Editing Shungnak, Alaska

{{short description|City in Alaska, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Shungnak
|native_name            = Isiŋnaq / Nuurviuraq
     
| native_name_lang        = ik
|settlement_type          = [[City (Alaska)|City]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    = <!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Shungnak, Alaska fall aerial view (cropped).jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Aerial view of Shungnak in the fall
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               = <!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = Northwest Arctic Borough Alaska incorporated and unincorporated areas Shungnak highlighted.svg
|mapsize           = 260px
|map_caption              = Location in [[Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska|Northwest Arctic Borough]] and the state of [[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|Borough]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska|Northwest Arctic]]
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name              = Melvin Lee<ref>{{Cite book|title=2015 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory|location=Juneau|publisher=Alaska Municipal League|year=2015|page=148}}</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             = [[Robyn Burke]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
|established_title        = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
|established_date         = May 4, 1967<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=143}}</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           = 23.26
|area_land_km2            = 20.85
|area_water_km2           = 2.41
|area_total_sq_mi         = 8.98
|area_land_sq_mi          = 8.05
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.93

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 272
|population_density_km2   = 13.04
|population_density_sq_mi = 33.78
|timezone                 = [[Alaska Time Zone|Alaska (AKST)]]
|utc_offset               = -9
|timezone_DST             = AKDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -8
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 44
|elevation_ft             = 144
|coordinates              = {{coord|66|53|9|N|157|8|15|W|region:US-AK|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 99773
|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               = 02-70100
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = {{GNIS 4|1413983}}  
|website                  = 
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|unit_pref = Imperial
}}
'''Shungnak''' ({{langx|ik|Isiŋnaq}} or {{lang|ik|Nuurviuraq}}) is a city in [[Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska]], United States. At the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]] the population was 262, up from 256 in 2000.

==History==
Shungnak originally was settled in 1899, approximately 10 miles to the east along the Kobuk River.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rr9RAQAAMAAJ&q=kobuk&pg=PA49 |title = Geological Survey Professional Paper|year = 1949}}</ref> The name "Shungnak" is derived from [[Iñupiaq language|Iñupiaq]] term ''Isiŋnaq'' which means jade, a stone found in the surrounding area.<ref>[http://nwarctic.org/shungnak.html NWArctic<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817101450/http://www.nwarctic.org/shungnak.html |date=August 17, 2007 }}</ref> In the 1920s, erosion along the river caused many residents to abandon the old townsite. In 1927, they resettled at a site originally known as "Kochuk." Residents decided to rename Kochuk as the new Shungnak. At the old Shungnak village, some residents chose to remain. To avoid confusion between the two villages, Old Shungnak became [[Kobuk, Alaska|Kobuk]] in 1928.

Shungnak officially incorporated in 1967.

==Geography==
Shungnak is located at {{coord|66.885846|-157.137458|type:city_region:US|format=dms|display=inline}} <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|9.6|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|8.4|sqmi|km2}} is land and {{convert|1.3|sqmi|km2}} of it (13.10%) is water.

The town is located about 150 miles east of [[Kotzebue, Alaska|Kotzebue]].<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.beringsea.com/communities/index.php?community=336 |title=Archived copy |accessdate=June 9, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927025907/http://www.beringsea.com/communities/index.php?community=336 |archivedate=September 27, 2007 }}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1930= 145
|1940= 193
|1950= 141
|1960= 135
|1970= 165
|1980= 202
|1990= 223
|2000= 256
|2010= 262
|2020= 272
|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>
}}
The present Shungnak first appeared on the 1930 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. The Shungnak listed on the 1910 and 1920 censuses was for the Old Shungnak, which became Kobuk in 1928. This Shungnak has reported on every census since 1930. It was formally incorporated as a city in 1967.

As of the [[census]]<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> of 2000, there were 256 people, 56 households, and 51 families residing in the city.  The population density was {{convert|30.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 64 housing units at an average density of {{convert|7.7|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the city was 5.47% [[Race (United States Census)|White]] and 94.53% [[Race (United States Census)|Alaska Native]].

Of those 56 households, 66.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 8.9% were non-families. In addition, 7.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 4.57 and the average family size was 4.53.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 48.4% under the age of 18; 8.6% from 18 to 24; 23.8% from 25 to 44; 12.9% from 45 to 64; and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 19 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,375, and the median income for a family was $41,000. Males had a median income of $25,750 versus $33,750 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $10,377.  About 21.7% of families and 35.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 46.2% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.

