Affording the Arctic

Question(s) from a reader:  "What is the economy like there?  What sustains the area?"

As many of you may know by now, the prices here in Barrow are NOT cheap.  We had a bit of sticker shock when we went into the AC:

$36 watermelon

$10 for 1/2 gallon of milk

$14.50 for orange juice

$7.39 for M&M's (no snacking here...)

So, how do the people of Barrow afford to pay these high prices for food? 

Well, I don't know if I can answer that question completely but I will do my best (with a little help from the internet):

"In the last fifty to one hundred years, the people of Barrow have seen rapid change. The North Slope is home to the largest oil reserve in the Arctic. The oil and gas industry has brought many new jobs to the area. Barrow is also part of the North Slope Borough, a large incorporated area established in 1972, which has also added government and private jobs as well as modern conveniences [...] Today, 60 percent of the people in Barrow are Iñupiaq; 98 percent of the people in the other seven North Slope villages are also Iñupiaq. While much has changed, many traditions remain. The Iñupiaq continue to do subsistence whaling and other hunting, for cultural as well as practical reasons (food is very expensive there and hunted food is much healthier than store-bought). Many Iñupiats work part time to accommodate their subsistence way of life, and some jobs are structured so they can take 'subsistence leave.'(1)"

Barrow is also home to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC).  ASRC not only employs many Barrow residents but it also issues shares to Natives born after 1971, allowing children and grandchildren to be enrolled as shareholders as well.  According to the ASRC website, "Another significant way ASRC has been able to assist shareholders over the years is by issuing dividends. In 1978, when the first dividends were issued, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation paid out a total of $185,000 to shareholders. That number has grown tremendously. In 1991, the total dividends issued to shareholders exceeded $1.5 million. By 2008, the total amount issued grew to over $65 million.(2)"
A student at Hopson Middle School claimed that he gets $5,000 three times a year in dividends.

So, the people of Barrow get a significant amount of support from ASRC; however, it's not always easy for them either.  According to City-Data.com(3), the percentage of residents living in poverty in 2009 was 17.9% and the unemployment rate as of March 2012 was 7.9%.  The estimated median household income in 2009 was $69,829 (while the median income for the state of Alaska was $66,953).  This is why they still rely so heavily on their whaling.  Many residents need to take leaves from work for whaling or hunting (subsistence leave) in order to support their families (this includes our students as well!). 

I will leave you with a fun (not too surprising) fact that I noticed about working in Barrow: a very strong majority of people working in Barrow don't travel more than 10 minutes to work.

For more information about any of the things that I blogged about tonight, these are the websites I used (but feel free to do more searching on your own):
(1) http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/big-ideas/the-people-of-the-arctic/the-inupiaq-people-of-barrow-alaska/
(2) http://www.asrc.com/About/History/Pages/1990toPresent.aspx
(3) http://www.city-data.com/city/Barrow-Alaska.html

Happy Tuesday!
I hope you found the blog tonight interesting and informative.
-K