Editing Savoonga, Alaska

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Savoonga
|native_name              = {{native name|ess|Sivungaq}}
|settlement_type          = [[City (Alaska)|City]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    = <!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Savoonga, Alaska.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Savoonga in 2013
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               = <!-- Maps -->
|pushpin_map  = USA 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              = Myron Kingeekuk<ref>{{Cite book|title=2015 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory|location=Juneau|publisher=Alaska Municipal League|year=2015|page=139}}</ref>
|leader_title1            = [[Alaska Senate|State senator]]
|leader_name1             = [[Donny Olson|Donald 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 journal|title=Directory of Borough and City Officials 1974|journal=Alaska Local Government|volume=XIII|issue=2|page=71|location=Juneau|publisher=[[Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development|Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs]]|date=January 1974}}</ref>

<!-- Area -->
|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_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 15.21
|area_land_km2            = 15.21
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi         = 5.87
|area_land_sq_mi          = 5.87
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 835
|population_density_km2   = 54.91
|population_density_sq_mi = 142.20
|timezone                 = [[Alaska Time Zone|Alaska (AKST)]]
|utc_offset               = -9
|timezone_DST             = AKDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -8
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 0
|elevation_ft             = 0
|coordinates              = {{coord|63|41|48|N|170|27|39|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 99769
|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               = 02-67460
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = {{GNIS 4|1409106}}  
|website                  = 
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|unit_pref = Imperial
}}

'''Savoonga''' is a city in [[Nome Census Area, Alaska]], United States. It is located on [[St. Lawrence Island]] in the [[Bering Sea]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], Savoonga's population was 835, up from 671 in 2010.

Savoonga was incorporated in 1969. In 1971, it became joint owner of St. Lawrence Island along with the island's only other city, [[Gambell, Alaska|Gambell]].

The local economy consists largely of subsistence hunting for walrus, seals, fish, and [[bowhead whale]]s. The city calls itself the "Walrus Capital of the World". A [[dogsled mail]] service operated until 1963.

==History==
St. Lawrence Island has been inhabited sporadically for the past 2,000 years by both Alaskan [[Yup'ik]] and [[Siberian Yupik]] people. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the island had a population of about 4,000 in numerous villages.

Between 1878 and 1880, a famine devastated the island's population. Many who did not starve left. The remaining population of St. Lawrence Island was nearly all Siberian Yupik.

In 1900, [[reindeer]] were introduced on the island and by 1917, the herd had grown to over 10,000 animals. A reindeer camp was established near present-day Savoonga in 1916. The village of Savoonga was established near the camp in the 1930s. Good hunting and trapping in the area attracted more residents.

Gambell and Savoonga received joint title to most of the land on St. Lawrence Island under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.

==Geography==
Savoonga is on the northern coast of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. It is {{convert|63|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of Gambell.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|6.1|sqmi|km2}}, all of it land.

Most people on St. Lawrence Island speak [[Siberian Yupik language|Siberian Yupik]].

There are daily flights from [[Nome, Alaska|Nome]] to [[Savoonga Airport]], weather permitting.

===Climate===
Savoonga has a [[polar climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''ET'') with short, cool summers and long, freezing winters lasting from the beginning of October to the end of May. Average annual snowfall totals {{convert|68.6|in|m|2|disp=or}} with peak snowpack depth being {{convert|21|in|m|2|disp=or}} in April.<ref name="climate"/>{{Weather box|width=auto
| collapsed =
| location = [[Cape Northeast]], Alaska
| single line = Y
| Jan record high F = 48
| Feb record high F = 43
| Mar record high F = 48
| Apr record high F = 44
| May record high F = 53
| Jun record high F = 63
| Jul record high F = 68
| Aug record high F = 66
| Sep record high F = 57
| Oct record high F = 50
| Nov record high F = 42
| Dec record high F = 45
|year record high F = 
| Jan high F = 15.0
| Feb high F = 8.5
| Mar high F = 15.1
| Apr high F = 23.0
| May high F = 35.2
| Jun high F = 44.6
| Jul high F = 51.8
| Aug high F = 50.5
| Sep high F = 44.4
| Oct high F = 34.3
| Nov high F = 27.2
| Dec high F = 12.6
|year high F = 
|Jan mean F = 9.6
|Feb mean F = 2.7
|Mar mean F = 8.4
|Apr mean F = 16.6
|May mean F = 31.9
|Jun mean F = 39.8
|Jul mean F = 46.9
|Aug mean F = 46.9
|Sep mean F = 41.3
|Oct mean F = 31.5
|Nov mean F = 23.8
|Dec mean F = 8.3
|year mean F = 
| Jan low F = 4.1
| Feb low F = -3.2
| Mar low F = 1.7
| Apr low F = 10.1
| May low F = 26.5
| Jun low F = 34.9
| Jul low F = 42.1
| Aug low F = 43.4
| Sep low F = 38.1
| Oct low F = 28.6
| Nov low F = 20.3
| Dec low F = 3.9
|year low F = 
| Jan record low F = −27
| Feb record low F = −36
| Mar record low F = −32
| Apr record low F = −16
| May record low F = -4
| Jun record low F = 25
| Jul record low F = 32
| Aug record low F = 32
| Sep record low F = 24
| Oct record low F = 3
| Nov record low F = −9
| Dec record low F = −26
|year record low F =

