The purpose of this study was to undertake a broad-based examination of social change in rural Alaska, and how such changes may have been related to development of regional oil and gas resources. Point Lay was chosen as a case study site given lack of previous social research there, the likelihood of regional oil exploration occurring nearby, and the potential impacts such exploration could have on a small Alaska Native community. The report describes the history of the area; community and household demographics; kinship structure; religious institutions; leadership and formal social control; value systems; economy; and other aspects of life notable in the mid-1980s.