Alaska Native Cultures we will be learning about Athabaskan culture and Alaska history by reading the life history of a remarkable Athabaskan man: Sidney Huntington.

1. Shadows on the Koyukuk:
An Alaskan Native’s Life Along the River
By Sidney Huntington
As told to Jim Reardon
http://ak-wx.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html

2. http://sidneyhuntington.com/

3. Sidney Huntington’s Life Story
• Born in Hughes, Alaska in 1915 to an
Athabaskan mother and English-Scot father
• Raised in interior Alaska learning subsistence
skills from young age
• Sent to boarding school after his mother died
when he was five years old
• After third grade, his father took him home
again to learn subsistence skills

4. Themes
• Hardship  strength, resilience
– Life challenges fostered exceptional resourcefulness
and resilience
• Respect for Athabaskan life ways and the land
– Ability to live in both traditional Native and western
worlds
– Preference for rural life
• Education
– Brief formal education inspired deep appreciation and
respect for education – both western and traditional

5. Questions to consider as you read:
• In what ways did Huntington’s mother influence his
life?
• What were the most pronounced influences of his
father on his life?
• What is most striking about Huntington’s attitude
toward life, challenges, opportunities?
– How do you think he acquired these attitudes?
• What are the most remarkable aspects of Huntington’s
life and character?

6. http://fineartamerica.com/featured/aurora-borealis-the-northern-lights-interior-alaska-sharon-mau.html