Chapter 15, The Old Koyukon Ways and Chapter 16, Siwash Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 15, Sidney discusses the Athapaskan Indians, the last Alaskans to come into contact with white men. Athapaskans were eager to trade, except for clothing, since their own traditional clothes were superior. Sidney relates how Edwin Simon, born in 1898, lived "three lives," embodying the changes in Athapaskan culture. First, he lived only on the land, roaming from temporary sod house to sod house. From 1930 to 1960, he had a motorboat, oil and gas, and log houses, and could buy food at trading posts. From 1960 to 1979, he lived in a permanent house with electricity, running water, and appliances.

Sidney relates the story of an Indian family in the early 1800s who returned to Hog River along with others after moving away during bad years, only to find that food...