“It all starts in June with breakup—all the ice flows from the river,” Maasak Mills of Noatak begins. “That’s the start of the cycle.”
It’s August and Maasak is sipping coffee with his neighbor, Qalu. They are reciting the seasonal cycle of wild foods that has sustained their people for thousands of years. Qalu’s grandson, Vince, comes in and out of the room readying himself before they all head out for a day of fishing on the Noatak river.