Shungnak

Shuzhenak - Northwestern Arctic District

The Shungnak is situated on the western shore of the Kobuk River, about 150 leagues from Kotzebue. Originally, the village was 10 leagues upriver near Kobuk. The Shungnak is in the Kotzebue Recording District. This area covers 8.4 square kilometers of country and 1.3 square kilometers of sea. It is situated in the transition area of the climat.

Kobuk is open from the end of May to mid-October. Established in 1899 as a point of supplies for the Cosmos Hills mines, this Inupiaq settlement had to move in the 1920' due to floods and soilosion. Its old location, 10 leagues upriver, was re-named Kobuk by those who stayed there.

Khokuk " was the name of the new town, but later it became Shungnak again. It' a typical Inupiaq town with a way of life. It is forbidden to sell or import alcoholic beverages in the town. Grammar schoolchildren from Kobuk visit the Shungnak secondary modern class. The Shungnak lives mainly from fishery, seasons, hunting and catching.

The majority of full-time jobs are in the schools area, in the town, in the Maniilaq Association, in two shops and in a shelter. The company offers fire-fighting services on a yearly basis and employs over 30 people. The Shungnak also has a powerful art and craft industries; the inhabitants make and distribute fine workmanship wickerwork, mask, mukluk, parka, hat and gloves. Sr. Miles Cleveland, Sr.

In an Inupiat community in the North West of Alaska

Shungnak, or Issingnak in Iñupiaq, lies on a cliff over the western shore of the Kobuk River, about 10 mile downriver from the town of Kobuk and 150 flight mile to the eastern side of Kotzebue. Inhabitants of Kobuk, who wandered down the meandering Kobuk River to avoid the severe floods, founded Shungnak in the 1920s.

Formerly called Kochuk, the new town was later renamed the Iñupiaq term for Java, a precious stone widely used in the area. It was founded in 1967. The Shungnak is a traditionally Iñupiat settlement built on a way of living.

The inhabitants are dependent on feeding resources such as elk, caribous, berries, white fish, shellfish andduck. There were 165 people in the 1970 survey who lived in Shungnak. At the moment there are about 262 inhabitants of Shungnak, 94. The Shungnak has a mayoral body established under the law of the State of Alaska. The Shungnak is a transition area.

Kobuk is open from the end of May to mid-October. Shungnak's landscape is made up of a highland with spruces and birches. In Shungnak there is a national, 4,000' long and 60' broad dirt road with beacons. There are regular flights from Shungnak to Kotzebue and Kobuk and to Ambler every day.

Outward and return tickets from Shungnak to Kotzebue cost about $400, Kobuk $190 and Ambler $200. Country - The inhabitants drive over country with off-road vehicles, snow machines and canine sledge. There is a gravel track system across the whole town, connecting with a system of hiking trails parallel to the Kobuk River, which is used for hunt and intervillage trips.

Sea/Navy - Small vessels are used on the Kobuk River for inter-village voyages, freight transports and subsistence work. Shungnak offers the following services: The Shungnak Municipal Sanitation System is supplied with drinking and waste from a 200,000 gallon stainless well. Intermittent filling of the dam with Kobuk River waters through a 1,110' underground canal.

There is a reservoir and pumping station on the bed of the stream, pumping more than 50 neighbouring buildings. Most of the Shungnak buildings have flowing waters, as well as the schools, the healthcare hospital and the municipal buildings. Sewerage - Shungnak has 4,500 ft of gravitational sewers that connect to most buildings and installations through four inches of services.

Sewerage system leads to a small sea half aile north-west of the town. Waste disposal - A new municipal waste disposal site has been finished in recent years. Government Safety - Shungnak has appointed a VPSO (Village Public Safety Officer) to the Maniilaq Association. A Paktrak fire engine for fire safety is available in the town.

Communal facilities - Shungnak has two shops, a swimming pool area, a National Guard, an administrative complex, a security house, a postal service, a communal centre, a hospital and three churches: Healthcare - The Shungnak Hospital, run by the Maniilaq Association, has two qualified healthcare professionals who are available 24/7.

Health advisors and patiens have immediate entry to Maniilaq Health Center in Kotzebue from 10.00 to 12.00 and 13.00 to 17.00 by telephone conference. The Maniilaq Association is transporting emergencies to Kotzebue on its own Medivac-Airplane.

Power - Alaska Village Electric Co-Op provides power to Shungnak over 1,248 Killowat generation diesels. Telecommunication - Kotzebue-based OTZ Phone Cooperative provides phone services to Shungnak inhabitants and companies, and the remote services are provided through a mix of AT&T, Anchorage-based GCI and Kotzebue-based OTZ phones.

Inutek. net is a cooperation between OTZ, Maniilaq Association and Anchorage-based GCI Communications. Shungnak-Schule, a primary, secondary and secondary education, has about 83 pupils per year from prekindergarten to grades 12. There are 9 instructors at the same time. The inhabitants of Shungnak are receiving KOTZ-AM, a Kotzebue local and the Arctic Sounder, a local newpaper.

Shungnak city provides CATV. Approximately 50 people work all year round for the Northwest Arctic Borough School District, Shungnak City, Maniilaq Association, two privately owned shops and a chalet that serves athletes and guests of the Gates of the Arctic National Park. Each year, the Bureau of Land Management provides more than 30 inhabitants with fire-fighting services on a yearly basis.

The Shungnak also has a powerful art and craft industries; the inhabitants make and distribute fine workmanship wickerwork, mask, mukluk, parka, hat and gloves. In Shungnak there are about 77 inhabited housing estates. Kotzebue, Northwest Iñupiat Housing Authority provides building works on the basis of HUD-agreements.