caribou Harvest: 1960’s. .276 19. Caribou Harvest: 1969-1973 . 277 20. Proportions of Harvest, c. 1972.........279 21. Food Preference: First Item Named . 289 22. Hometown of Native Pipeline Workers. 323 23. Sample Jobs and Wages, 1980-81 . 326 - 24. Sample of Village Prices, 1981 . 334 -viii- LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AEIDC Arctic Environmental Information and Data Center AFDC Aid to Families with Dependent Children ANCSA Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ANHS Alaska Native Health Service AVEC Alaska Village Electric Cooperative ASHA Alaska State Housing Authority ASRC Arctic Slope Regional Corporation AEWC Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs BLM Bureau of Land Management CETA Comprehensive Employment Training Act CZM Coastal Zone Management DEIS Draft Environmental Impact Statement DEW Distant Early Warning EMS Emergency Medical Service FAA Federal Aviation Administration FY Fiscal Year KIC Kikiktaguruk Inupiat Corporation NANA Northwest Alaska Native Association NSB North Slope Borough NWASD Northwest Arctic School District Ocs Outer Continental Shelf OEDP Overall Economic Development Plan REAA Rural Education Attendance Area -ix- LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS (continued) SESP Social and Economic Studies Program USGS United States Geological Survey USPHS United States Public Health Service UTA United Tribes of Alaska -x- CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION This report is about the people in northwestern Alaska who live from Deering to Kivalina. It includes eleven villages and approximately 5,000 people located within the boundaries of the Northwest Alaska Native Association (NANA) region. This baseline description was written to provide background information for later study of likely responses to potential Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) exploration and other developments related to Lease Sale 85, the Barrow Arch, scheduled for 1985. As one of a series of studies in the Alaska Social and Economic Studies Program, the report contributes to the knowledge of the distinctive cultural orientations of the people in this part cular area of Alaska. It also adds to the development of methodologies for understanding the human capacity to respond to changing condit ens. This report should be of special interest to three distinct groups: 1. The Inupiat who, by reading and correcting the study, may come to new understanding about themselves. Their perceptions may serve to further strengthen their ability to respond creatively to the modifications facing their way of life. -1- 2. Government and industry decision makers who may be encouraged to be more fully aware of how their decisions may affect people in their traditional physical and social environment. 3. The personnel in the 0(3 Program who are charged with preparing environmental impact statements. By drawing, in part, on reports such as this, it is hoped they will be better able to alert the public to the long--range costs and benefits of potential lease sales. Major Findings The results most important for our understanding of the cultures of the study area are listed here in abbreviated form. They are documented in the body of the report, and the relevance they may have to future developments is briefly summarized in the last chapter. These findings emerged from the joint efforts of two major researchers, N. Davis and S. Jlc!labb, through the combination of perspectives gained from the literature and the special insights which can only