page_title: Noatak, Alaska
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Noatak, Alaska / History
caption_attribution_description: Eskimos in kayaks, Noatak, Alaska. Photograph by [:en:Edward_S._Curtis|Edward S. Curtis], ca. 1929.
context_page_description: Noatak is a census-designated place in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 514 at the 2010 census, up from 428 in 2000. It is served by Noatak Airport.
context_section_description: Noatak was established as a fishing and hunting camp in the 1800s. Two identifiable groups of Inupiat resided on the Noatak River. The Nautaagmiut (called "Noatagamut" in the 1880 census), Inupiaq for "inland river people", lived upriver, and the Napaaqtugmiut, meaning "people of the trees", lived downriver. By the early 20th century,  the missionaries Robert and Carrie Samms settled in what they called "Noatak". A United States post office was established in 1940.
caption: Inuit in kayaks, Noatak
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