"Mishler and his collaborator Frank discuss a wide variety of topics, such as the arrival and influence of early missionaries and fur traders, biographies of prominent Dinjii Zhuh community members, the importance of storytelling and orality, traditional naming practices, linguistics, and topics in popular culture such as pastimes, humor, and seasonal celebrations. Importantly, Mishler publishes the words of the people and alerts the reader to where crucial collections are housed." – Native American and Indigenous Studies Journal Vol. 12, Issue 2, Fall 2025 “Mishler’s decades of commitment, his long affiliation with the Gwich’in communities and research collaborations with [Kenneth] Frank and other Gwich’in knowledge keepers is evident throughout the text. This book clearly is written with the inspiration, tutelage, language, cultural expertise, and teaching experience of Frank, with whom Mishler has been a research and writing partner with since the mid-1990s. It is from their several scholarly publications, oral presentations, and professional papers that these essays are born. Mishler and Frank’s unique, meticulously researched, pleasant writing style and ability to inform the reader about the historical connections and context to the subject, is what makes their work so important.” – Leslie McCartney, from the Foreword. "Mishler and his collaborator Frank discuss a wide variety of topics, such as the arrival and influence of early missionaries and fur traders, biographies of prominent Dinjii Zhuh community members, the importance of storytelling and orality, traditional naming practices, linguistics, and topics in popular culture such as pastimes, humor, and seasonal celebrations. Importantly, Mishler publishes the words of the people and alerts the reader to where crucial collections are housed." Native American and Indigenous Studies Journal Vol. 12, Issue 2, Fall 2025 “Divided into four sections, the writing is lively while being informative, making it both factual enough to be a primary source for researchers and sufficiently accessible to maintain the attention of lay readers. This is not always the case for academic writings, and it’s part of why this book is so valuable Crooked on the Stretcher Board is a capstone to Mishler’s long career and a tribute to a people who have endured and thrived despite being subjected to Western rule. In the library of Indigenous Alaskan studies, it’s a must-have." Anchorage Daily News Craig Mishler has been doing ethnographic field work in Alaska since 1972. He received his doctorate in folklore and anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981. Craig made a career as an historian with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and later as a subsistence resource specialist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence where he did extensive field work in Kodiak. Later, he was a research professor at the Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He is also the author, co-author, or editor of ten books, including Dinjii Vadzaih Dhidlit: The Man Who Became a Caribou, published with Kenneth Frank in 2020 by the IPI Press. Kenneth Drizhuu Frank is an indigenous Gwich’in elder, storyteller, and traditional drummer from Venetie and Arctic Village, Alaska. A former staff member at the Effie Kokrines School in Fairbanks, Kenneth teaches the Gwich'in language and is currently engaged in mentoring his daughter Crystal. Kenneth is fully fluent and literate in his native language, doing workshops and culture camps on traditional games, skin drums, subsistence harvesting methods, traditional tools, and handicrafts.