Kivalina, Alaska

Kivalina is an Inupiat community first reported as "Kivualinagmut" in 1847 by Lt. Lavrenty Zagoskin of the Imperial Russian Navy. It has long been a stopping place for travelers between Arctic coastal areas and Kotzebue Sound communities. Three bodies and artifacts were found in 2009 representing the Ipiutak culture, a pre-Thule, non-whaling civilization that disappeared over a millennium ago.[12]

It is the only village in the region where people hunt the bowhead whale. The original village was located at the north end of the Kivalina Lagoon, but was relocated.

In about 1900, reindeer were brought to the area and some people were trained as reindeer herders.

An airstrip was built at Kivalina in 1960. Kivalina incorporated as a second-class city in 1969. During the 1970s, a new school and an electric system were constructed in the city.

On December 5, 2014 the only general store in Kivalina burned down.[13] In July 2015, a newer store was opened after months of rebuilding to make the store more convenient and safe.[14]

Kivalina is on the southern tip of a 12 km (7.5 mi) long barrier island located between the Chukchi Sea and a lagoon at the mouth of the Kivalina River.[15] It lies 130 km (81 mi) northwest of Kotzebue. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10 km²), of which, 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²) of it is land and 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²) of it (51.55%) is water.

Kivalina has a dry subarctic climate with long very cold winters and short cool summers. August is the wettest month of the year, while December is the snowiest month.

Kivalina first appeared on the 1920 U.S. Census as an unincorporated (native) village. It formally incorporated in 1969.

As of the census of 2010, there were 374 people, and 99 households.[19] The population density was 202.1 inhabitants per square mile (78.0/km²). There were 80 housing units at an average density of 42.9 per square mile (16.6/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 3.45% White and 96.55% Native American. The Native Village of Kivalina is a federally recognized tribe with an elected tribal council.[20] The City of Kivalina, organized under the Northwest Arctic Borough under the State of Alaska, has an elected mayor and city administrator and a 7-member city council.[20] Per the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, NANA Corporation owns the surface and sub-surface rights to the city site and surrounding area.[20] Manilaaq Association serves the community as an Alaska Native non-profit regional corporation providing social, tribal and health care services.[20]

In 2010, there were 78 households, out of which 61.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.9% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.83 and the average family size was 5.50. In the village the population was spread out, with 44.0% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 20.7% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.1 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $30,833, and the median income for a family was $30,179. Males had a median income of $31,875 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income for the village was $8,360. About 25.4% of families and 26.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.9% of those under age 18 and 30.0% of those age 65 or over.

Due to severe sea wave erosion during storms, the city hopes to relocate again to a new site 12 km (7.5 mi) from the present site; studies of alternate sites are ongoing.[21] According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the estimated cost of relocation runs between $95 and $125 million, whereas the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates it to be between $100 and $400 million.[22]

In 2011, Haymarket Books published "Kivalina: A Climate Change Story" by Christine Shearer.

Kivalina v. US EPA

In 2010, the Native Village of Kivalina IRA Council brought suit against the US EPA for failing to adequately address public comments in their permitting of the Red Dog Mine discharge plan under the National Pollutant Discharge Elilmination System (NPDES). In 2012, the US Ninth Circuit court upheld the decision of the EPA Appeals Board to not review the permit, citing the insufficiency of the Tribe's argument.[10][27]

"Orange goo"

Due to severe sea wave erosion during storms, the city hopes to relocate again to a new site 12 km (7.5 mi) from the present site.[37] In 2009, Kivalina was identified by a GAO report as one of 31 environmentally threatened communities in Alaska.[38] Relocation to a site off the barrier island to higher ground has had little progress.[38] According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the estimated cost of relocation runs between $95 and $125 million, whereas the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates it to be between $100 and $400 million. In 2018, a decision was made to build an evacuation road across the Kivalina Lagoon to provide a means for the community to escape devastating storms that can inundate the barrier island. Additionally, the road will connect the village with the proposed new school site on K-Hill.[37]

Kivalina's environmental issues were prominently featured in The 2015 Weather Channel documentary "Alaska: State of Emergency" hosted by Dave Malkoff. Kivalina was one of the two towns featured in the Al Jazeera English Fault Lines documentary, When the Water Took the Land.[39][40] The community, who were originally nomadic, were given an ultimatum that they would have to settle in the permanent community or their children would be taken from them.[41] The village's plight was also examined in Kivalina, an hourlong documentary released as part of the PBS World series America ReFramed. The Atlantic did a photo journalism story documenting climate change in Kivalina in their September 2019 article, The Impact of Climate Change on Kivalina, Alaska.[42]

The McQueen School, operated by the Northwest Arctic Borough School District, serves the community. As of 2017 it had 141 students, with Alaska Natives making up 100% of the student body.[43]

• Kivalina Airport

• Arnold, Elizabeth (July 29, 2008). "Tale Of Two Alaskan Villages". Day to Day. NPR.
• "Kivalina: The Canary in the Mine (5 min Snippet)". OneWorldTV. April 23, 2009.
• Sackur, Stephen (July 30, 2013). "The Alaskan village set to disappear under water in a decade". BBC News.
• "Alaska: When the Water Took the Land". Fault Lines. Al Jazeera English. December 22, 2015.
• Shearer, Christine (2011). Kivalina : a climate change story. Chicago, Ill.: Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1-60846-171-4. OCLC 754333941.</ref>
• Kivalina Strategic Management Plan<ref>City of Kivalina (2016). "Kivalina Strategic Management Plan" (PDF).
• City of Kivalina Local Hazards Mitigation Plan

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kivalina, Alaska.

• Re-Locate Kivalina
• America ReFramed: Kivalina (documentary)
• Alaska Climate Change Impact Mitigation Program: Kivalina at Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, State of Alaska