Focuses on the teachings, experience, and practical wisdom of expert Native orators as they instruct a younger generation about their place in the world. This book weaves together hundreds of statements by Yup'ik elders on the values that guide human relationships.

Translated, edited, and organized for a general audience, this bilingual edition is for those who want to know not only what the elders have to say but also how they say it. Ann Fienup-Riordan is an independent scholar who has lived, worked, and taught in Alaska since 1973. Her many books include "Hunting Tradition in a Changing World: Yup'ik Lives in Alaska Today" and "Yup'ik Elders at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin: Fieldwork Turned on Its Head". Alice Rearden is a Yup'ik speaker and translator working for the Calista Elders Council. Marie Meade is a Yup'ik language expert presently teaching at the University of Alaska Anchorage.