"Inupiaq and Yupik People of Alaska" explains how these people strive to sustain traditional values while accommodating the economics, technology, and politics of twenty-first century Western culture and considers the role of place in defining this way of life. Dozens of color photographs portray the awesome beauty of the land and the dignity of the people.

Anthropologist Ann Fienup-Riordan describes the Central Yup’ik people she has lived with and written about for almost 30 years. She discusses food, language, celebrations, social customs, history, and politics and she also contributes a lively essay on how Yup’ik dancing thrives today as a focal point for the continually evolving culture.

Susie Silook’s portrait of her people, the Siberian Yupik from St. Lawrence Island, sheds light on both traditional customs and modern life on the island. Silook also tells of the "movie star" summer she spent as a child actress in a Hollywood film and her take on the actions she was scripted to perform that fulfilled Hollywood’s idea of "Eskimo life" but bore little resemblance to her actual childhood growing up in rural Alaska.

Stewards of the Land: The Inupiat" profiles Inupiaq society and the methods the people of the Arctic use to survive in their severe yet abundant land. This chapter also discusses whaling as the center of Inupiaq culture, and the balancing of resource development and subsistence.

Lawrence D. Kaplan of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Native Language Center inquires into the relevance of traditional language in the delicate struggle for survival and describes the relationships among the various Alaska Native language families and dialects.