Richard Nelson on young ice with open water in the background. Rifle over his shoulder, he holds an unaaq used to test ice thickness. The umiaqaluraq is used to retrieve seals. (Wainwright, Alaska 1964)

Anaqqaq Ekak tossing a manaq (wooden float with metal hooks) to retrieve a seal shot in open water. He's standing on his unaaq to distribute his weight on the thin ice.

A hunter pulling his companion over thin ice. The umiaqalrulaq (skin boat) was used to retrieve a seal shot in open water.

A group of hunters butcher walrus hravested on an ice floe in spring.

Tagruk Bodfish carves a kayak paddle in Richard's Wainwright home (1964).

Kusiq Bodfish working on an umiaqaluraq in Wainwright, fall 1964.

Richard's Wainwright dog team. His recently completed kayak is lashed to the sled.

Richard left Wainwright in the fall of 1966. Ten years and four dog teams later, he's mushing with friends through Dalki Pass to spend the winter in Huslia, a village on the banks of the Koyukuk River.

Richard's one room cabin in Huslia, Alaska.

Richard taking a break from writing field notes in Huslia, Alaska.

Richard and Kathy Mautner in the cabin they shared in Huslia, Alaska.

Catherine and Steven Attla visiting Richard and Kathy in Tenakee, Alaska.

Richard and Hank recording sounds in Glacier Bay National Park, 2014.