Kantner quite fascinatingly weaves his (fictional) protagonist's upbringing outside a native town where being a white boy in a native town meant you experienced a lot of racism, but it's never in a "oh the white man is the real victim" way - it's portrayed as a sad demonstration of how much the Alaskan state government and the federal government failed Alaskan Natives. This book, for me as someone who both lived in Alaska and struggled with a dual life of mountains and not, was simultaneously inspiring and immensely sad.