Deering, Alaska
Encyclopedia
Deering is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough
in the U.S. state of Alaska
. It is located on a sandy spit on the Seward Peninsula
where the Inmachuk River flows into Kotzebue Sound
, 92 km (57.2 mi) southwest of Kotzebue
.
As of the 2000 census
, the population was 136. , the village includes a community hall, a clinic run by the U.S. Public Health Service
, a post office, a church, two stores, and a National Guard
armory
.
Eskimo
. The people are active in subsistence. The sale or importation of alcohol is banned in the village.
Abbie M. Deering, which was present in the area at that time; see #The Abbie M. Deering. Deering incorporated as a second-class city in 1970. It also has a village council, organized under the Indian Reorganization Act
of 1934.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the village has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.7 km²), of which, 5.1 square miles (13.2 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (2.28%) is water.
(Iñupiat), 5.88% White
, and 0.74% from two or more races.
There were 42 households out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.4% were married couples living together, 33.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.24 and the average family size was 3.90.
In the village the age distribution of the population shows 39.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $33,333, and the median income for a family was $43,438. Males had a median income of $26,875 versus $25,625 for females. The per capita income
for the village was $11,000. None of the families but 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line. No one under the age of 18 or over 64 were living below the poverty line.
. They left Lynn, Massachusetts
in November 1897, passed through the Straits of Magellan
, and arrived at San Francisco
five months later, where they sold the ship. Records kept by the Minerals Management Service
of the U.S. Department of the Interior show the schooner did make it to Alaska, where it was lost in the Aleutian Islands in September 1903.
Rudyard Kipling
's 1897 novel
Captains Courageous
mentions the Abbie M. Deering by name.
Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska
-National protected areas:* Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge ** Chamisso Wilderness* Bering Land Bridge National Preserve * Cape Krusenstern National Monument* Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve...
in the U.S. state of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. It is located on a sandy spit on the Seward Peninsula
Seward Peninsula
The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It projects about into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi Sea, and Kotzebue Sound, just below the Arctic Circle...
where the Inmachuk River flows into Kotzebue Sound
Kotzebue Sound
Kotzebue Sound is an arm of the Chukchi Sea in the western region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is on the north side of the Seward Peninsula and bounded the east by the Baldwin Peninsula. It is long and wide....
, 92 km (57.2 mi) southwest of Kotzebue
Kotzebue, Alaska
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,082 people, 889 households, and 656 families residing in the city. The population density was 114.1 people per square mile . There were 1,007 housing units at an average density of 37.3 per square mile...
.
As of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, the population was 136. , the village includes a community hall, a clinic run by the U.S. Public Health Service
United States Public Health Service
The Public Health Service Act of 1944 structured the United States Public Health Service as the primary division of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare , which later became the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The PHS comprises all Agency Divisions of Health and...
, a post office, a church, two stores, and a National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
armory
Armory (military)
An armory or armoury is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
.
Culture
The inhabitants are primarily IñupiatInupiat
The Iñupiat or Iñupiaq and Iñupiak or formerly Inupik are the people of Alaska's Northwest Arctic and North Slope boroughs and the Bering Straits region. Barrow, the northernmost city in the United States, is in the Inupiat region. Their language is known as Iñupiaq...
Eskimo
Eskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
. The people are active in subsistence. The sale or importation of alcohol is banned in the village.
History
The village was established in 1901 as a supply station for interior gold mining near the historic Malemiut Eskimo village of Inmachukmiut. The name probably comes from the schoonerSchooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Abbie M. Deering, which was present in the area at that time; see #The Abbie M. Deering. Deering incorporated as a second-class city in 1970. It also has a village council, organized under the Indian Reorganization Act
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 the Indian New Deal, was U.S. federal legislation that secured certain rights to Native Americans, including Alaska Natives...
of 1934.
Geography
Deering is located at 66°4′33"N 162°43′6"W (66.075713, -162.718229).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the village has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.7 km²), of which, 5.1 square miles (13.2 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (2.28%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 136 people, 42 households, and 28 families residing in the village. The population density was 26.5 people per square mile (10.2/km²). There were 61 housing units at an average density of 11.9 per square mile (4.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.38% Native AmericanRace (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
(Iñupiat), 5.88% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.74% from two or more races.
There were 42 households out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.4% were married couples living together, 33.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.24 and the average family size was 3.90.
In the village the age distribution of the population shows 39.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $33,333, and the median income for a family was $43,438. Males had a median income of $26,875 versus $25,625 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the village was $11,000. None of the families but 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line. No one under the age of 18 or over 64 were living below the poverty line.
The Abbie M. Deering
A first-hand account written by Captain James D. Winchester and published in 1900 tells that the Abbie M. Deering was bought by a company of twenty men who wanted to sail to the "Alaskan Gold Fields" during the Klondike Gold RushKlondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
. They left Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 89,050 at the 2000 census. An old industrial center, Lynn is home to Lynn Beach and Lynn Heritage State Park and is about north of downtown Boston.-17th century:...
in November 1897, passed through the Straits of Magellan
Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego...
, and arrived at San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
five months later, where they sold the ship. Records kept by the Minerals Management Service
Minerals Management Service
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement , formerly known as the Minerals Management Service , was an agency of the United States Department of the Interior that managed the nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf...
of the U.S. Department of the Interior show the schooner did make it to Alaska, where it was lost in the Aleutian Islands in September 1903.
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's 1897 novel
1897 in literature
The year 1897 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* January 2 - Newspapers in London, England erroneously report the death of Mark Twain. It is believed that the rumors began when Twain's cousin had become ill...
Captains Courageous
Captains Courageous
Captains Courageous is an 1897 novel, by Rudyard Kipling, that follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the arrogant and spoiled son of a railroad tycoon...
mentions the Abbie M. Deering by name.