Drawing on the developmental niche framework of Super and Harkness, this book examines child rearing in an Inupiaq (Eskimo) village in northwest Alaska. Approximately 2 years of fieldwork was carried out in Noorvik, a remote village in the Northwest Arctic Borough. The study involved 22 parents of young children and 22 extended family members in 16 core families; interviews with Elders were critical in assessing cultural changes in child rearing over time. Chapters cover: (1) introduction to the developmental niche model, quantitative and interpretive methods used, and sample characteristics; (2) customs of child rearing (concepts of developmental stages, naming practices, terms of endearment and "nuniaq-ing," care in infancy); (3) kinship (adoptions and fosterage, rank order of kin status, couples' relationships, expectations for kin roles); (4) caregiving activities by parents, older siblings, other adults in the home, and adult kin in other households; (5) parents' and caregivers' ideas about child temperament and developmental goals for the child; (6) parents' and caregivers' responses to various types of child misbehavior; (7) description of the home environment and material possessions; (8) child health, nutrition, and eating habits; (9) comparison of past and present child rearing practices; (10) caregivers' hopes for the children's future; and (11) summary of findings, implications for child well-being, and prospects for cultural survival of a distinctive rearing style. (Contains approximately 270 references, chapter notes, an index, and photographs.) (SV)