The sounds of Iñupiaq dancing and drumming reverberated through the new gym in Kaktovik, as residents of the North Slope community of about 300 people celebrated the facility’s grand opening on Dec. 1.
The new gymnasium opened nearly six years after the community’s old Harold Kaveolook School burned down. It’s the first step towards building a new school and a chance for students to have a space to play and practice sports again.
Flora Rexford, who has been teaching Inupiaq language and culture at the school for 20 years, said she was moved to see children enjoying and playing in the new gym.
“It was really emotional, especially watching them cut the ribbon,” she said. “And you know, it was a really good grand opening, much needed for our community."
The school was destroyed in a fire in early February of 2020. Officials said at the time that the fire was likely caused by a heater that was left on to thaw frozen pipes.
After the fire, students attended classes in buildings throughout the village, until the temporary school opened the following fall. That facility does not have a gym, so sports practice often took place outside, in freezing cold and with polar bears in the area.
Later on, the borough built a temporary gym for school practice, but Rexford said the conditions were far from ideal.
“Just imagine the kids playing in the tent that they had, and it's cold, and nothing was ever working right, not being able to practice,” Rexford said. “The kids, you can just tell, they're not as active.”
The mayor of the City of Kaktovik, Nathan Gordon Jr., said the lack of proper space for exercise led many students to leave the school and the village.
“We lost a bunch of kids who went to boarding school because they weren't able to play in a gymnasium,” he said. “It is going to be great for those kids to come back home and enjoy a gym with us.”
As in many Alaska villages, the gym in Kaktoivik will be more than a place for sports. Gordon said the old gym was “a staple for gathering,” and the new gym would be a place for feasts, funerals and community events, too.
The gym is just the first step in the three-part process of rebuilding the school. Construction started in 2023 after a local company, UIC Construction, cleaned up lead paint and gasoline left in the soil after the fire. Anchorage-based firm Burkhart Croft Architects worked on the design of the building.
The new gym includes a running track, a weight room, a play area for kids, and wood and metal shops, Rexford said. Students take buses to go there for physical education classes and recess.
“A lot of the younger kids have never experienced being in a gym,” she said.
And in March, the school will host the regional basketball tournament.
“For our community to finally have their first home games, you know, in so many years, everyone's excited about that,” Rexford said.
As for the school rebuild, the next steps will be constructing additional classrooms, a cafeteria, library and Inupiaq language and culture spaces, according to a press release from the North Slope Borough. The whole building should be completed by early 2028, borough officials said.
