Shaktoolik School is located in the small village of Shaktoolik, Alaska. Shaktoolik is 130 miles east of Nome, or about 40 miles north of Unalakleet, located on Norton Sound.

According to the Alaska Dept. of Community and Economic Development, Shaktoolik was the first and southernmost Malemiut settlement on Norton Sound, occupied as early as 1839. Twelve miles northwest, on Cape Denbigh, is “Iyatayet,” a site that is 6,000 to 8,000 years old, and listed on the national register of historic places. Shaktoolik was first mapped in 1842-44 by Lt. Lavrenty Zagoskin, Imperial Russian Navy, who called it “Tshaktogmyut.” “Shaktoolik” is derived from a Unaliq word, “suktuliq”, meaning “scattered things”.

Reindeer herds were managed in the Shaktoolik area around 1905. The village was originally located six miles up the Shaktoolik River, and moved to the mouth of the River in 1933. This site was prone to severe storms and winds, however, and the village relocated to its present, more sheltered location in 1975. The City was incorporated in 1969.