Our Communities

Ekuk

Current Population:	5 (2002 est. by State Demographer, DOL/WD)
Incorporation Type:	Unincorporated
Borough Located In:	Unorganized
School District:	Southwest Region Schools
Regional Native Corporation:	Bristol Bay Native Corporation
BBEDC Board Representitive:	Name: Robert Heyano
City Contact:	Phone: (907) 842-3842
Tribal Council Contact:	Phone: (907) 842-3842

Location:
Ekuk is located on the east coast of Nushagak Bay, 17 miles south of Dillingham. It is spread out for about 2 miles along a narrow gravel spit that extends from the Ekuk Bluffs in the shape of a hook. It lies at approximately 58.814986° North Latitude and -158.557684° West Longitude. (Sec. 12, T016S, R056W, Seward Meridian.) Ekuk is located in the Bristol Bay Recording District. The area encompasses 4.7 sq. miles of land and 0.0 sq. miles of water. Ekuk is in a climatic transition zone. The primary influence is maritime, although the arctic climate also affects the region. Average summer temperatures range from 37 to 66; winter temperatures range from 4 to 30. Annual precipitation is 20 to 26 inches. Fog and high winds are common during winter months. The Bay is ice-free from June through mid-November.

History:
The word Ekuk means "the last village down," reflecting that Ekuk is the farthest village south on the Nushagak Bay. The village is mentioned in Russian accounts of 1824 and 1828 as Village Ekouk and Seleniye Ikuk. It is thought that Ekuk was a major Eskimo village at one time. Russians employed Natives as guides for their boats as they navigated up Nushagak Bay to the trading post at Aleksandrovsk after 1818. Before the North Alaska Salmon Company opened a cannery at Ekuk in 1903, many residents had moved to the Moravian Mission at Carmel. In addition, numerous canneries sprang up during 1888 and 1889 on the east and west sides of the bay, which drew many residents away from the village. Ekuk had a school from 1958 to 1974. Today, the cannery watchman's family are the only year-round residents. In the summer, the village comes alive with cannery crews, commercial fishing and subsistence activities.

Culture:
Historically an Yup'ik Eskimo village, Ekuk is now used only as a summer commercial cannery and subsistence-use site. Many families have set net sites in Ekuk.

Economy:
The Wards Cove Packing Co. closed in 2002. During its peak, it employed 200 workers each summer, providing a market for about 80 commercial fishing boats and over 160 beach set net sites.

Facilities:
Funds have been requested to drill a community well; one resident has a well. As a seasonally-used area, there are no central facilities. A central electric system is not available. Ward's Cannery operates its own water and sewer system and electrical generator. Their water is drawn from a lake east of the village. A Master Plan is underway, and funds have been requested to construct a new landfill.

Transportation:
Air transport is the most frequent means of getting to Ekuk. Choggiung Limited owns a 1,200' dirt/gravel airstrip. Scheduled and charter flights are available from Dillingham during the summer months. The village has a small dock on the south side. Other private docks are in use. The cannery has two docks and a boat haul-out. Clark's Point, two miles north, can be reached by snowmachine during winter.

Climate:
Ekuk is in a climatic transition zone. The primary influence is maritime, although the arctic climate also affects the region. Average summer temperatures range from 37 to 66; winter temperatures range from 4 to 30. Annual precipitation is 20 to 26 inches. Fog and high winds are common during winter months. The Bay is ice-free from June through mid-November.