Alaska Senior Editor Michelle Theall shares Alaskan portraits from her time traveling and meeting people around the state. For this photo Theall writes, “When you live in Utqiagvik at the edge of the world, you make your own fun. Three kids sit atop a roof to rest after a day of biking along the Arctic Ocean. In typical Inupiat villages, seal pelts hang off ATVs and meat dries on sawhorses in front of homes. Gas is $7.00 a gallon and a two-liter bottle of Coca-Cola will cost you $10. However, bike riding and climbing on a neighbor’s shed remain free for now.”
If you live or work in Alaska, you know that life here is different: simultaneously slower, harder, and more adventurous than in the Lower 48. People are fiercely independent, yet friendly. Communities possess unique personalities, defined in large part by their denizens or tourist offerings. Climbing and mining towns, Native villages, artists’ enclaves, and fishing meccas shape and are shaped by the people who occupy them. Sit at any saloon in any locale, and you’re likely to meet someone interesting. And despite the remote location of the Last Frontier, people just keep coming. In fact, the population of the state has been steadily rising in double-digit percentages each decade of the census to its current high of more than 730,000 people. Of course, that’s still sparsely populated compared to other places, especially given the massive size of the state. If you spread out all those folks over Alaska’s 665,384 square miles, you’d bump into a single person every square mile. But we guarantee you this: each one would have a story worth hearing and a face reflecting their time in Alaska.
Richard Jack Strong, an “Eagle” from the Wolf House in Klukwan, stands inside the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center in Klukwan near Haines, following a bald eagle release on sacred ground. The Tlingit village of Klukwan is a subsistence community nestled along the banks of the Chilkat River, where thousands of bald eagles descend in November for the end of the salmon run. The eagle has always been an important part of the Tlingit culture, with people belonging to either the Eagle or Raven Clan. Strong remains committed to supporting the culture he learned from his uncles, aunties, and grandmother “as much as possible with the life he has left on earth.” He keeps busy subsistence fishing and gardening. 
David Coray owns and operates Silver Salmon Creek Lodge with his wife, Joanne, and son, Oliver. The lodge, located on 40 acres of private land in Lake Clark National Park along the western shore of Cook Inlet, offers premier bear viewing and fishing opportunities. Coray came to Alaska in 1952 at age 1 and has spent his life exploring and enjoying wilderness. 
Dick Sutliff, shown here enjoying time at McNeil River, was born in Kodiak during the first half of the last century. Before law school, he worked as a cowboy, fisherman, and as mate on a salmon tender. An honorably discharged Army captain, Sutliff practiced law, trying cases all over Alaska and tutoring many law students for free. Sutliff remains a member of Rotary International, where he once served as president and district governor. Sutliff is an accomplished pilot flying on floats and wheels. He and his wife, Page, heat their home with wood, harvest their own meat, and ski.
Jimmy, an Inupiaq scrimshaw artist, holds up pieces of his work in the workshop adjacent to the Inupiat Heritage Center in Utqiagvik. After this image was taken, Jimmy told the photographer about his dinner the night prior of walrus and bearded seal. Jimmy was born in Utqiagvik and carves alongside his cousin. Artists at the center give demonstrations and sell their art to visitors. The creases of their hands remain lined with baleen dust.
Sam Adams waits for tourists to sign up for rafting in McCarthy. Sam worked as a river guide for McCarthy River Tours and Outfitters during the summer of 2016, where he slept in an eight-foot by eight-foot wall tent with other guides and floated the Kennicott River, as well as multi-day trips down the Nizina, Chitina, and Copper rivers. That summer, he met a girl named Marley Kirkham who worked in town, and he left with her to make a life in Seattle. They’re engaged to be married next year. 
William from Anaktuvuk Pass left his Inupiat village to explore the Lower 48, even living in Florida for a while. But he moved back to be closer to his grandfather and culture. Wearing a bug net for protection against a torrent of mosquitos, William adjusts the cover on the Argo ATV he purchased upon his return for his grandfather. 
Tom Griffin, ADF&G wildlife specialist, worked at the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary for more than 15 years, guiding 10 lucky lottery guests at a time to learn about and view the large gathering of brown bears in the area. Griffin, who is required to carry a firearm, has never had to fire it. In more than 40 years, no bear or human has been hurt. Griffin and his staff have created a program where human presence and predictability allow such unique proximity to study bears in their natural environment without conflict. 
Natural entertainer and wildlife expert Steve Kroschel speaks to cruise-ship visitors at his wildlife center near Haines. A filmmaker and naturalist, Kroschel provides a home and lifetime care for orphaned wildlife indigenous to Alaska and Canada. On site, he teaches guests about moose, lynx, wolves, grizzlies, mink, and wolverines.
Tour guide and professional photographer Corrynn Cochran stops at Reflection Pond to capture Denali in the water’s stillness. It takes several trips to Denali to glimpse the mountain in full, something her guests add to their bucket lists each year.
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