by Ray Hudson (Author)
In 1964, Ray Hudson, twenty-two, landed in Unalaska village with a brand-new college degree, eager to teach. The Aleuts had seen many
outsiders who seldom stayed more than a year. Yet Hudson was no short-timer.
Back Jacket
Along a thousand-mile chain of treeless and windswept islands, Unalaska is perched at the end of the world, or, as some prefer to say, the beginning. In 1964, Ray Hudson, 22, landed in Unalaska village with a brand-new college degree, eager to teach. The Aleuts had seen many outsiders who had come but seldom stayed more than a year. Yet Hudson was no short-timer. Captivated by Unalaska and the history and traditions of its enduring people, he stayed. As the years passed--one, then five, ten, then twenty--he was embraced by his Aleut neighbors, sharing their celebrations and tragedies, teaching their children, exploring their language, and, much to their surprise, learning their delicate art of grass basketry. Ultimately Ray Hudson pays homage to the people he came to teach, and who, in the end, were his teachers.