Editing Brevig Mission, Alaska

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name                   = Brevig Mission
| native_name                     = {{native name|ik|Sitaisaq}}
| settlement_type                 = [[City (Alaska)|City]]
| nickname                        = 
| motto                           = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline                   = Brevig Mission Alaska - Drone 2018.jpg
| imagesize                       = 
| image_caption                   = Brevig Mission in 2017
| image_flag                      = 
| image_seal                      = <!-- Maps -->
| pushpin_map                     = Alaska
| pushpin_map_caption             = Location in Alaska

<!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type                = Country
| subdivision_name                = United States
| subdivision_type1               = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1               = [[Alaska]]
| subdivision_type2               = [[List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska|Census Area]]
| subdivision_name2               = [[Nome Census Area, Alaska|Nome]]
| government_footnotes            = 
| government_type                 = 
| leader_title                    = [[Mayor]]
| leader_name                     = Adrien Barr<ref>{{Cite book|title=2023 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory|date=January 2023|publisher=Alaska Municipal League|location=[[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]]|page=51|url=https://www.akml.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Brevig-Mission.pdf|access-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref>
| leader_title1                   = [[Alaska Senate|State senator]]
| leader_name1                    = [[Donny Olson]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
| leader_title2                   = [[Alaska House of Representatives|State rep.]]
| leader_name2                    = [[Neal Foster]] (D)
| established_title               = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
| established_date                = October 6, 1969<ref>{{cite book|title=1996 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory|location=[[Juneau]]|publisher=Alaska Municipal League/[[Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development|Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs]]|date=January 1996|page=34}}</ref>

<!-- Area -->
| area_magnitude                  = 
| area_footnotes                  = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_02.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 29, 2021}}</ref>
| area_total_km2                  = 6.51
| area_land_km2                   = 6.30
| area_water_km2                  = 0.21
| area_total_sq_mi                = 2.51
| area_land_sq_mi                 = 2.43
| area_water_sq_mi                = 0.08

<!-- Population -->
| population_as_of                = 
| population_footnotes            = 
| population_total                = 
| timezone                        = [[Alaska Time Zone|Alaska (AKST)]]
| utc_offset                      = -9
| timezone_DST                    = AKDT
| utc_offset_DST                  = -8
| elevation_footnotes             = 
| elevation_m                     = 5
| elevation_ft                    = 16
| coordinates                     = {{coord|65|20|3|N|166|29|35|W|region:US-AK_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type                = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code                     = 99785
| area_code                       = [[Area code 907|907]]
| area_code_type                  = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area code]]
| blank_name                      = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info                      = 02-08740
| blank1_name                     = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info                     = {{GNIS 4|1420670}}
| website                         = 
| footnotes                       = 
| pop_est_as_of                   = 
| pop_est_footnotes               = 
| population_est                  = 
| population_density_sq_mi        =
| unit_pref                       = Imperial
| population_density_km2          =
}}

'''Brevig Mission''' ([[Iñupiaq language|Inupiaq]]: ''Sitaisaq'', ''Sitaisat'', or ''Sinauraq'') is a city in [[Nome Census Area, Alaska]]. The population was 388 at the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]], up from 276 in 2000. It is named for the Norwegian Lutheran pastor Tollef L. Brevig, who served at the mission that would later bear his name.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kawerak.org/our-region/brevig-mission/|website=kawerak.org|access-date=July 28, 2019 |title=Brevig Mission – Kawerak}}</ref> First settled in 1900, the mission became known as Teller Mission before receiving its current name. The mostly Inupiat Eskimo population continues to practice subsistence. Brevig Mission is a [[Dry town|dry village]], which means the sale or possession of alcohol is illegal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.maruskiyas.com/brevig-mission-and-teller-alaska|title=Brevig Mission and Teller, Alaska {{!}} Maruskiya's of Nome Alaska Native Art|website=www.maruskiyas.com|access-date=July 28, 2019}}</ref>

==Geography==
Brevig Mission is located at {{coord|65|20|3|N|166|29|35|W|type:city}} (65.334235, -166.492952).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|2.6|sqmi|km2}}, of which, {{convert|2.6|sqmi|km2}} of it is land and {{convert|0.1|sqmi|km2}} of it (1.89%) is water.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1950= 109
|1960= 77
|1970= 123
|1980= 138
|1990= 198
|2000= 276
|2010= 388
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2023|reason=No mention of Brevig Mission at the given link}}
}}
[[File:Annual report on introduction of domesticated reindeer into Alaska (1894) (19180127278).jpg|thumb|left|Native huts and storage platforms, with platform graves in the distance, Teller reindeer station (1894)]]

