Barrow

Barrow /ˈbæroʊ/ is the largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska and is located above the Arctic Circle. It is the 11th northernmost public community in the world and is the northernmost city in the United States, with nearby Point Barrow being the nation's northernmost point.

Barrow's population was 4,683 at the 2000 census and 4,212 at the 2010 census. In July 2013, the population estimate was 4,373.

History

Etymology

The city's name is derived from Point Barrow, which was named after Sir John Barrow of the British Admiralty by Frederick William Beechey in 1825. The location has been home to the Iñupiat, an indigenous Inuit ethnic group, for over 1500 years and is called Ukpeagvik, or "place where snowy owls are hunted", in the Iñupiaq language.

Prehistory to the 20th century

Archaeological sites in the area indicate the Iñupiat lived around Barrow as far back as AD 500. Remains of 16 sod dwelling mounds from the Birnirk culture of about AD 800 still exist today on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Their position on a slight rise above the high-water mark places them in danger of being lost to erosion within a short time.

Dr. Bill Streever, who chairs the North Slope Science Initiative's Science Technical Advisory Panel, writes in his 2009 book Cold: Adventures in the World’s Frozen Places:

Barrow, like most communities in Alaska, looks temporary, like a pioneer settlement. It is not. Barrow is among the oldest permanent settlements in the United States. Hundreds of years before the European Arctic explorers showed up, starving and freezing and succumbing to hardship, Barrow was more or less where it is now, a natural hunting place at the base of a peninsula that pokes out into the Beaufort Sea. ... Yankee whalers sailed here, learning about the bowhead whale from Iñupiat hunters ... Later, the military came, setting up a radar station, and in 1947 a science center was founded at Barrow.

British Royal Navy officers came to the area to explore and map the Arctic coastline of North America. The United States Army established a meteorological and magnetic research station at Barrow in 1881. The Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Station was established in 1893.

In 1888, a Presbyterian church was built at Barrow, and in 1889 a whaling supply and rescue station was built, which is now the oldest wood-frame building in Barrow.

20th century to the present

In 1901, a United States Post Office was opened.

In 1935, the famous humorist Will Rogers and pilot Wiley Post made an unplanned stop at Walakpa Bay 15 mi (24 km) south of Barrow while en route to Barrow. As they took off again, their plane stalled and plunged into a river, killing them both. Two memorials have been erected at the location, now called the Rogers-Post Site. Another memorial is located in Barrow, where the airport has been renamed the Wiley Post–Will Rogers Memorial Airport.

The indigenous people are primarily Iñupiat. In 1940, they organized as the Native Village of Barrow Iñupiat Traditional Government (previously, Native Village of Barrow), which is a federally recognized Alaska Native Iñupiat "tribal entity", as listed by the US Bureau of Indian Affairs circa 2003. They wrote a constitution and by-laws, under the provisions of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934. An IRA corporation was also created.

Barrow was incorporated as a 1st Class City in 1958.

Residents of the North Slope were the only Native people to vote on acceptance of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and rejected it. The Act was passed in December 1971 and, despite their opposition, became law. The Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) is the for-profit village corporation mandated by the Act.

In 1972, the North Slope Borough was established. With millions of dollars in new revenues from the settlement and later oil revenues, the borough has created sanitation facilities, water and electrical utilities, roads, fire departments, and health and educational services in Barrow and the villages of the North Slope.

In 1986, the North Slope Borough created the North Slope Higher Education Center. Renamed Ilisagvik College, it is an accredited two-year college providing education based on the Iñupiat culture and the needs of the North Slope Borough.

The Tuzzy Consortium Library, in the Iñupiat Heritage Center, serves the communities of the North Slope Borough and functions as the academic library for Ilisagvik College. The library was named after Evelyn Tuzroyluk Higbee, an important leader in the community.

Barrow, like many communities in Alaska, has enacted a "damp" law prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages. It allows for import, possession and consumption.

