Jim Rearden & Sidney Huntington 
Shadows on the Koyukuk 
An Alaskan Native’s Life Along the River

“I owe Alaska. It gave me everything I have.” Says Sidney Huntington, son of an Athapaskan mother and white trader/trapper father. Growing up on the Koyukuk River in Alaska’s harsh Interior, that “everything” spans 78 years of tragedies and adventures. 
When his mother died suddenly, 5-year-old Huntington protected and cared for his younger brother and sister during two weeks of isolation. Later, as a teenager, he plied the wilderness traplines with his father, nearly freezing to death several times. One spring, he watched an ice-filled breakup flood sweep his family’s cabin and belongings away. These and many other episodes are the compelling background for the story of a man who learned the lessons of a land and culture, lessons that enabled him to prosper as trapper, boat builder, and fisherman. 

 This is more than one man’s incredible tale of hardship and success in Alaska. It is also a tribute to the Athapaskan traditions and spiritual beliefs that enabled him and his ancestors to survive. His story, simply told, is a testament to the durability of Alaska’s wild lands and to the strength of the people who inhabit them.

Sobre o autor

Half-Athapaskan Sidney Huntington, born in 1915, grew up in the Koyukuk River country of Northern Alaska, a region that most Americans consider frontier wilderness. In his early years, birchbark canoes, god teams, and paddlewheel steamers were the primary modes of transportation. His Koyukukon Athapaskan mother died when he was five, after which he lived at a Yukon River mission. Later he attended the Bureau of Indian Affairs School at Eklutna, Alaska.
When he was twelve he joined his father on a trapline. Home was a log cabin, and the Huntingtons lived mostly off the land. He was on own at sixteen, trapping and selling furs, hunting and fishing for food, and annually growing a vegetable garden.
During his adventurous life, Huntington has learned the habits of wolves, moose, caribou, and other Koyukuk wildlife. Living in the wilds, he has had many narrow escapes, including a close call from a charging bear. He used his knowledge of wildlife when he served for twenty years as a member of the Alaska Board of Fish and Game and the Alaska Board of Game.
Wild game and Yukon River salmon still make up most of his food. He observers many of the old Athapaskan customs, and enjoys traditional stories that reveal the history and character of the of the Koyukukon people.
Huntington lives with his wife, Angela, in the Yukon River village of Galena, Alaska.