==Economics==
Shungnak has a “mixed economy” in which market, subsistence, and public sectors all contribute to individual well-being.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goldsmith |first=Scott |url=http://www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu/Publications/u_ak/uak_remoteruraleconomyak.pdf |title=The Remote Rural Economy of Alaska |publisher=Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska |year=2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Holen |first=Davin |title=Economy of the North 2015 |last2=Gerkey |first2=Drew |last3=Høydahl |first3=Even |last4=Natcher |first4=David |last5=Nielsen |first5=Martin Reinhardt |last6=Severeide |first6=Paul Ingel |last7=Snyder |first7=Hunter T. |last8=Stapleton |first8=Mary |last9=Turi |first9=Ellen Inga |publisher=Statistics Norway |year=2017 |isbn=978-82-537-9509-6 |editor-last=Glomsrød |editor-first=Solveig |location=Oslo–Kongsvinger |pages=89–136 |chapter=Interdependency of Subsistence and Market Economies in the Arctic |editor-last2=Duhaime |editor-first2=Gérard |editor-last3=Aslaksen |editor-first3=Iulie}}</ref> The most comprehensive community economy data come from household surveys by the Division of Subsistence in the [[Alaska Department of Fish and Game]] (ADF&G). The Division administered a comprehensive socio-economic survey to 46 of 69 Shungnak households (66.7%) in 2013.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Braem |first=Nicole M. |url=http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/techpap/TP%20402.pdf |title=Wild Food Harvests in 3 Upper Kobuk River Communities: Ambler, Shungnak, and Kobuk, 2012-2013 |last2=Mikow |first2=Elizabeth H. |last3=Wilson |first3=Seth J. |last4=Kostick |first4=Marylynne L. |publisher=ADF&G Division of Subsistence. |year=2015 |location=Anchorage, Alaska}}</ref> For the calendar year 2012, ADF&G estimated a total community income of $4.1 million, with a median household income of $50,091. Estimated per capita income in 2012 was $15,009. Earned income contributed an estimated 71% of the total, including income from local government (26.7%), services (22.0%), and mining (11.3%). Other (unearned) income contributed an estimated 28.7% of the total, including Native corporation dividends (6.7%), food stamps (5.6%), and the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (4.9%). For comparison, in 2021 the American Community Survey estimated the five-year median household income in Shungnak to be $60,938 (±$8,736).<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates |url=https://data.census.gov/all?q=Shungnak+city,+Alaska&t=Income+and+Earnings |access-date=January 10, 2023 |website=2021 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates}}</ref>

For calendar year 2012, the ADF&G survey estimated that Shungnak residents harvested 100,872&nbsp;lb (±30%) of wild food, or about 368&nbsp;lb per person. The top five wild foods by estimated edible weight were caribou (53,802&nbsp;lb, 53% of the total), sheefish (17,334&nbsp;lb, 17%), chum salmon (14,747&nbsp;lb, 15%), broad whitefish (2,842&nbsp;lb, 3%), and moose (2,421&nbsp;lb, 2%). All of surveyed households reported harvesting at least one kind of wild food for personal or family consumption. On average, households reported harvesting 7 and using 13 kinds of wildlife foods (the most reported by a single household was 27 kinds of wild food).

The ADF&G survey included questions intended to assess households’ [[food security]]. During the 2012 study year, an estimated 86% of Shungnak Households were identified as being food secure. Of the remaining households, 7% exhibited low food security, and 7% had very low food security. The percentage of food-secure households in Shungnak was about the same as in the United States overall, and slightly lower than in the State of Alaska overall (88%). However, the percentage of households in Shungnak reporting “very low” food security was higher in Shungnak (7%) than in the nation (6%) or in the State of Alaska (4%).

The Division of Subsistence administered a similar comprehensive survey in Shungnak in 2003.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Magdanz |first=James S |url=http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/techpap/tp279.pdf |title=The subsistence harvests of wild foods by residents of Shungnak, Alaska, 2002 |last2=Walker |first2=Robert J. |last3=Paciorek |first3=Ronald R. |publisher=ADF&G Division of Subsistence |year=2004 |location=Anchorage, Alaska}}</ref>

==Facilities==
The Shungnak School, operated by the [[Northwest Arctic Borough School District]], serves the community. {{As of|2017}} it had 7 teachers and 86 students, with [[Alaska Natives]] making up 95% of the student body.<ref>[http://www.nwarctic.org/Domain/17 Home]. Shungnak School. Retrieved on March 26, 2017.</ref>

The source of municipal water is from a reservoir intermittently filled from the Kobuk River.  Previously, there was a water [[infiltration gallery]] that was destroyed by ice.  Groundwater wells have proven unsuccessful.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

The town has [[Shungnak Airport|a 4,001-ft gravel runway]] owned by the state of Alaska.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAA Digital-Chart Supplements |url=https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/Digital_Products/dafd/ |access-date=January 6, 2023 }}</ref> In the summer of 2006, only part of a fuel shipment was able to be delivered by barge and the remainder of the town's fuel needs had to be supplied by air.  This resulted in the price of gasoline rising to $8.10 per gallon at the town's only filling station in 2006–07.

A hybrid [[Solar power in the United States|solar]]-plus-storage [[microgrid]], funded by the [[United States Department of Agriculture|U.S. Department of Agriculture]] and the [[Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska|Northwest Arctic Borough]], supplements [[Diesel generator|diesel power generation]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Engel |first=John |date=April 19, 2022 |title=Microgrid offsets diesel to power a rural Alaskan village |url=https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/solar/microgrid-offsets-diesel-to-power-a-rural-alaskan-village/ |access-date=August 10, 2022 |website=Renewable Energy World |language=en-US}}</ref> The hybrid solar-plus-storage microgrid utilizes 384 kWh total capacity of energy storage solution and 225&nbsp;kW solar array.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shungnak Community Microgrid Case Study |url=https://www.blueplanetenergy.com/post/solar-storage-replaces-diesel-in-remote-alaskan-village |access-date=June 15, 2023 |website=www.blueplanetenergy.com}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://library.state.ak.us/asp/edocs/2007/04/ocn123495361.pdf Subsistence wildlife harvests in five northwest Alaska communities, 2001-2003: results of a household survey / by Kawerak, Inc., Maniilaq Association, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game; by Susan Georgette ''et al.''] Hosted by [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012120420/http://library.state.ak.us/asp/ Alaska State Publications Program].

{{Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Alaska]]
[[Category:Cities in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska]]
[[Category:Populated places of the Arctic United States]]