Mekoryuk, Alaska
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Mekoryuk is a city located in Bethel Census Area, Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 210.
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Geography
Mekoryuk is located at 60°23'21" North, 166°12'25" West (60.389278, -166.207082)Template:GR.
Mekoryuk is at the mouth of Shoal Bay on the north shore of Nunivak Island in the Bering Sea. The Island lies 48 km (30 miles) west of the Alaska coast.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.1 km² (7.4 mi²). 19.1 km² (7.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.14% is water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 210 people, 73 households, and 48 families residing in the city. The population density is 11.0/km² (28.5/mi²). There are 96 housing units at an average density of 5.0/km² (13.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 3.33% White, 0.00% Black or African American, 90.48% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 6.19% from two or more races. 0.48% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 73 households out of which 31.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% are married couples living together, 15.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% are non-families. 32.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 2.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.88 and the average family size is 3.77.
In the city the population is spread out with 32.4% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 116.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 136.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $30,833, and the median income for a family is $33,750. Males have a median income of $25,417 versus $11,667 for females. The per capita income for the city is $11,958. 21.9% of the population and 13.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 36.7% of those under the age of 18 and 15.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
Nunivak Island has been inhabited since for 2,000 years by the Nuniwarmiut, or Cup'ik, people.
The first contact with Europeans was in 1821 by explorers from the Russian-American Company. They recorded 400 people living in 16 villages on the Nunivak Island.
After the Alaska Purchase, Ivan Petroff recorded 702 Yup'ik in 9 villages, including 117 people at "Koot," which occupied the site of present-day Mekoryuk. An epidemic in 1900 left only four surviving families in the village.
In the 1930s, the Evangelical Covenant Church was built at Mekoryuk, followed by a school in 1939. People moved to the village from other areas of the island to be near the school. Reindeer herding was introducedin 1920 by an Eskimo-Russian trader. The operation was purchased by the United States government in the 1940s and a slaughterhouse was built in 1945. The reindeer were crossed with caribou from Denali Park. The resulting animals were larger and less tame than other reindeer. 34 musk ox from Greenland were transferred to the Nunivak Island in 1934 in an effort to save the species from extinction. Today, the musk-ox herd numbers around 500, and calves from this herd have been relocated and introduced to other areas of Alaska.
In the early 1900s, Mekoryuk became the only permanent population center on the island. Until the 1940s, the traditional lifestyle and traditional ceremonies and religious beliefs were practiced.
The 1950s and 1960s brought considerable change. An airstrip was built in 1957. The Territorial Guard was formed and men were sent to Fort Richardson near Anchoraage for training. During this time, many families moved to Bethel during the winter to be near the high school, returning in the spring for fishing and sea mammal hunting. A high school was constructed in Mekoryuk in 1978.