In the minds of most Americans, Native culture in Alaska amounts to Eskimos and igloos... The latest publication of the Alaska Geographic Society offers an accessible and attractive antidote to such misconceptions. Native Cultures in Alaska blends beautiful photographs with informative text to create a striking portrait of the state's diverse and dynamic indigenous population. "It is a real treat to encounter this book. . . It gives the origin of the people as far as known, tells something of their traditional crafts and arts, illustrates with photographs of those and the people, and best of all, addresses their home territories and proper names. . . This little book gives a clear picture of the Native Alaskans working on a nice balance between the modern world and their traditional one, ‘Looking forward and looking back’. . . Buy one to keep and one for a friend Outside." —Dee Longenbaugh, ObservatoryBooks.com, Sitka Sentinel Alaska Natives are not a single, homogeneous entity. Broadly identified by anthropologists as Aleuts, Eskimos, and Indians, Alaska Natives belong, more specifically, to one of twenty language and culture groups. Within those are particular village and tribal affiliations. And though many Natives have moved to Alaska’s urban areas, each identifies with a different geographic region where their ancestors lived and where their home villages are today. This book takes a closer look at the rich and diverse cultures of Alaska’s various Native groups, and how they continue cultural practices and activities within the context of contemporary society. —from the Introduction As the first people crossed the Bering Land Bridge into North America, they arrived in what is now called Alaska. Today, many of the descendants of those migrating peoples who stayed in Alaska still live here, speaking their ancestral languages, performing ancestral dances, telling ancestral stories, and following values handed down from generation to generation. Since the short time span of about twenty-seven decades ago when the first Europeans discovered and explored parts of the Alaskan coastline under the command of Vitus Bering, Alaska Natives have met the challenges and solved the problems of today’s world while more and more looking within their cultures for solutions. Using updated maps, historical pictures, new contemporary photographs, and updated text, the revised edition of Native Cultures in Alaska: Looking Forward, Looking Back is now available in an elegant and accessible format. We are pleased to publish this work in collaboration with the Alaska Geographic Society. Alaska Geographic is a nonprofit publisher, educator, and supporter of Alaska's parks, forests, and refuges. A portion of every purchase at Alaska Geographic bookstores directly supports educational and interpretive programs at Alaska's public lands. Tricia Brown is a full-time writer and editor. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Since 1978, she has traveled nearly every inch of Alaska's road system and flown into its remotest places while writing and editing for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner , the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska magazine. She has written books for adults and children on Alaska life, travel and history.