A Thousand Trails Home

Living with Caribou

By: Seth Kantner

Narrated by: Dan Bittner

A stunningly lyrical firsthand account of a life spent hunting, studying, and living alongside caribou, A Thousand Trails Home encompasses the historical past and present day, revealing the fragile intertwined lives of people and animals surviving on an uncertain landscape of cultural and climatic change sweeping the Alaskan Arctic.

Author Seth Kantner vividly illuminates this critical story about the interconnectedness of the Iñupiat of Northwest Alaska, the Western Arctic caribou herd, and the larger Arctic region. This story has global relevance as it takes place in one of the largest remaining intact wilderness ecosystems on the planet, ground zero for climate change in the US.

This compelling and complex tale revolves around the politics of caribou, race relations, urban vs. rural demands, subsistence vs. sport hunting, and cultural priorities vs. resource extraction - a story that requires a fearless writer with an honest voice and an open heart.

©2021 Seth Kantner (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Balanced, loving portrait of life in the Arctic

Seth Kantner was born in remote northwestern Alaska in a sod igloo. His parents had moved to there from Ohio on a grant to study the caribou herds and fell in love with the place and people and decided to stay there after the research was finished. He grew up there, learning to hunt and fish with his father and depend on the land for everything. He was homeschooled, then studied at the University of Alaska and the University of Montana before returning to his home to resume the traditional life of hunting and fishing as well as his own interest in photography and writing. 

In this book, Kantner writes of his life with his family hunting, photographing, and studying the caribou. To those living in the remote areas of northwestern Alaska, the caribou (called reindeer in Europe and Asia) are as the buffalo were to the plains tribes. The book is divided into seasonal divisions from fall’s hunting and rutting, the intense cold of winter, the lush growth of spring, and finally into what he considers the most difficult season of summer with its unending sun and ravenous mosquitoes. 

The narrative centers on his present life but with significant interludes into the past showing a life that is ever fragile, where any small mistake can be disastrous, but also showing its dependence on the land and especially the caribou. There is also a strong focus on the effect that a changing climate is having on the land, including the migration of the boreal forests, and on the caribou. He also touches a bit on the politics revolving around the caribou and the native population, race relations, conflicts between hunting for sport and hunting for survival, and conflicts and misunderstandings over wildlife and environmental management, the rights of indigenous people, and the extraction of natural resources. Kantner writes with ounderstanding and openness with his concern for the environment tempered by federal land managers that seem unable to understand the needs of both animals land indigenous people. 

There is a lot of blood and gore that may be difficult for those who have never been hunters but overall it is a warm and gentle portrayal of life that shows a deep love for his subject. Some will find the descriptions boring and laborious. I found it captivating and enjoyable. I feel lthat I understand more of Alaska and the caribou, but even more, have a tremendous respect for how this wonderful cousin of the common deer is so perfectly adapted to its environment. The book is available as an audiobook, ebook, and hardcover and I’d highly recommend either the ebook or hardcover just for the photos. They are worth the price alone. 

A very special book

I was entranced from the very first chapter through the last.

I recommend it highly

A Thoroughly Enjoyable Read

I love stories about the outdoors, subsistence living, and native culture. Seth Kantner paints a wonderful account of growing up in the Alaska wilderness and shares what he learned from his father, a wildlife biologist, who spurned the "civilized life", quit his job and began living a native inspired subsistence life in the wilds of Alaska!
If hunting, survival or native cultures move you then this book is a must read!

Fascinating View of Living in Alaska

For those of us living in the lower 48, it's hard for us to imagine what it was like to grow up in Alaska, then remain as an adult and raise your own family there. How do you live off the land in such harsh weather? No sunlight part of the year. Well written, sometimes amusing, but mostly really insightful in his relationship to the land, the animals and mother nature.

Caribou & climate change in the arctic

Seth Kantnor has spoken eloquently about the changes in arctic AK over his 5 decades living a subsistence lifestyle. His intimate knowing of the cycles of seasons & migration of the herds, & the nuance that comes only from lived experience are spoken passionately. He is a fierce protector of the sentient beings of many species, & the ways of life fast becoming extinct. Reminiscent of Edward Curtis’ The Vanishing Race.