George Johnston was a prodigy amongst his Tlingit first Nation people and culture! The late 1800's fur trade made him quite wealthy and he brought the first car to his village in the wilderness and became a photographer of note and captured the way of life in the early 1900's. Unfortunately the well intentioned efforts by Anglican missionaries and the Catholic priests split the community asunder, then the building of the Alaska Highway went right through their traditional hunting ethnic area and disrupted his culture with diseases that the native Indians were not resistant to and then the ravages of alcohol and the incredibly destructive government action that took the children away from families. Lastly the market for furs dried up at the end of WWII. Very sad and moving story of circumstances that destroyed a unique culture which will never be remedied or live on!
