Alaska’s oil renaissance has arrived at the doorstep of an Iñupiaq village

By: Max Graham, Northern Journal

Outlets: Alaska Beacon

Published: January 21, 2026

Words: 1,591

Last Updated: 1 month ago

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The Iñupiaq village of Nuiqsut has contended for decades with the westward expansion of oil development on Alaska’s North Slope.

Oil rigs have cropped up along the horizon, and industry roads now cut across the tundra just beyond the village.

The industry’s growth has been lucrative for Nuiqsut’s Indigenous-owned village corporation, Kuukpik, which owns land that’s coveted by multinational oil companies. But it also has provoked tensions among local leaders and some subsistence hunters and …

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