Early Thursday morning, crowds of people streamed into the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center, where fur slippers and mittens, ivory carvings, racks of kuspuks, beaded ornaments, woven baskets, silver and copper jewelry, handmade musical instruments and the smell of smoked salmon filled the booths lining the main floor.
The annual Alaska Federation of Natives convention draws thousands of people from around the state. The artists on the main floor traveled from far and wide — from Nunivak Island and Kotzebue and King Salmon and Fairbanks. And at a table in the thick of it all, a beadworker from Mountain View.

Mountain View artist Gerry Jamestown at the Alaska Federation of Natives’ Alaska Native Customary Art Show