 In 1974, Nelson left his career as a professor and returned to Ambler and Shungnak, Alaska, taking a job with a United States federal agency, the National Park Service.Nelson worked with the National Park Service to map how the First Nation People utilized the wild, both traditionally and conventionally.After spending time in Amber and Shungnak, Alaska with Kobuk Eskimos, Nelson traveled to the Koyukuk Drainage, dog mushing over the Dalki Pass.