deering, alaska

Deering is a village located in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, on the Seward Peninsula, where the Inmachuk River meets the Kotzebue Sound. It is 92 km (57 miles) southwest of Kotzebue. The village was founded in 1901 as a supply station for gold miners, and incorporated as a second-class city in 1970. It also has a village council, organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. As of the 2000 census, the population of the village is 136. As of 2003, the village includes a community hall, a clinic run by the U.S. Public Health Service, a post office, a church, two stores, and a National Guard armory.

The village's namesake

The village was probably named after the "Abbie M. Deering", a schooner present in the area before and during the time that the village was established. Based on a first-hand account written by Captain James D. Winchester and published in 1900, the "Abbie M. Deering" was a vessel bought by a company of twenty men who wanted to sail to the "Alaskan Gold Fields" during the time of the Klondike Gold Rush. They left Lynn, Massachusetts in November 1897, passed through through the Straits of Magellan, and arrived at San Francisco, California five months later, where they sold the ship. Records kept by the Minerals Management Service of the Department of the Interior show the schooner did make it to Alaska, since it was lost in the Aleutian Islands in September 1903. Deering is located on Kotzebue Sound at the mouth of the Inmachuk River, 57 miles southwest of Kotzebue. It is built on a flat sand and gravel spit 300 feet wide and a half-mile long.

Culture

The population of the village is 200, primarily Iupiat Eskimo. The people are active in subsistence. The sale or importation of alcohol is banned in the village.

History

The village was established in 1901 as a supply station for interior gold mining near the historic Malemiut Eskimo village of "Inmachukmiut," the name Deering was probably taken from the 90-ton schooner "Abbey Deering," which was in nearby waters around 1900. The "Abbie M. Deering" is also mentioned by name in Kipling's 1897 novel Captains Courageous.

Geography

Deering is located at 66°4'33" North, 162°43'6" West (66.075713, -162.718229). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 13.6 km² (5.3 mi²). 13.3 km² (5.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.28% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 136 people, 42 households, and 28 families residing in the village. The population density is 10.2/km² (26.5/mi²). There are 61 housing units at an average density of 4.6/km² (11.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 93.38% Native American (Iupiat), 5.88% White, 0% Black or African American, 0% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 0% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 0% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 42 households out of which 40.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.4% are married couples living together, 33.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% are non-families. 23.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 2.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.24 and the average family size is 3.90. In the village the population is spread out with 39.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 27 years. For every 100 females there are 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 115.8 males. The median income for a household in the village is $33,333, and the median income for a family is $43,438. Males have a median income of $26,875 versus $25,625 for females. The per capita income for the village is $11,000. 5.8% of the population and none of the families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, none are under the age of 18 or of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

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