George Sä¿an Edwardson served as President of the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) for nearly 30 years. ICAS is federally recognized tribal government with jurisdiction over the 89,000-square-mile territory known as the North Slope of Alaska. ICAS is charged with preserving the inherent sovereign rights and powers of the Iñupiat. George was also a longtime delegate to the Inuit Circumpolar Council, an organization representing the Inuit peoples of Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland. He earned a degree in Geology from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and worked on mapping the geology of Native regions of Alaska. He was born and raised in Utqiävik, Alaska, where he grew up hunting, whaling and learning from his elders. He is a traditional storyteller and oral historian. He and his wife Debby have seven children and 16 grandchildren.

Debby Dahl Edwardson grew up in Minnesota where she spent summers at her family cabin on an island near the Canadian border. She attended school in Norway and has lived for over 40 years in Utqiävik, Alaska, the northernmost community in the country. Her picture book, Whale Snow was named an NCSS/CBC Notable, a Banks Street Best, Independent Publishers' Best Picture Book of the Year and an IRA Notable Book for a Global Society. Her first novel, Blessing's Bead was selected by the Junior Library Guild and named an ALA/YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults and, by Booklist. Her novel My Name is Not Easy was a finalist for the National Book Award. She earned an MFA from Vermont College in 2005 and is an adjunct instructor at Ilisävik College, a tribal college.

Born and raised in Alaska, Nasu¿raq Rainey Hopson is a tribally enrolled Iñupiaq author and illustrator. She holds a BA degree in studio art from Humboldt State University and is a student of philosophy and marine biology. She's had several careers, including documentarian and school teacher, where her focus is always on reclaiming indigenous culture and creativity. She is the author of the Newbery Honor Book, Eagle Drums.