Okitkon Shelter History

DECEMBER 19, 2022 UPDATE:

The Village of Solomon would like to announce that the Okitkon Shelter Cabin, home between mile 31-32 on the Nome-Council Hwy has been rescued from the impactful Typhoon Merbok’s displacement. Quyanna to Kawerak, Inc. on donating the funds, JT Sherman with his crew, and BSDC for their rented equipment to acknowledge the need for a shelter cabin along this heavily trafficked winter route.

Please note that due to the storm, there is no firewood inventory in the cabin. If you, or someone you know, is able to donate fire wood and place inside the shelter cabin, please do. Several winter travelers utilize this cabin and it is open to all in need.

UPDATE: The impacts of Typhoon Merbok slamming the Seward Peninsula of Alaska, moved the shelter cabin to a new location over the swamp areas toward the B&B. The shelter cabin will need to be rescued using equipment large enough to access and transported back to the Okitkon shelter cabin home, parallel to the Iditarod Trail. It is with great sadness the shelter cabin will not be in service. With all of the retrieval efforts immediately after the storm, the tribe was not able to secure equipment and man muscle to retrieve the cabin prior to the winter season. The tribe hopes to get the cabin back to it’s rightful place in 2023.

The Village of Solomon made it a goal to provide Emergency Shelter and Communication after losing our tribal member Garfield Okitkon who went out to gather wood and a harsh winter storm came in and his snow machine quit working. A search and rescue effort located him and he was taken to Nome for care but he developed pneumonia and passed away as a result. The Village of Solomon named the cabin in his memory as he had dedicated decades of his life providing emergency communication with his CB radio as well as going out on search and rescue trips when called upon.

The purpose of the cabin is to aide those in need of shelter and to be able to contact local response teams in an emergency situation. There is a tethered Satellite phone which can call out to the Nome Police Department or 911 in times of distress.

Please care for the cabin as the next person that uses it may be in dire need. Please report any misuse to the Village of Solomon at 907-443-4985. The cabin is painted red and located along the coast at mile 31.5 of the Nome-Council Highway.

The cabin became a reality when the Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC) funded the Okitkon Shelter Cabin Project under their Outside Entity Funding in 2014. 

Notice to Users of the Shelter Cabin

 The Village of Solomon owns and manages the Okitkon shelter cabin located at mile 31.5 of the Nome Council highway.  It was designed as an emergency shelter for public use during the winter months between September 30 and May 30.   Our cabin is available for anyone that seeks shelter to escape from extreme weather conditions.

With that said, please respect that it needs to be available for emergencies only. If the tribe continues to receive reports of squatters, we will not be able to afford to keep it open to the public.

The tribe appreciates all the volunteers that stock it with wood every year so when someone is caught in blizzard conditions and seeks shelter from weather, the shelter has wood for heat. 

Please feel free to contact the office at 443-4985 if you have any concerns or send an email deilah@villageofsolomon.org.

Thank you.