Travel Guide Koyuk

This Inupiat village of about 300 souls is located at the mouth of the Koyuk River northeast of Norton Sound, 145 km as the crow flies from Nome. Human traces date back 6,000 to 8,000 years, but its location was recorded in 1842 by Lavrenti Zagoskine, a Russian naval officer. The village was then home to nomadic populations. From 1900, Koyuk is gradually populated, easily supplied by the sea. A school opens in 1915, attached to the church. Today, the local economy revolves around the sea: whaling, fishing and some commercial activities based on the latter. The import and sale of alcohol is forbidden here.