Editing Eek, Alaska

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
 | official_name            = Eek
 | native_name              = Ekvicuaq
 | native_name_lang         = esu
 | settlement_type          = [[City (Alaska)|City]]
 | nickname                 = 
 | motto                    = 
<!-- Images -->
 | image_skyline            = Eek, AK from a bush plane.jpg
 | imagesize                = 
 | image_caption            = Eek, Alaska, from a bush plane
 | image_flag               = 
 | image_seal               = 
<!-- Maps -->
 | pushpin_map              = USA Alaska
 | pushpin_map_caption      = Location in Alaska

<!-- Location -->
 | subdivision_type         = Country
 | subdivision_name         = {{flag|United States}}
 | subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
 | subdivision_name1        = {{flag|Alaska}}
 | subdivision_type2        = [[List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska|Census Area]]
 | subdivision_name2        = [[Bethel Census Area, Alaska|Bethel]]
 | government_footnotes     = 
 | government_type          = 
 | leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
 | leader_name              = Carlie Beebe<ref>{{Cite book|title=2015 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory|location=Juneau|publisher=Alaska Municipal League|year=2015|page=56}}</ref>
 | leader_title1            = [[Alaska Senate|State senator]]
 | leader_name1             = [[Lyman Hoffman]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.alaskasenate.org/2020/member/lyman-hoffman/ |title=Senator Lyman Hoffman |publisher=Alaskasenate.org |website=Alaska Senate Majority |access-date=November 16, 2019 |archive-date=April 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408143501/https://www.alaskasenate.org/2020/member/lyman-hoffman/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 | leader_title2            = [[Alaska House of Representatives|State rep.]]
 | leader_name2             = [[Conrad McCormick]] (D)
 | established_title        = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
 | established_date         = July 9, 1970<ref>{{cite journal|title=Directory of Borough and City Officials 1974|journal=Alaska Local Government|volume=XIII|issue=2|page=31|location=Juneau|publisher=[[Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development|Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs]]|date=January 1974}}</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           = 1.92
 | area_land_km2            = 1.68
 | area_water_km2           = 0.24
 | area_total_sq_mi         = 0.74
 | area_land_sq_mi          = 0.65
 | area_water_sq_mi         = 0.09

<!-- Population -->
 | population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
 | population_footnotes     = 
 | population_total         = 404
 | timezone                 = [[Alaska Time Zone|Alaska (AKST)]]
 | utc_offset               = -9
 | timezone_DST             = AKDT
 | utc_offset_DST           = -8
 | elevation_footnotes      = 
 | elevation_m              = 1
 | elevation_ft             = 3
 | coordinates              = {{coord|60|13|7|N|162|1|33|W|region:US-AK|display=inline}}
 | postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]s
 | postal_code              = 99578
 | 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               = 02-21040
 | blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
 | blank1_info              = {{GNIS 4|1401666}}
 | website                  = 
 | footnotes                = 
 | pop_est_as_of            = 
 | pop_est_footnotes        = 
 | population_est           = 
 | population_density_sq_mi = 623.46
 | unit_pref                = Imperial
 | population_density_km2   = 240.83
 | name                     = 
}}

'''Eek''' ({{IPAc-en|i:|k}}; {{langx|esu|Iik}}) is a city in [[Bethel Census Area, Alaska]], United States. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]] there were 404 residents,<ref name="2020 Census Data">{{cite web|url = https://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/cen/2020-census-data.html|title = 2020 Census Data - Cities and Census Designated Places|format = Web|publisher = State of Alaska, Department of Labor and Workforce Development|access-date = October 31, 2021}}</ref> the majority being [[Alaska Natives]].

==Toponymy==
Eek is derived from a Yupik word meaning "two eyes".<ref>{{cite book|last=Bright|first=William|title=Native American Placenames of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5XfxzCm1qa4C&pg=PA141|year=2004|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3598-4|page=141}}</ref> It has been noted on lists of [[Place names considered unusual|unusual place names]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29zh3dIgmv8C&pg=PR9 | title=Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places | publisher=Adams Media | author=Parker, Quentin | year=2010 | pages=ix | isbn=9781440507397 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Geography==
Eek is located at {{coord|60|13|7|N|162|1|33|W|type:city}} (60.218662, -162.025928).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> It lies along the [[Eek River]].<ref name="DeLorme">{{cite book|title=Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer|publisher=DeLorme|year=2010|isbn=978-0-89933-289-5|edition=7th|location=Yarmouth, Maine|pages=55, 130&ndash;31}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|1.0|sqmi|km2|adj=on}}, of which {{convert|0.9|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} is land and {{convert|0.1|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} (12.38%) is water.<ref name="GR2" />

==Services==

Eek is serviced primarily by the [[Eek Airport]]. A second (former) airport east of the village is the current site of a cellular transmission tower, but the runway remains in marginally usable condition and is occasionally used by private aircraft. A town dock provides access to the Eek River, which feeds into the Kuskokwim providing access to most surrounding villages by boat. During winter months many residents utilize travel by snow machine and trails are laid out between the villages in the area. Trails from Eek run to Quinhagak to the south, Tuntutuliak to the west and the Bethel area to the north.