{{update section|date=May 2023|reason=Newer information is available in the 2010 and 2020 census reports}}
Brevig Mission first appeared on the 1950<ref>{{cite web |title=Number of Inhabitants - Alaska |url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/41601749v2p51-54ch2.pdf |website=United States Census Bureau |date=1950}}</ref> U.S. census and in 1960<ref>{{cite web |title=Number of Inhabitants - Alaska |url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/37721577v1p3ch2.pdf |website=United States Census Bureau |date=1960}}</ref> as the unincorporated village of "Teller Mission."<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rr9RAQAAMAAJ&q=teller+mission&pg=PA49 |title = Geological Survey Professional Paper|year = 1949}}</ref> In 1969, it was formally incorporated under its present name of Brevig Mission.

As of the [[census]] of 2000,<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> there were 276 people, 68 households, and 53 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|106.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 76 housing units at an average density of {{convert|29.3|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 8.0% White, 90.6% Native American, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population.

Of the 68 households, 52.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.9% were married couples living together, 25.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.6% were non-families. 14.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.06 and the average family size was 4.35.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 45.3% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 10.1% from 45 to 64, and 3.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 20 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $21,875, and the median income for a family was $16,786. Males had a median income of $11,250 versus $25,000 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $7,278. About 43.3% of families and 48.4% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 50.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
Brevig Mission is served by the [[Bering Strait School District]]. Brevig Mission School serves grades Pre-K through 12.<ref>{{Cite web |title=School List - Bering Strait School District |url=https://education.alaska.gov/DOE_Rolodex/SchoolCalendar/Home/SchoolsList?districtId=7 |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=education.alaska.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Brevig Mission School Profile |url=https://education.alaska.gov/compass/ParentPortal/SchoolProfile?SchoolID=70010 |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=education.alaska.gov}}</ref>

==1918 Spanish Flu==
The pandemic caused by the 1918 influenza outbreak was by far the most devastating single disease outbreak in modern history, killing at least 50 million people during an 18-month period. In Brevig Mission alone, it killed 72 out of 80 residents in a 5-day period.<ref name=flu>{{cite web|url=http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF13/1386.html|title=Permafrost Preserves Clues to Deadly 1918 Flu, Alaska Science Forum|publisher=gi.alaska.edu|access-date=July 3, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419072040/http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF13/1386.html|archive-date=April 19, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The 72 victims were buried in the frozen ground in a mass grave dug for them by gold miners and marked by white crosses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2020/05/27/johan-hultin-the-virus-hunter |title=Into the Wild. Twice. For Mankind |date=May 27, 2020 |access-date=August 21, 2020 |website=si.com |first1=Michael |last1=McKnight}}</ref> As happened elsewhere in the Americas after the arrival of Columbus, Indigenous Alaska Natives had no genetic resistance to any flu, so it decimated many villages.<ref name=flu/>

In 1997, a team of scientists led by [[Johan Hultin]] exhumed the frozen remains of an Iñupiat woman who had been buried in the [[permafrost]] in a gravesite near Brevig Mission in a successful attempt to recover [[RNA]] from her lung tissue.<ref name="hultin-obit">{{cite news |last1=Kolata |first1=Gina |title=Johan Hultin, Who Found Frozen Clues to 1918 Virus, Dies at 97 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/health/dr-johan-hultin-dead.html |access-date=January 30, 2022 |work=New York Times |date=January 27, 2022}}</ref> It enabled them to analyze the structure of the 1918 [[influenza]] virus ([[1918 flu pandemic|Spanish flu]]), which may have originated in [[Fort Riley, Kansas]], that killed her.

==Health==
Sale, importation and possession of alcohol are banned in the village.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/9/pub/ABC/DryDampCommunities/Local%20Option%20Communities%20-%20Rev%202.25.22.pdf |title=Schedule of Local Option Communities |publisher=Alcoholic Beverage Control Board |accessdate=May 3, 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

* {{commons category-inline}}
{{Nome Census Area, Alaska}}

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[[Category:Cities in Alaska]]
[[Category:Cities in Nome Census Area, Alaska]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Populated places in the Seward Peninsula]]