The Koyukon people of Alaska are an Athabascan people closely adapted to their environment. They number about 2000 people, living in along the Koyukuk River in eleven villages. They retain traditional ways in spite of heavy influence from outside. The five episodes follow a seasonal round of activities from winter through the year to another winter. In the Passage of Gifts, the first winter episode, we are introduced to the people and their view of raven who made the world, as well as a core concept of respect for the land, the idea of luck.
Luck is more than what white people think.
It incorporates an attitude toward animals, plants and land in which a hunter must show total respect toward the animals taken. Animals know more than people, and must give themselves to people. If a hunter shows disrespect, he will have no luck. The second episode , The Bible and the Distant Time , is set in the spring as the ice melts on the river. The importance of the potlatch as an integrative social mechanism is clearly shown.