Dan R Syljuberget

Drifting Yukon Dan R Syljuberget

Drifting Yukon is a true story of two young men who learn to walk in two worlds. Dan Syljuberget, born and raised in South Dakota, became a close friend of Allen Green, a Yup'ik Eskimo, while they attended a small college in Oregon. The narrative follows the lives of these two men during their college years. It begins with Allen, a traditional Yup'ik-raised Eskimo as he struggles with culture shock and adjusts to life as a college student in Oregon. Allen persists with his learning and becomes a successful college student in spite of experiencing significant challenges along the way. The story transitions to Dan's deeper understanding of Allen's challenges as he lives and works as a commercial fisherman with Allen and his family at a remote and primitive island fish camp in the middle of the lower Yukon River in southwestern Alaska, not far from the Bering Sea. Both Dan and Allen emerge from Drifting Yukon as two grown men with a profound appreciation for those who walk in two worlds.