The Red Cedar of Afognak

Winner of the American Book Award, The Red Cedar of Afognak was written by Alisha S. Drabek and Karen R. Adams. 

"Throughout his life, Afognak Elder John P. Pestrikoff has contributed greatly to the oral histories, genealogy, and language documentation of the Kodiak area Alutiiq people. The former Afognak resident now lives in Port Lions. where many Afognak residents were resettled after the 1964 earthquake and tsunami, but he recalls seeing the great Red Cedar log on Afognak as a child. This book is based on a story he tells about the giant log. 

Alisha Drabek is an Associate Professor of English at Kodiak College who was born and raised in Kodiak. She has an English and American Literature degree and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, both from the University of Arizona in Tucson. A former Tribal Administrator for the Native Village of Afognak, who also is the founding coordinator of Kodiak's "Esgahluku Taquka'aq" - "Awakening Bear" - cultural celebration, she is proud to have returned to her home island to work with other Alutiiq people to preserve and honor the Alutiiq culture and heritage. 

Karen R. Adams has a PhD in ecology (University of Arizona) and a bachelor's degree in Anthropology (Miami University, Oxford, Ohio). She has been a full time archeologist in the American Southwest for more than 30 years. with a specialty in the study of plant parts that are preserved in archaeological sites. Her interests in plants are diverse, and she has published extensively on the ancient plan record. Identifying wood use in ancient times has led her to a natural curiosity about driftwood and its uses. 

A lifelong Alaskan, Floria N. Selby is an Alutiiq artist who was born in Kodiak, Alaska, and raised in idyllic Afognak Village from childhood until the 1964 earthquake and tsunami. The allure of the island continues to have a strong impact on her artwork. She attributes the rugged beauty of mountains running down to bays, spruce forests reflecting in lakes, and the abundance of wildflowers as a natural inspiration to be captured on canvas or watercolor paper."