Legendary Birds in the Physical Landscape of the Yup'ik Eskimos

This account describes a unique research problem experienced by the author in the summer of 1985 conducting fieldwork on a federal, cultural resource management project in southwestern Alaska. The discussion the complex roleofthe anthropologist in the implementation of one specific component of Alaska Native Land Claims legislation, and testifies to the continued vitality of the oral tradition in contemporary Central Yup'ik Eskimo life.