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The Kotzebue Probation Office is located in the Inupiat Village of Kotzebue 50 miles
north of the Arctic Circle. One full time Probation/Parole Officer and a Criminal
Justice Tech staff the Office. It is responsible for the supervision of a caseload
of felony offenders spread out over a 38,000 square mile area. Supervision requires
the Probation Officer to travel by small aircraft to each of the eleven remote villages
surrounding the Kotzebue area. Villages supervised through the Kotzebue office are
Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kiana, Kivalina, Kobuk, Noatak, Noorvik, Point Hope, Selawik,
and Shungnak and are only accessible by small airplane or boat or snowmachine. Upon
arrival in the village travel may continue by snow machine or all-terrain vehicle.
While the Superior Court is located in Kotzebue, the Superior Court Judge travels to remote
sites in the region where trails and sentencings are conducted in local school and recreational
areas. These proceedings allow local residents to take part in the judicial process and allow
Village Elders and Tribal Councils to make recommendations to the Court.
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About the Area
Kotzebue is located 549 air miles northwest of Anchorage and 26 miles above the Arctic Circle
on the Baldwin Peninsula in Kotzebue Sound, at the confluence of three river drainages.
Characterized by long, cold winters and cool summers, the average low temperature during
January is -12F and the average high during July is 58F, although temperature extremes have
been measured from -52F to 85F. Snowfall averages 40 inches. Kotzebue Sound is ice-free from
early July until early October.
Inupiat Eskimos have occupied this site for at least 600 years. "Kikiktagruk" was the hub of
ancient arctic trading routes long before European contact due to it's coastal location near
a number of rivers. The German Lt. Otto Von Kotzebue 'discovered' Kotzebue Sound in 1818 for
Russia, and the community was named after the Sound in 1899 when a post office was established.
Alaska Natives represent 75% of the population. The residents of Kotzebue are primarily Inupiat
Eskimos, and subsistence activities are an integral part of the lifestyle. Each summer, the North
Tent City fish camp is set up to dry and smoke the season's catch. Village populations in the
region range from as small as 150 people to as many as 800.
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