Introduction -- Coast -- Kobuk Country -- Parklands in Northwest Alaska -- Magic of the caribou and the shifting sands -- Villages -- Ancient peoples of the Kotzebue basin -- Eskimo warfare -- Trading on the edge of nowhere -- Exploration and development -- Subsistence living on Kotzebue's Coast: Personal sketch -- Living off the land in the Kobuk Valley -- Dan Denslow, working the wind -- Seasons of the Noatak -- Salmon River -- Plants and trees -- Birds -- Fish -- Pike of springtime -- Rise and fall of reindeering -- Return of the reindeer -- Arctic gardening -- Arts and crafts in the Kotzebue basin -- Jade -- Minerals: Modern rush -- Transportation -- Hopes of a native son -- Maniilaq's vision.