Airfare to the nearest large town, [[Bethel, Alaska|Bethel]], is expensive, running about $250 in 2020. This severely limits medical care and governmental access.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=January 7, 2020|title=Eek traditional council approves funds to bring DMV to town to issue Real IDs|url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/rural-alaska/2020/01/07/eek-traditional-council-approves-funds-to-bring-dmv-to-town-to-issue-real-ids/|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=Anchorage Daily News|language=en-US}}</ref>

Houses in Eek are not numbered, which makes gaining identification difficult for residents.<ref name=":0" />

==Education==
[[Lower Kuskokwim School District]] operates the Eek School, a bilingual PreK-12 school. {{As of|2018}} it has 120 students and six teachers.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Eek School Profile|url=https://education.alaska.gov/compass/ParentPortal/SchoolProfile?SchoolID=310090|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=education.alaska.gov}}</ref><ref>"[http://eek.lksd.org/about/eek_school Eek School]." Eek School. Retrieved on July 13, 2018.</ref> The Principal is Troy Poage and the school board President is Clarence Daniel. About $21,000 is spent per pupil.<ref name=":3" /> In 2020 the state awarded $34.4 million to create a new school in Eek to reduce severe classroom overcrowding, a result of a quickly growing population. It is expected to be finished in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 19, 2020|title=Overcrowded Alaska village schools take priority over erosion-threatened schools in state funding, superintendent says|url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/rural-alaska/2020/02/19/crowded-alaska-village-schools-take-priority-over-erosion-threatened-schools-in-state-funding-superintendent-says/|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=Anchorage Daily News|language=en-US}}</ref>

Two teachers at the Eek School, Paul and Eloise Forrer, compiled a large collection of photos of Eek and surrounding villages, as well as a film entitled ''The Children of Eek and their art''. Their work, dating mostly from the 1970s to 1990s, is held at the [[Anchorage Museum]].<ref>[https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/media/6020/b2015_017_guide.pdf Paul and Eloise Forrer Collection, 1966-2009] Reference code: AkAMH. [[Anchorage Museum]] at Rasmuson Center. Bob and Evangeline Atwood Alaska Resource Center</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1920= 119
|1930= 100
|1940= 170
|1950= 141
|1960= 200
|1970= 186
|1980= 228
|1990= 254
|2000= 280
|2010= 296
|2020= 404
|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|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
Eek Village was originally located on the Apokak River and moved to its present location in the late 1920s, after flooding and erosion caused the people to relocate.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=The History of Eek - ExploreNorth|url=http://www.explorenorth.com/library/communities/alaska/bl-Eek.htm|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=www.explorenorth.com}}</ref> In 1900 Census, the village was known as "Apokagamiut" and had 118 residents. by 1910, the number of residents declined to 68. Eek appeared on the 1920 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. In the 1930 Census, the village was enumerated in the Alaska Territory Fourth Judicial District, Bethel District, 0015. with 100 residents in 18 households.<ref name="GR2" /> It received a post office in 1949.<ref name=":4" /> It was formally incorporated in 1970.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

As of the census of 2000, there were 280 people, 76 households, and 57 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|307.2|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 83 housing units at an average density of {{convert|91.1|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The racial makeup of the city was 3.21% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 95.71% [[Race (United States Census)|Alaska Native]]/[[Yup'ik people|Yupik]], and 1.07% from two or more races. 0.36% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>

There were 76 households, out of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.68 and the average family size was 4.54.<ref name="GR2" />

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 41.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 14.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 120.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.1 males.<ref name="GR2" />

The median income for a household in the city was $17,500, and the median income for a family was $27,500. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $8,957. About 32.7% of families and 28.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 30.5% of those under the age of 18 and 10.0% of those 65 or over.<ref name="GR2" /> In 2020, more than three-quarters of the students at the Eek School were below the poverty line.<ref name=":3" />

In 2019 there were 474 residents.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Tiny Alaska community of Eek gets running water for 1st time|url=https://www.kinyradio.com/news/news-of-the-north/tiny-alaska-community-of-eek-gets-running-water-for-1st-time/|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=KINY|language=en}}</ref> 98% were Yup'ik Natives, 1% were white and 1% were Hispanic.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Eek School: About|url=http://eek.lksd.org/about/eek|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=eek.lksd.org|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Economy ==
Most households rely on traditional native [[Subsistence economy|subsistence]].<ref name=":2" />

== Infrastructure ==
Prior to 2019, the city did not have running water. Water was distributed by truck to households, at a cost of 25 cents per five gallons. In light of health concerns over the lack of running water, the [[Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium]] helped the city by providing a grant for piped running water, which was completed in 2019.<ref name=":1" />

The city has only one non-satellite internet provider, [[General Communication Inc.]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Internet Providers in Eek, AK & Cable/TV Companies|url=https://decisiondata.org/tv-internet-by-city/eek-ak-internet/|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=DecisionData|language=en-US}}</ref>

==References==
<references />

{{Coord|display=title|60.218662|-162.025928}}
{{Bethel Census Area, Alaska}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Alaska]]
[[Category:Cities in Bethel Census Area, Alaska]]