| Jan precipitation inch = 1.03
| Feb precipitation inch = 0.85
| Mar precipitation inch = 1.08
| Apr precipitation inch = 0.83
| May precipitation inch = 0.61
| Jun precipitation inch = 0.57
| Jul precipitation inch = 1.19
| Aug precipitation inch = 3.14
| Sep precipitation inch = 2.94
| Oct precipitation inch = 2.90
| Nov precipitation inch = 1.57
| Dec precipitation inch = 0.60
|year precipitation inch =

|Jan snow inch = 9.0
|Feb snow inch = 8.4
|Mar snow inch = 9.9
|Apr snow inch = 7.9
|May snow inch = 3.2
|Jun snow inch = 0.3
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.7
|Oct snow inch = 9.4
|Nov snow inch = 12.3
|Dec snow inch = 7.5
|year snow inch = 68.6
|source 1 = WRCC <ref name="climate">[https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ak6566 Cape Northeast, Alaska - Period of Record : 7/1/1953 to 8/19/1969] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509005530/http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ak6566 |date=May 9, 2017 }}. Retrieved November 10, 2019.</ref>
|date=October 2019}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1930= 139
|1940= 209
|1950= 249
|1960= 299
|1970= 364
|1980= 491
|1990= 519
|2000= 643
|2010= 671
|2020= 835
|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>
}}
Savoonga first appeared on the 1930 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It formally incorporated in 1969.

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Savoonga city, Alaska – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Savoonga city, Alaska |url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=160XX00US0267460&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Savoonga city, Alaska |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US0267460&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Savoonga city, Alaska |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US0267460&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!{{partial|% 2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|28
|33
|style='background: #ffffe6; |18
|4.35%
|4.92%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.16%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.12%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|613
|634
|style='background: #ffffe6; |803
|95.33%
|94.49%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |96.17%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|1
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3
|0.16%
|0.15%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.36%
|-
|[[Native Hawaiian]] or [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Other race]] alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or Multiracial]] (NH)
|1
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5
|0.16%
|0.45%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.60%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.60%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''643'''
|'''671'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''835'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|}

===2000 census===
At the 2000 census, there were 643 people, 145 households, and 113 families residing in the city.<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> The population density was {{convert|105.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 160 housing units at an average density of {{convert|26.2|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 95.33% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 4.35% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 0.16% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], and 0.16% from other races.

Of the 145 households, 55.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. 16.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.43 and the average family size was 5.22.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 36.1% under the age of 18, 13.2% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 5.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,438, and the median income for a family was $27,917. Males had a median income of $30,500 versus $29,167 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $7,725. About 29.3% of families and 29.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 40.6% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

==Economy==
{{As of|2013}}, 25% of the adults in the community had no jobs. Of those who did, 37% worked for the school system. Other jobs involved air transportation, fishing, and the oil industry.<ref>{{cite web|author=Garland, Sarah|url=http://hechingerreport.org/in-remote-alaskan-villages-teachers-struggle-to-make-school-meaningful/ |title=In remote Alaskan villages, teachers struggle to make school meaningful |publisher=[[The Hechinger Report]] |date=March 1, 2013 |access-date=February 14, 2017}} - [https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/02/in-remote-alaskan-villages-teachers-struggle-to-make-school-meaningful/273596/ Also published in] ''[[The Atlantic]]''</ref>

==Education==
Savoonga is served by the [[Bering Strait School District]]. [[Hogarth Kingeekuk Memorial School]] serves grades Pre-K through 12.

==Notable people==
*[[Annie Aghnaqa (Akeya) Alowa]] (1924–1999), [[Siberian Yupik|Yup'ik]] environmental activist, healer, leader

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/26/AR2005042601144.html Article by Gene Weingarten discussing alcoholism and suicide among Savoongans]
*[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/extremeice/thinice.html 'On Thin Ice in the Bering Sea'] (NOVA 2009 videos; Quicktime or Win Media)

{{Nome Census Area, Alaska}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Alaska]]
[[Category:Cities in Nome Census Area, Alaska]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Siberian Yupik]]
[[Category:St. Lawrence Island]]