Ukivok is a historic Iñupiat village on Uġiuvak Island, also known as King Island, situated in the Bering Sea, approximately 86 miles (138 km) west-northwest of Nome and 45 miles (73 km) south of Wales, Alaska. The island spans about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) across, with steep slopes on all sides and a distinctive double-peaked summit. Captain James Cook named the island in 1778 after Lieutenant James King, a member of Cook’s third voyage of discovery. The northern shelf of the Bering Sea is formed by the York terrane. The basement rocks are likely of Precambrian and Paleozoic age. Overlying this basement are mainly Cenozoic sedimentary rocks, about 4 miles (6.5 km) thick, originally deposited in a marine environment. During the Late Cretaceous, these sediments were intruded by plutons. The remnants of these igneous intrusions include islands offshore of the Seward Peninsula, such as King Island, Sledge Island near Nome, Fairway Rock, and Little Diomede. King Island is a small pluton composed of biotite–hornblende quartz monzonites, likely formed between 112 and 85 million years ago. During the Pleistocene, several glacial episodes affected the northern Bering Sea. Large polar ice sheets covered North America and Europe, freezing enough of Earth’s water to significantly lower sea levels. This exposure of many interglacial shallow sea floors included those of the Bering and Chukchi Seas. At certain prehistoric times, the sea level drop created a land bridge up to 620 miles (1,000 km) wide, enabling human migrations between Asia and North America. Biogeographical evidence indicates several genetic connections linked to these episodes.

King Islanders have inhabited the island for 1,000 to 2,000 years. Oral histories suggest that two other villages existed there in prehistoric times. The inhabitants engaged in subsistence hunting and gathering on the island and the mainland near Cape Woolley. Activities included hunting seals and walruses, crab fishing, and collecting bird eggs. King Island is an ideal location for hunting Pacific walrus herds during their spring and fall migrations through the Bering Sea. Walruses provided meat, blubber, waterproof gear, rope, and skins for umiaks (an open skin-covered boat). Most harvested resources came from umiaq crews, so good access to walruses was crucial for a healthy economy and population. The abundance of game likely offset the island’s living hardships. Before European contact, about 200 people lived in houses built from rock, sod, and driftwood. In the late 1800s, they transitioned to homes with walrus-skin walls over wooden frames, insulated with moss and grass. The split walrus hide was stretched around the building to protect it against the elements and secured with straps. Later, wooden frame homes were constructed. Both styles were perched on stilts anchored to the slope with braided walrus hide. Ukivok is among the few Arctic villages with stilt houses in an environment where wood is scarce. Early photographs of the village show the stilt houses and skin-drying racks with numerous poles, giving the impression that these structures hung from the cliff. Historical documents and early accounts indicate that stilt architecture was a later development in what is known to be at least a thousand years of occupation on King Island. Stilt houses replaced semi-subterranean barabaras located on the flatter terrain at the island’s summit and became widespread in response to an increase in driftwood logs appearing off the island during the 19th century. This was when steel tools and building skills arrived with whalers and missionaries.

Before the introduction of commercial lumber, King Islanders relied on driftwood and timber from the Alaska mainland, as well as logs drifting past the island. The driftwood in the Bering Sea primarily originates from the Yukon River drainage basin, Alaska’s largest wood-producing area. Drift logs collected on King Island in 1939 likely came from the Yukon Flats and areas near the tree line, probably along the lower Yukon River. Over the last 150 years of village occupation, there was a shift from using only driftwood to incorporating commercial lumber. By the 19th century, lumber and planks were likely traded by Russian explorers and whalers who stopped at King Island en route north. In the early 20th century, tools were more commonly reported as prime trading items than wood. Commercial lumber began to be systematically imported to the island in the first two decades, with large imports starting after 1940. In 1959, the Bureau of Indian Affairs closed the village school, built in 1929, which led to all school-age students being moved to a boarding school in Nome. This triggered the gradual relocation of King Islanders to Nome and other Alaskan mainland villages. The island’s population fell from 120 in 1959 to 35 in 1962, and to only 9 year-round residents by 1966. In 1960, Father Bernard Hubbard, “the Glacier Priest”, lived on King Island to learn about the Iñupiat and to test theories about human migration to North America. Hubbard was an American geologist and explorer who popularized the Alaskan wilderness in American media during the middle of the 20th century. He was a Jesuit priest, head of the Department of Geology at the University of Santa Clara, California. A documentary film was made of his sojourn and can be seen here. By 1967, the village was largely abandoned, save for limited seasonal use by walrus hunters. Read more here and here. Explore more of Ukivok and King Island here: