I met with Joe Lincoln, Sr. 62, who is one of the few people who witnessed the birth of Toksook Bay. Joe began his story with a gentle smile and a twinkle in his eye. You could see how much he cherished those memories of when he was younger.
Joe remembers life as a school child who moved from Nightmute to Umkumiut every spring. Nightmute is a village 13 miles east of Toksook and Umkumiut is a fish camp 3 miles southwest of Toksook Bay. The only means of transportation was his father's kayak and his dog team and sled. They had a nomadic existence in order to live.
It was in the 1950's that Mr. Lincoln recalls how he experienced the summer journeys between Nightmute and Umkumiut. He remembers being plucked out of the BIA school in Nightmute to make the trek. Back then everything was different says Joe. There wasn’t much to bring whenever they moved. Just a few necessities they needed for the summer were packed up and the rest was stored away in their sod houses.
A few of Toksook Bay's first occupants he recalls were Cyril Chanar, Tom Sunny and a man named Nasgauq Tangkaq. These men agreed that the cost of supplies would be more reasonable if they relocated to this part of the Island. Every June a freighter called The North Star would journey to Nelson Island bringing supplies to Nightmute and Tununak. Smaller barges would then haul the supplies to Nightmute through a channel called Tuqsuk River. It is from this river that our town, Toksook gets it’s name. The new village was to be located across the river on the other side of the bay. Thus the birthing of an Alaskan Village.
According to Mr. Lincoln, 1963 or 1964 were the years that Toksook Bay was born. People like Chanar, Sunny and Tangkaq would camp here while on herring and marine mammal hunts. It was a wondrous place. The beaches were very beautiful and alive. A perfect time in history for a village to be born.
With the passing of the years Joe has noticed many changes. For example, changes in air travel. Airplanes had to land in the bay or on a lake using floats in the summer and skis in the winter. Today they land on the airstrip at the end of the village. Another advantage he's seen the beginnings of in Toksook Bay is indoor plumbing. The stores aren't all that bad too, says Joe.