
Shem Pete (1896–1989), the colorful and brilliant raconteur from Susitna Station, Alaska, left a rich legacy of knowledge about the Upper Cook Inlet Dena’ina world. Shem was one of the most versatile storytellers and historians in twentieth century Alaska. His lifetime travel map of approximately 13,500 square miles is one of the largest ever documented in this degree of detail anywhere in the world.
With editorial refinements spanning more than three decades, this 2016 edition of Shem Pete’s Alaska will remain the essential reference work on the Dena’ina people of Upper Cook Inlet. Already influential in the ethnogeographic genre, the book’s use of Native language materials and sources, and its blend of linguistic and anthropological scholarship, is unlikely to be surpassed.