Hearthside Books & Toys

This book is an extraordinary introduction to the indigenous peoples and cultures of Alaska's southcentral coast. Combining oral tradition, history, and archaeology, it traces the Alutiiq path through ancestral generations to contemporary life, including today's compelling issues of cultural identity and autonomy. It is beautifully and heavily illustrated by Alutiiq art, objects, and images from the current museum exhibition on Alutiiq peoples that is now touring Alaska. The many contributors discuss Alutiiq relations with neighboring Alaska Native peoples, non-Native traders and invaders, the sea and land, place and time, and animals and spirit. Writers include Alutiiq elders, scholars, and storytellers, as well as anthropologists and historians. Seen from these many perspectives, Alutiiq identity emerges as a rich mosaic of people, location, and experience.