Excerpt:

"Where before the whiteman came the Native was extremely self-sufficient and had to rely wholly on the land and the resources that the land gave him, for a period the Native came to rely on the ways of the whiteman and unfortunately took on many of his bad characteristics.

"The past decade however has seen a fantastic change in the attitudes of the native people throughout Alaska. At the same time that the Native people are learning more about the western culture, they are taking an ever rising interest in the heritage and culture of their own people. Native people are demanding a voice in the education of their children, health of their families and the laws that govern their lives. As a strong part of this there is the desire to retain and learn their own language.

"It has been said that a people die when their language dies. The meaning of life and the world around us can be communicated truly only through their own language. From the knowledge of our own language we can continue to retain our pride in our culture and continue to grow as unique individuals.

"It is the accomplishments of people working on books and dictionaries such as these that assist us in learning more about our heritage and give us the ability to continue to communicate our own life in our own language. This gives us another tool in which to continue to make our culture exceptional." John C. Sackett

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