Kaktovik (/kækˈtoʊvɪk/;[3] Inupiaq: Qaaktuġvik, IPA: [qaːktoʁvik]) is a city in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States.

Kaktovik was a traditional fishing place—Kaktovik means "Seining Place"—that has a large pond of good fresh water on high ground.

It had no permanent settlers until people from other parts of Barter Island and northern Alaska moved to the area around the construction of a runway and Distant Early Warning Line station in the 1950s.

Due to Kaktovik's isolation, the village has maintained its Inupiat Eskimo traditions.

In the early twenty-first century, Kaktovik became a tourist destination to view polar bears.

Winters are long, very cold and owing to its high latitude the sun does not rise above the horizon leaving only twilight as the source of light during mid-winter.

Summers on the other hand are cool, typical of the North Slope of Alaska.

Precipitation totals are similar to desert regions as only about 4 inches with most of it falling from July to September.

[11] The school suffered a major loss due to fire on the night of February 6, 2020.