Caribou in Lake

Approaching Arctic Village from the south, the northern limit of the boreal forest runs out on the talus slopes of the Brooks Range. The village, a Gwich'in Athabascan community, sits on a bend of the Chandalar River. From one of the most isolated indigenous communities in North America, the Gwich'in hunt caribou, much as their ancestors before them, for protein and culture. Along the river corridor, small green and blue lakes gleam in the forest landscape. As the pilot banks and lines up with the village airstrip, a lake off the right wing reveals itself as the head of a caribou.

Image © 1995 by Douglas Yates