I’ve been asked most of these questions more than once about Kaktovik, so I will answer them with a post.

1. Why was Kaktovik moved three times on short notice?

Answer: Because of Barter Island being chosen as a radar site for the DEW System, Distant Early Warning line, as in our Military, which extended across the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic.

The original town was right on the banks of the eastern sandspit, right next to the lagoon. That’s on the right end of the sandspit in the first photo. In 1947, the Air Force converted that space to a landing strip and the town had to move 1,650 yards to the west. I don’t know about the discs in the second photo or the red roofed building but they might be part of the DEW system.

The whole Kaktovik area was made into a military reserve in 1951 and in 1953, DEW Line road construction caused the town to be moved a second time, slightly farther west and back from the water.

In 1964, the DEW Line station expanded again and the town had to be moved again but this time the people seemed to approve for health and other reasons and they also got title to the village site.

On a side note: with even a few inches of sea level rise, the town’s first and second locations would probably have necessitated a town move anyway, so it may have all been for the best.

2. What do people do for a living in Kaktovik?

Answer: by Jobs: Education is about 27%; Public Administration is about 21%, and Construction about 8% and so on.

BY Employers: North Slope Borough hires about 67%, School District about 25% and most of the rest is private but that is mostly the native corporations and affiliates. You can see the sheriff’s car in the third photo and see who is paying him. We met the sheriff and he was a pretty nice guy. He checks planes and boats coming in to Kaktovik to be sure that people have no alcohol or drugs. We didn’t. Also, Barter Island was named that because the Inupiat tribes used to trade and barter there for thousands of years. We saw locally made from locally produced items for sale in the community center, like in the fourth photo. They were not cheap but then again, this is clear on the top of Alaska.

We saw many federal government branch buildings but were told that the people that work at them don’t live in Kaktovik, they just come occasionally to do research, etc. You can see the sign in the last photo which was in the community center/city hall.

3. How did they keep the polar bears out of the town of Kaktovik?

Answer: the North Slope Borough hires a guy in a red truck with a shotgun and he seemed to be working 24 hours a day; just to intercept them, shoot the gun, and scare them out of town. We saw him morning, noon, and at midnight as we were out looking for the Northern Lights. It’s a full time job when the bears are in town.

4. Were the locals out walking around town?

Answer: No, we only saw a few kids walking around who were obviously not old enough to drive.

5. Were there flies and mosquitoes in Kaktovik?

Answer: Nope, none.

6. Did we still have our bear spray with us in Kaktovik.

Answer: No. We gave our bear spray back when we left the national parks. I don’t think our guide anticipated us walking around Kaktovik very much, if at all, but we did. I liked Kaktovik and all the people that we met on our walks seemed very friendly.