Pingok Island: Arctic Environment and Human Imprints

Key Insight

Pingok Island, situated at 70°35 ́N and 149°35 ́W, lies a few miles off Alaska's north coast, about 30 miles east of the Colville River delta. This barrier island, the westernmost of the Jones Islands, protects Simpson Lagoon, a favored habitat for migrating ducks. Unlike the Eastern Arctic's Ungava Bay, where tides can rise up to 40 feet, Pingok's vertical tide rise is minimal, measurable with a fingertip. The island bears traces of recent human activities, including industrial reconnaissance detritus, military exercise refuse, and remnants from scientific and Eskimo encampments, such as yellow polyethylene rope, empty wooden boxes, gas tins, and outboard motor parts. Close by, Prudhoe Bay, where oil was discovered in February 1968, is 40 miles to the east, with flare-off clouds occasionally visible, and a DEW line station operates at Oliktok Point to the southwest.

The island, approximately 4.5 miles long and 0.5 miles wide, features a shed, two pale yellow clapboard buildings at its west end, and coastal survey markers at its east. To a Western imagination valuing lush landscapes, Pingok can appear bleak and forsaken, disappearing under snow in winter and re-emerging in June with flowers, insects, and birds for only a few months. This initial perception often carries a prejudice, viewing such environments as primitive or stark, leading to ideas of using them for waste storage or weapons testing, akin to deserts historically used for banishment. However, a closer acquaintance with the island alters this bleak aspect, revealing its inherent value beyond such superficial judgments.

Observing the island reveals diverse natural details, such as molted duck feathers in wrack lines on the beach, caribou hoof-prints in shallow lagoon waters, and evidence of animal foraging like cropped grass by Canada geese or flattened areas where a fox rested. Tangible objects collected include a belukha whale's fractured intervertebral disk and a marine isopod's prehistoric-looking exoskeleton, retaining a sense of original mystery. The island's Inupiatun name, derived from 'a rising of earth over a dome of ice,' references a protective sand dune, signifying its value as a secure location. It offers early access to seals, migrating geese and ducks in Simpson Lagoon, abundant driftwood from the Mackenzie River (some trees 30-40 feet long), freshwater ponds, char, and belukha and bowhead whales. Archaeological excavations indicate continuous use by hunting peoples between 1550 and 1700, who utilized these resources, with finds including a polar-bear-tooth(?) fish lure and caribou-antler(?) plate armor.