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Kobuk Valley National Park
History & Culture
 

Kobuk Valley National Park is home to the famous Onion Portage archeological site (NHL) but more importantly the cradle of the Arctic Woodland Culture defined by pioneering archeologist J. Louis Giddings

Recent archeological work conducted by NPS archeologists have found evidence of human usage of the Kobuk Sand Dunes Complex, settlements along the main course of the Kobuk River, and most recently a temporary camp high in a mountain pass between the Kobuk and Noatak valleys.

The Cultural Resources program at Kobuk Valley National Park documents people in the parks, now and in the past, and helps preserve places with special history. To learn more about cultural resources, visit our program page

Image of fish drying on a in Kotzebue
Subsistence
Today, as in the past, many Alaskans live off the land
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Image of an archeologist holding an artifact found during an excavation
A Word About Archeological Sites
Laws protecting sites on public lands
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Image of rounded mountains with sparse vegetation extend all the way to the horizen.  

Did You Know?
Some river drainages in Kobuk Valley National Park are so remote that the U.S. Geological Survey has not given them names. However, many may have been named by the indigenous people living in the region for thousands of years.

Last Updated: July 16, 2007 at 17:59 EST