AKAUCHAK/KAUłIQ
The place known today as Council is also known in Inupiaq as Akauchak or Kaułiq. Council is a portion of the Tribe’s traditional territory, where Inupiaq lifeways included sites for villages, homes, camps, fishing, hunting, gathering, graves, and seasonal homes as people migrated with the fish and animals.
The Native Village of Council (NVC) is a federally recognized tribe of Inupiat peoples who originated in the Niukluk River and Fish River. The original inhabitants of this area were a blend of Iġałuiŋmiut, Ayasaaġiaġmiut, and Iġniqtaġmiut peoples—Inupiat from the Fish River and surrounding areas.
The place known today as Council is also known in Inupiaq as Akauchak[1] or Kaułiq. Council is a portion of the Tribe’s traditional territory, where Inupiaq lifeways included sites for villages, homes, camps, fishing, hunting, gathering, graves, and seasonal homes as people migrated with the fish and animals. Today, tribal territory is in and around Council, up and down the Niukluk River.
Descendants remained rooted in the Niukluk River and neighboring areas throughout the 1800s while settlers came to the region. In 1897, gold discovery resulted in a rush of mining prospectors. From 1897 to 1899, Council City’s mixed population of Inupiat peoples, their kin, and settlers was estimated to be 15,000. Council City had modern facilities such as lodging, a post office, and a twenty-bed hospital.
In 1900, many gold prospectors migrated out of Council to Nome. By 1910, the population of Council City was 686. Other factors contributing to the outmigration of settlers were the flu epidemic of 1918, the United States’ economic depression, and World War II. According to the 1950 Census[2], 36 people resided in Council/Council Village. Still, NVC families remained rooted, maintaining year-round homes in Council and Ophir Creek through the 1980s, and continued to welcome their kin traveling from other villages along the Fish River.
In the 1990s, with the support of Kawerak and neighboring Fish River tribes, the descendants of Niukluk River peoples and their kin gained federal recognition as the Native Village of Council (NVC). Today, NVC tribal members live in Nome, neighboring villages along the Fish River, throughout the state of Alaska, and outside Alaska.
Today, Council has summer camps owned by tribal and nontribal peoples who utilize lands in and around Council, the Niukluk River, and the Fish River for subsistence, cultural connection, recreation, and camping.
Council is connected by the 73-mile gravel Nome/Council road. There is a state-owned 3,000′ long by 60′ wide gravel airstrip, which is not maintained in the winter. Snowmachines are the main means of transportation during the winter.
Written with thanks to our ancestors, grandparents, neighbors, and special thanks to co-author Ukallaysaaq Okleasik, Northwest Planning, LLC.
[1] Kawerak, Inc, retrieved from Council – Kawerak, accessed December 8, 2022.
[2] National Archives, 1950 Census, Enumeration District 2-5A, Alaska Second Judicial Division, retrieved from Search | 1950 Census (archives.gov), accessed December 8, 2022.
The Native Village of Council (NVC) is a federally recognized tribe of Inupiat peoples who originated in the Niukluk River and Fish River. The original inhabitants of this area were a blend of Iġałuiŋmiut, Ayasaaġiaġmiut, and Iġniqtaġmiut peoples—Inupiat from the Fish River and surrounding areas.
The place known today as Council is also known in Inupiaq as Akauchak[1] or Kaułiq. Council is a portion of the Tribe’s traditional territory, where Inupiaq lifeways included sites for villages, homes, camps, fishing, hunting, gathering, graves, and seasonal homes as people migrated with the fish and animals. Today, tribal territory is in and around Council, up and down the Niukluk River.
Descendants remained rooted in the Niukluk River and neighboring areas throughout the 1800s while settlers came to the region. In 1897, gold discovery resulted in a rush of mining prospectors. From 1897 to 1899, Council City’s mixed population of Inupiat peoples, their kin, and settlers was estimated to be 15,000. Council City had modern facilities such as lodging, a post office, and a twenty-bed hospital.
In 1900, many gold prospectors migrated out of Council to Nome. By 1910, the population of Council City was 686. Other factors contributing to the outmigration of settlers were the flu epidemic of 1918, the United States’ economic depression, and World War II. According to the 1950 Census[2], 36 people resided in Council/Council Village. Still, NVC families remained rooted, maintaining year-round homes in Council and Ophir Creek through the 1980s, and continued to welcome their kin traveling from other villages along the Fish River.
In the 1990s, with the support of Kawerak and neighboring Fish River tribes, the descendants of Niukluk River peoples and their kin gained federal recognition as the Native Village of Council (NVC). Today, NVC tribal members live in Nome, neighboring villages along the Fish River, throughout the state of Alaska, and outside Alaska.
Today, Council has summer camps owned by tribal and nontribal peoples who utilize lands in and around Council, the Niukluk River, and the Fish River for subsistence, cultural connection, recreation, and camping.
Council is connected by the 73-mile gravel Nome/Council road. There is a state-owned 3,000′ long by 60′ wide gravel airstrip, which is not maintained in the winter. Snowmachines are the main means of transportation during the winter.
Written with thanks to our ancestors, grandparents, neighbors, and special thanks to co-author Ukallaysaaq Okleasik, Northwest Planning, LLC.
[1] Kawerak, Inc, retrieved from Council – Kawerak, accessed December 8, 2022.
[2] National Archives, 1950 Census, Enumeration District 2-5A, Alaska Second Judicial Division, retrieved from Search | 1950 Census (archives.gov), accessed December 8, 2022.