Napaskiak, AK

Napaskiak is a tight-knit Central Yup'ik community on the banks of the Kuskokwim River, just seven miles downriver from Bethel. Getting around changes with the seasons, with residents relying on boats and small planes in the summer, and snowmachines or the frozen river ice road come winter. The village covers the essentials with its own school, health clinic, general store, post office, and Russian Orthodox church. Life here stays closely tied to the land and water, with locals spending their time salmon fishing, picking berries on the tundra, and coming together for school events.