The borough was established in 1972 by an election of the majority Indigenous people in the region, following Congressional passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

In 1974, it adopted a Home Rule Charter, enabling it to exercise any legitimate governmental power.

The borough has first-class status and exercises the powers of planning, zoning, taxation, and schools.

[5] The borough is governed by an eleven-member assembly, elected to staggered three-year terms, which meets monthly.

[6] The borough's executive and administrative powers are vested in a mayor, who is limited to two consecutive three-year terms.

North Slope Borough has generally hosted competitive elections, it has only backed a Democrat for president three times since 1980.

[9] Former mayor George Ahmaogak had billed the Borough for a family vacation in Hawaii.

[11] In 2011, Charlotte Brower defeated Ahmaogak in a runoff election after his Hawaii vacation was revealed.

[9] She was recalled in April 2016, after it was reported the year before that her office had made numerous donations to individuals (including family members), sports clubs, and other groups that amounted to more than $800,000 since 2011.

The borough is the fourth-least densely populated county-level entity in the United States.

"Among all North Slope Borough communities, a higher percentage of Nuiqsut households use subsistence resources for more than half of their diet.

[32] It is also the largest school district in the United States by area, totaling 229,731 km2 (88,700 sq mi) [33]