Rostad takes the reader into the heart of this North Pacific island where bears are the king of the mountains, and fishermen do battle with wind and waves as they fish the deep waters. Kodiak Island's real wealth is her people who share their stories.

Your Story Matters presents a dynamic and spiritually formative process for understanding and redeeming the past in order to live well in the present and into the future. Leslie Leyland Fields has used and taught this practical and inspiring writing process for decades, helping people from all walks of life to access memory and sift through the truth of their stories. This is not just a book for writers. Each one of us has a story, and understanding God's work in our stories is a vital part of our faith. Through the spiritual practice of writing, we can "remember" his acts among us, "declare his glory among the nations," and pass on to others what we have witnessed of God in this life: the mysterious, the tragic, the miraculous, the ordinary. With a companion video curriculum from RightNow Media, this is a "why not" book as opposed to a "how to" book. Leslie asks each of us an important question: "Why not learn to tell your story, in the context of the grander story of God?"

From the 1780s to the 1820s, Kodiak Island, the first capital of Imperial Russia's only overseas colony, was inhabited by indigenous Alutiiq people and colonized by Russians. Together, they established an ethnically mixed "kreol" community. Against the backdrop of the fur trade, the missionary work of the Russian Orthodox Church, and competition among Pacific colonial powers, Gwenn A. Miller brings to light the social, political, and economic patterns of life in the settlement, making clear that Russia's modest colonial effort off the Alaskan coast fully depended on the assistance of Alutiiq people. In this context, Miller argues, the relationships that developed between Alutiiq women and Russian men were critical keys to the initial success of Russia's North Pacific venture. Although Russia's Alaskan enterprise began some two centuries after other European powers—Spain, England, Holland, and France—started to colonize North America, many aspects of the contacts between Russians and Alutiiq people mirror earlier colonial episodes: adaptation to alien environments, the "discovery" and exploitation of natural resources, complicated relations between indigenous peoples and colonizing Europeans, attempts by an imperial state to moderate those relations, and a web of Christianizing practices. Russia's Pacific colony, however, was founded on the cusp of modernity at the intersection of earlier New World forms of colonization and the bureaucratic age of high empire. Miller's attention to the coexisting intimacy and violence of human connections on Kodiak offers new insights into the nature of colonialism in a little-known American outpost of European imperial power.

With its high mountains, clothed in emerald green and cut through with deep blue fjords, Kodiak, located in the Gulf of Alaska, is one of the most enchanting places I've ever visited. The rugged terrain has protected the islands from human exploitation, leaving the wilderness virtually untouched. This is the home of the Kodiak bear - the world's largest land predator. I first came to Kodiak in 1988 to film the beautiful scenery and the giant bears on the island. What I hadn't anticipated was the infinite hospitality of the people, who welcomed me like family. Since the early days of the Sugpiaq, through the invasion of the Russians, and the subsequent sale to the Americans, the people of Kodiak have enveloped the foreign cultures that washed upon their shores, and have developed themselves and their culture into what it is today - a celebration of diversity and harmony. Every time I step off the plane at Kodiak's airport, I take a deep breath and think, "It's good to be home!"In this book, I would like to introduce you to some of my friends on Kodiak and share with you the mysteries of Kodiak's history, the diversity of cultures, the richness of the environment, the enchantment of the wilderness, and the gentle character of the giant bear.Welcome to Kodiak, Alaska - the island of the great bear!

The author tells 8 short stories from Alaska's history and then 5 personal accounts of life in the Alaskan backcountry.

Kodiak Island, nicknamed the Emerald Isle, gleams like a gem in the North Pacific. Lush green mountains soar skyward from the ocean, framing deep, fjord-like bays. The island's wet maritime climate and mild temperatures encourage thick vegetation growth, which provides sustenance for the abundant wildlife on the island. The Alaska Current flows northward near Kodiak, bringing warm water and nutrients to Alaska's frigid Gulf. These nutrients form the basis for one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world. Kodiak bears reign as the island's monarchs, which has among the densest brown bear populations on earth. They are one of the six endemic mammals found on Kodiak, while humans have introduced many other wild mammals to the Kodiak Archipelago. The ocean surrounding Kodiak teems with seals, sea otters, sea lions, porpoises, and whales, while bald eagles, puffins, rare black oystercatchers, and arctic terns (which migrate all the way from Antarctica) also call the archipelago home. Learn more about this beautiful North Pacific gem and its amazing wildlife—and the challenges the animals face, both human and natural—in this richly detailed book by local naturalist, wildlife biologist, and sportfishing guide Robin Barefield, with photographs by her husband, Mike Munsey.

Includes studies of vascular plants, bryophytes, and Chrysophycae.