Alaska Native Games and How to Play Them

Tricia Nuyaqik Brown has been writing and editing publications about Alaska since the early 1980s. In 1998, she partnered with Roy Corral to write and photograph the now classic Children of the Midnight Sun, which received national critical acclaim for its profiles of Alaska Native children. Twenty years later, Brown and Corral flew throughout Alaska to produce Children of the First People, featuring a new cast of ten Alaska Native children, one from each tribal group. Tricia has written nearly two dozen nonfiction books for adults; another eight picture books for children may be found in schools, libraries, and personal collections. She works independently as an author, editor, and book developer for various publishers. Joni Kitmiiq Spiess is an Iñupiaq woman born in Nome, Alaska, who has been a traditional games competitor, coach, and encourager to many. After studies in Anchorage, Joni returned to Nome and taught physical education to elementary school children from 2005–2012. She also began demonstrating the Native games to her students and soon was coaching a team. Now in Anchorage, she’s involved in health education for young children through the Southcentral Foundation. Joni is married and the mother of two young boys. Roy Corral is a veteran photographer whose work has appeared in books, magazines, and websites nationally, among them Alaska, National Geographic, and Forbes. He has photo-illustrated children’s books since his first in 1995—My Denali and A Child’s Glacier Bay— written from his daughter’s perspective. Roy’s work to capture authentic Native life for readers included books for adults, such as Alaska Native Ways and Chugach: Reflections of the People, Land and Sea; and collaborating with Tricia Brown, he illustrated two books for middle-graders, titled Children of the Midnight Sun and Children of the First People.