Shishmaref, Alaska
Encyclopedia
Shishmaref is a village in the Nome Census Area, Alaska
, United States, located on Sarichef Island
in the Chukchi Sea
, just north of the Bering Strait
and five miles from the mainland. It lies within the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
. The population was 562 at the 2000 census
.
, the city has a total area of 7.3 square miles (18.9 km²), of which, 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) of it is land and 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²) of it (61.62%) is water.
Shishmaref was named in 1821 by explorer Lt. Otto von Kotzebue
, of the Imperial Russian Navy
, after Capt. Lt. Gleb Shishmaryov
who accompanied him on his exploration.
Sarichef Island (on which Shishmaref is located) is part of a dynamic, 100 km-long barrier island chain that records human and environmental history spanning the past 2000 years; the oldest subaerial evidence for the formation of this system is about 1700 14c yr bp (see References, below). Erosion at Shishmaref is unique along the islands because of its fetch exposure and high tidal prism, relatively intense infrastructure development during the 20th century, and multiple shoreline defense structures built beginning in the 1970s.
which serves to buffer Shishmaref from storm surge
s. At the same time, the permafrost
that the village is built on has also begun to melt, making the shore even more vulnerable to erosion
. In recent years the shore has been receding at an average rate of up to 10 feet (3.3 m) per year. Although a series of barricades has been put up to protect the village, the shore has continued to erode at an alarming rate. The town's homes, water system and infrastructure are being undermined. Currently, Shishmaref has obtained funds to construct seawalls that protect some of the shoreline.
The village plans to relocate several miles to the south, on the mainland to the Tin Creek site. The Shishmaref Erosion and Relocation Coalition, made up of the city, the IRA Council and other organizations, is seeking federal, state and private funding for the move. However the cost of moving Shishmaref is estimated at $180 million.
Erosion rates along the island front exceed (and are not comparable with) those along adjacent sectors. Erosion is occurring along the entire island chain, but it is exacerbated at Sarichef Island in part because of the hydrographic impacts of hard armoring of a sandy shoreface and permafrost degradation that is accelerated by infrastructure. Residents are experiencing the effects of coastal retreat on residential and commercial properties.
), other seals and walrus
, fish, birds (such as ptarmigan), caribou and moose
. The village is well known in the region for its high-quality seal oil and fermented meat.
Shishmaref is also known for its Native art. Local carvings of whalebone and walrus ivory are sought after by galleries in Alaska and the Lower 48.
Shishmaref was also home to one of Alaska's most-beloved dog mushers. Herbie Nayokpuk, known as the "Shishmaref Cannonball", died in December 2006. He finished the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race numerous times, including a second-place finish.
Shishmaref is sometimes referred to as "the friendliest village in Alaska." Researchers, journalists and the occasional tourist visit Shishmaref, and the city has acquired a reputation for being a gracious host.
, 93.24% Native American
(mainly Inupiat), and 1.42% from two or more races. 0.53% (three persons) of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 142 households out of which 52.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.96 and the average family size was 4.59.
In the city the age distribution of the population shows 40.9% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 12.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 125.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 121.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,714, and the median income for a family was $29,306. Males had a median income of $35,357 versus $25,000 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $10,487. About 16.2% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
. Shishmaref School serves grades Pre-K through 12.
Nome Census Area, Alaska
Nome Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 9,196. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat. Its largest community by far is the city of Nome....
, United States, located on Sarichef Island
Sarichef Island
Sarichef Island is a long and narrow coastal island on the Chukchi Sea-facing coast of Alaska. It is located at the mouth of the Shishmaref Inlet, Kotzebue-Kobuk LowSarichef Island is in length. The highest point on the island is above sea level....
in the Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the De Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, beyond which lies the Beaufort Sea. The Bering Strait forms its southernmost limit and connects it to the Bering Sea and the Pacific...
, just north of the Bering Strait
Bering Strait
The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
and five miles from the mainland. It lies within the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
The Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is one of the most remote United States national park areas, located on the Seward Peninsula. The National Preserve protects a remnant of the Bering Land Bridge that connected Asia with North America more than 13,000 years ago during the Pleistocene ice age...
. The population was 562 at 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...
.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited 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 city has a total area of 7.3 square miles (18.9 km²), of which, 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) of it is land and 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²) of it (61.62%) is water.
Shishmaref was named in 1821 by explorer Lt. Otto von Kotzebue
Otto von Kotzebue
Otto von Kotzebue was a Baltic German navigator in Russian service....
