This examination of the contact between the Russian and native cultures in the exploration and conquest of Alaska, using such historical source material as expedition reports and an official complaint filed by the natives, is intended as the basis for an enquiry into the influence of literacy and non-literacy upon the interpreting process. Special difficulties mark the encounter between a literate and a non-literate culture, each being characterized by its own mode of thought. By being wary of such differences and seeking some common ground between the different parties, certain interpreters were successful in presenting especially inconspicuous distinguishing characteristics so that each party was able to adjust appropriately in order to further their mutual goals. An explanation of those characteristics of a society's material and lived culture which are otherwise easily overseen proves essential to the interpreter's communicative task. A consistent line of observation and argumentation, however, forces us to admit that the perspective of the interpreter as well as that of the researcher is inherently tainted, leaving little hope for the absolute success of any such communication, or research on it.