Charles Menadelook, an Inupiaq, was born in Wales, Alaska in the late 1800’s. He was one of the first Alaska Natives to become a teacher. His teaching positions took him to Wales, Nome, Gambell and Unalaska where he not only taught school but also became an avid photographer. His oldest son was among the first Alaska Natives to study engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Eileen Norbert, granddaughter of Charles Menadelook, began this project in 1975 while a senior in anthropology at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, to prove that Alaska Natives who record their own lifestyle can provide greater information and understanding of their own culture. She inherited many of her grandfather's photographs and collected those of other Alaskan Native photographers. With a grant from the Alaska Historical Commission and the regional tribal organization, Kawerak, she returned to Nome and collected and documented in detail 198 photographs from the collections of Eileen Norbert, Davis Menadelook, Thomas Menadelook, Paul Soolook, John Norbert, Catherine Tobuk, Dora Ahkinga, David Maloney, Etta Menadelook and Teresa Soolook [Portions from: Alaska Native News, Dec. 1982, p. 10-13]