, of the Imperial Russian Navy
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
, after Capt. Lt. Gleb Shishmaryov
Gleb Shishmaryov
Gleb Semyonovich Shishmaryov was a rear admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy. He is reputed for having surveyed the then little-known coast of Alaska as navigator...
who accompanied him on his exploration.
Sarichef Island (on which Shishmaref is located) is part of a dynamic, 100 km-long barrier island chain that records human and environmental history spanning the past 2000 years; the oldest subaerial evidence for the formation of this system is about 1700 14c yr bp (see References, below). Erosion at Shishmaref is unique along the islands because of its fetch exposure and high tidal prism, relatively intense infrastructure development during the 20th century, and multiple shoreline defense structures built beginning in the 1970s.
Global warming
The effect of global climate change upon Shishmaref is sometimes seen as the most dramatic in the world. Rising temperatures have resulted in a reduction in the sea iceSea ice
Sea ice is largely formed from seawater that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs below the freezing point of pure water, at about -1.8 °C ....
which serves to buffer Shishmaref from storm surge
Storm surge
A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...
s. At the same time, the permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...
that the village is built on has also begun to melt, making the shore even more vulnerable to erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
. In recent years the shore has been receding at an average rate of up to 10 feet (3.3 m) per year. Although a series of barricades has been put up to protect the village, the shore has continued to erode at an alarming rate. The town's homes, water system and infrastructure are being undermined. Currently, Shishmaref has obtained funds to construct seawalls that protect some of the shoreline.
The village plans to relocate several miles to the south, on the mainland to the Tin Creek site. The Shishmaref Erosion and Relocation Coalition, made up of the city, the IRA Council and other organizations, is seeking federal, state and private funding for the move. However the cost of moving Shishmaref is estimated at $180 million.
Erosion rates along the island front exceed (and are not comparable with) those along adjacent sectors. Erosion is occurring along the entire island chain, but it is exacerbated at Sarichef Island in part because of the hydrographic impacts of hard armoring of a sandy shoreface and permafrost degradation that is accelerated by infrastructure. Residents are experiencing the effects of coastal retreat on residential and commercial properties.
Culture
Shishmaref is a traditional Inupiaq Eskimo village. Residents rely heavily on a subsistence lifestyle, hunting and gathering much of their food. Primary food sources include sea mammals such as oogruk (bearded sealBearded Seal
The bearded seal , also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words that refer to its heavy jaw...
), other seals and walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
, fish, birds (such as ptarmigan), caribou and moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
. The village is well known in the region for its high-quality seal oil and fermented meat.
Shishmaref is also known for its Native art. Local carvings of whalebone and walrus ivory are sought after by galleries in Alaska and the Lower 48.
Shishmaref was also home to one of Alaska's most-beloved dog mushers. Herbie Nayokpuk, known as the "Shishmaref Cannonball", died in December 2006. He finished the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race numerous times, including a second-place finish.
Shishmaref is sometimes referred to as "the friendliest village in Alaska." Researchers, journalists and the occasional tourist visit Shishmaref, and the city has acquired a reputation for being a gracious host.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 562 people, 142 households, and 110 families residing in the city. The population density was 202.0 people per square mile (78.1/km²). There were 148 housing units at an average density of 53.2 per square mile (20.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 5.34% WhiteRace (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...
, 93.24% Native American
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...
(mainly Inupiat), and 1.42% from two or more races. 0.53% (three persons) of the population were Hispanic
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...
or Latino
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...
of any race.
There were 142 households out of which 52.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.96 and the average family size was 4.59.
In the city the age distribution of the population shows 40.9% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 12.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 125.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 121.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,714, and the median income for a family was $29,306. Males had a median income of $35,357 versus $25,000 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 city was $10,487. About 16.2% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Shishmaref is served by the Bering Strait School DistrictBering Strait School District
Bering Strait School District is a school district in northwestern Alaska, United States, serving approximately 1,700 students in grades K-12 in fifteen isolated villages...
. Shishmaref School serves grades Pre-K through 12.
External links
- The History of Shishmaref
- Arctic Change: Village of Shishmaref, North Alaska, NOAA
- "Moving the Village" - an audio documentary about Shishmaref and Climate Change
- Climate change threatens life in Shishmaref, Alaska - CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
- A Dutch multimediaproject in progress on the consequences of climate change to the social life of the villagers