Editing Utqiagvik, Alaska (section)

===20th century to the present===
A [[United States Postal Service|United States Post Office]] was opened in 1901.
[[File:Rogers-Post Memorial at Barrow, Alaska.jpg|left|thumb|Will Rogers–Wiley Post Memorial|upright]]
[[File:Inupiat child at Point Barrow, Alaska circa 1960s.jpg|thumb|Iñupiaq child at [[Point Barrow]] c. 1960s|upright]]
In 1935, famous humorist [[Will Rogers]] and pilot [[Wiley Post]] made an unplanned stop at Walakpa Bay, {{convert|15|mi|abbr=on}} south of Utqiagvik, en route to the city. As they took off again, their plane [[Stall (flight)|stalled]] and plunged into a river, killing them both. Two memorials have been erected at the location, now called the [[Rogers–Post Site]]. Another memorial is located in Utqiagvik, where the airport was renamed the [[Wiley Post–Will Rogers Memorial Airport]] in their honor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofbarrow.org/content/view/5/13/|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20111006153935/http://www.cityofbarrow.org/content/view/5/13/|url-status=dead|title=City of Barrow - Farthest North American City - About Barrow|archivedate=October 6, 2011|website=www.cityofbarrow.org}}</ref>

In 1940, the Indigenous Iñupiat organized as the Native Village of Barrow Iñupiat Traditional Government (previously, Native Village of Barrow), a federally recognized Alaska Native Iñupiat "tribal entity" as listed by the US [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]] around 2003. They wrote a constitution and by-laws under the provisions of the [[Indian Reorganization Act]] (IRA) of 1934. An IRA corporation was also created.

Utqiagvik was incorporated as a first-class city under the name Barrow in 1958. Natural gas lines were brought to the town in 1965, eliminating the need for traditional heating sources such as whale blubber.<ref name=burks>{{cite news | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1971/12/13/90706241.html?pageNumber=50| title = Her Court Is on Arctic Shores, Her Cause Is Eskimos' Rights | date = December 13, 1971 | first = Edward C. | last = Burks | page = 50 | newspaper = New York Times | access-date = May 3, 2020 }}</ref>

[[The Barrow Duck-In]] was a civil disobedience event that occurred in the spring of 1961.<ref>{{Cite web|title="ANCSA paved the way for Alaska Natives, state to prosper together".|url=https://www.alaskajournal.com/community/2010-10-14/ancsa-paved-way-alaska-natives-state-prosper-together|access-date=October 14, 2020|website=Alaska Journal|date=October 13, 2010 |author1=Journal_Admin }}</ref> During the Duck-in, the Iñupiat protested a federal hunting ban on ducks, which threatened their livelihood and access to food security.

The residents of the North Slope were the only Native people to vote on the acceptance of the [[Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act]]; they rejected it. The Act was passed in December 1971 and, despite their opposition, became law. The [[Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation]] is a for-profit village corporation established under the Act.

In 1972, the [[North Slope Borough, Alaska|North Slope Borough]] was established. The borough has built sanitation facilities, water and electrical utilities, roads, and fire departments, and has established health and educational services in Utqiagvik and the villages of the [[Alaska North Slope|North Slope]] with millions of dollars in new revenues from the settlement and later oil revenues.

In 1986, the North Slope Borough created the North Slope Higher Education Center. Renamed [[Iḷisaġvik College]], it is an accredited two-year college providing education based on the Iñupiat culture and the needs of the North Slope Borough.

The Tuzzy Consortium Library, in the [[Inupiat Heritage Center|Iñupiat Heritage Center]], serves the communities of the North Slope Borough and functions as the academic library for Iḷisaġvik College. It was named after Evelyn Tuzroyluk Higbee, an influential community leader.
[[File:Traditional Clothing at Iñupiat Heritage Center in Barrow.jpg|thumb|left|Traditional clothing at Iñupiat Heritage Center in Utqiagvik]]

Utqiagvik, like many communities in Alaska, has enacted a [[dry county|"damp" law]] prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages. However, the import, possession, and consumption of such beverages are still allowed.<ref name=comdata/>

In 1988, Utqiagvik became the center of worldwide media attention when three California [[gray whale]]s became trapped in the ice offshore.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/18/us/unlikely-allies-rush-to-free-3-whales.html | title= Unlikely Allies Rush to Free 3 Whales | date=October 18, 1988 | website=New York Times |last=Mauer|first=Richard |access-date=June 12, 2008}}</ref> After a two-week rescue effort ([[Operation Breakthrough]]), a Soviet icebreaker freed two of the whales.<ref name="ANDwhales">{{cite web|url=http://www.adn.com/242/story/786008.html |title=Whales Break Free |last=Mauer |first=Richard |date=October 29, 1988 |website=Anchorage Daily News |access-date=January 7, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621184932/http://www.adn.com/242/story/786008.html |archive-date=June 21, 2009 }}</ref> Journalist [[Tom Rose]] details the rescue, and the media frenzy that accompanied it, in his 1989 book ''Freeing The Whales''.<ref name="booksite">{{cite web|url=http://www.highnorth.no/Library/MediaWatch/fr-th-wh.htm|title=Freeing The Whales - How the Media Created the World's Greatest Non-Event|last=Rose|first=TOM|access-date=January 7, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100121072624/http://www.highnorth.no/Library/MediaWatch/fr-th-wh.htm| archive-date= January 21, 2010 | url-status=live}}</ref> The movie ''[[Big Miracle]]'' is based on the rescue and was released on February 3, 2012.<ref name="ADNmovie">{{cite web|url=http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/newsreader/story/786889.html |title=May 7: Barrow whale rescue movie… |last=Dent |first=Mark |date=May 7, 2009 |website=Anchorage Daily News |access-date=January 7, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510152638/http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/newsreader/story/786889.html |archive-date=May 10, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=''Everybody Loves Whales''|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1430615/ |publisher=IMDb.com|access-date=October 28, 2015}}</ref>