In 1988, Barrow became the center of worldwide media attention when three California gray whales became trapped in the ice offshore. After a two-week rescue effort (Operation Breakthrough), two of the whales were freed by a Soviet icebreaker. Journalist Tom Rose details the rescue, and the media frenzy which accompanied it, in his 1989 book Freeing The Whales. The movie Big Miracle is based on the rescue and was released on February 3, 2012.

Geography

Barrow is the only U.S. city on the continent of North America with an antipodal point on uninhabited dry land (in Antarctica, at 71°17′44″S 23°14′1″E / 71.29556°S 23.23361°E / -71.29556; 23.23361 (Barrow (antip))). Barrow is roughly 1,300 miles (2,100 km) south of the North Pole. Only 5.3% of the Earth's surface lies as far from the Equator as Barrow.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21 sq mi (54 km2), 18 sq mi (47 km2) of the area being land and 3 sq mi (8 km2) being water. Water makes up 14% of the total area. The predominant land type in Barrow is tundra, which is formed over a permafrost layer that is as much as 1,300 feet (400 m) in depth.

Barrow is surrounded by the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska.

The city of Barrow has three sections, which can be classified as south, central, and north, and are known to residents as Barrow, Browerville, and NARL, respectively.

• The southernmost of the sections, known locally as the "Barrow side", is the oldest and second largest of the three; it serves as downtown. This area includes Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport, Barrow High School, North Slope Borough School District, Fred Ipalook Elementary School, as well as restaurants, hotels, the police station, the Barrow City Hall, a Wells Fargo bank, and numerous houses.

• The Central section is the largest of the three, and is called Browerville. This has traditionally been a residential area for the city of Barrow, but in recent years many businesses have opened or moved to this area. Browerville is separated from the south section by a series of lagoons, with two connecting dirt roads. This area, in addition to the houses, includes Tuzzy Consortium Library, the US Post Office, Eben Hopson Middle School, Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital, the Iñupiat Heritage Center, two grocery stores, one hotel and two restaurants.
• The north section is the smallest and most isolated of the three sections, known to the residents as NARL because it was originally the site of the Naval Arctic Research Lab. It is connected to the central section only by Stevenson Street, a two-lane dirt road. What once was NARL is now Ilisagvik College. This area also includes a small broadcasting station, which is run by the college students.

Arts and culture

Special events

• Kivgiq, The Messenger Feast. In more recent times this has been held almost every year, but "officially" is held every two or three years in late January or early February, and is called at the discretion of the North Slope Borough Mayor. Kivgiq is an international event which attracts visitors from around the Arctic Circle.
• Piuraagiaqta, The Spring Festival which celebrates breaking a path in the ice for boats to hunt whales. Held in mid-April and includes many outdoor activities.
• Nalukataq, The Blanket Toss Celebration. Held on multiple days beginning in the third week of June to celebrate each successful spring whale hunt.
• July 4, Independence Day. In Barrow this is time for Eskimo games, such as the two-foot high kick and ear pull, with the winners going on to compete at the World Eskimo Indian Olympics.
• Whaling. Generally happens during the second week of October.
• Qitik, Eskimo Games. Also known as Christmas Games, are from December 26 through January 1.

Depictions in popular culture

Barrow is the setting for a series of horror comic books titled 30 Days of Night. The stories center on vampires who take advantage of month-long annual polar night in the town to openly kill and feed at will, massacring most of the townspeople. A commercially successful film, named after and based upon the comic, was released on October 19, 2007, followed by a straight-to-video sequel on July 23, 2010.

Karl Pilkington is sent to Barrow in the second season of An Idiot Abroad.

On the Ice, a film released in 2011 about teenagers dealing with a tragic accidental death, was entirely filmed in Barrow with locals acting in most roles.

Big Miracle, a 2012 film, stars Drew Barrymore, is based on the true story of whales trapped under ice near Point Barrow, and features scenes in and characters from Barrow.

The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode "T.R.A.C.K.S." has Phil Coulson threaten Ward with a transfer to Barrow to guard Emil Blonsky's cryo-cell.

Stephen Fry visited the town and its people during the last segment of his documentary, "Stephen Fry in America."

In 2015, the NFL Network began an 8 part documentary series focusing on the Barrow Whalers football team.