With a father who is chief of a village of almost two hundred Aleut people, Anna Hasson grows up a real Aleut princess. But everything changes when she turns fourteen. A year after Anna is kidnapped outside her seaside home and thrust into the white mans world, World War II begins and the Aleut race falls just short of complete annihilation through genocide. Years later in the early 1950s and living in Juneau Alaska a disheveled Anna is rescued from a small tenement room and taken to the hospital. At one time, Anna had been stunningly beautiful, but now, she is disheveled and filled with shame and secrets she does not want anyone to know. The only way she knows to numb the pain is to drink herself into oblivion. Now with death seemingly imminent, Annas path crosses with that of a kindly nun who must rely on her faith and Gods grace to guide Anna back in time to where the truth hopefully waits. But will Anna be able to attain the inner-peace she so desperately needs before it is too late? In this historical novel, an Aleut woman lost in the world of alcoholism must rely on help from a devoted nun to rediscover her love for her people, her culture, and most importantly, herself.

This book examines the social, economic, political, and cultural concerns surrounding the development of rural Alaska. The authors explore the controversy over rural development from a variety of perspectives-some supporting economic development and its implications for rural communities, others arguing for alternative approaches. They raise the issues of external control over local development and the effects of the boom-and-bust cycle often associated with rural change. Part 1 surveys the economic development of Alaska's resources, providing an historical overview of its fur, timber, and fishing industries and examining the current importance of oil, gas, minerals, and agricultural products. The section concludes with a discussion of the unique patterns of trade between Alaska and Asia. The second part turns to the organizations that have been, and are presently, the major vehicles for development-the village and regional corporations that grew out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 and the non-profit organizations responsible for social services and education. The authors also discuss the increasingly important role of governmental institutions. The final section considers the conflict between the goal of economic development and traditional Native values of subsistence and cultural preservation. The authors ask whether the development of Alaska's rural regions must take place at the expense of the traditional lifestyle and cultural distinctiveness of Native society.