Asked to consider the role of the writer, Mr. Lopez has said:

I like to use the word isumatug. It’s of eastern Arctic Eskimo dialect and refers to the storyteller, meaning ‘the person who creates the atmosphere in which wisdom reveals itself.’ I think that’s the writer’s job. It’s not to be brilliant, or to be the person who always knows, but … to be the one who recognizes the patterns that remind us of our obligations and our dreams.

'Arctic Dreams' by Robin Eschner