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The
People Then
The ancestral Inupiat crossed the Bering Land Bridge
from Siberia during the period many thousands of years
ago when the sea level was much lower than it is now.
Some of the early migrants continued their journeys
on to the east and south. Those who remained in the
region gradually established camps, small villages,
and trading routes. They were skilled hunters and gatherers,
subsisting on whale, fish, caribou, and moose, supplementing
their diet with the berry and root plants native to
this region. They survived the challenges of the Arctic
climate and thrived because of a culture of cooperation
and sharing.
The
coastal and inland Eskimo of Northwest Alaska had established
a trade system hundreds of years prior to "discovery"
by Russian explorers in 1732. By 1778, the English explorer
Captain Cook had sailed the coast and charted some of
the coastal areas in Northwest Alaska. In the 1800s,
exploration by outsiders began in earnest.
One
of the early explorers for the Russian government was
Lt. Otto Von Kotzebue, who "discovered" Kotzebue
Sound in 1816. Many of the names in the region like
Chamisso Islands, Kotzebue Sound, Goodhope River, Cape
Deceit, and Spafareif Bay, remain from the extensive
surveys conducted by Kotzebue's crew.
After
the purchase of Alaska in 1863 by the United States,
several government expeditions were organized to explore
the interior lands of Northwest Alaska. The discovery
of gold near the end of the 19th century led to an influx
of prospectors pursuing dreams of gold and wealth. Although
some small gold claims were located and developed in
the region, it was a harsh existence for a miner and
only a few stayed. Those who stayed usually married
into Native families.
Few
newcomers to this ancient land come equipped with the
traits of the original inhabitants-traits essential
to enduring this unique environment. Today, the land
remains sparsely populated. Those who have endured are
primarily the descendants of the First People.
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