From sea to summit, Yakutat\u2019s horizon boasts the tallest, most rapidly ascending mountain on Earth. It is here, below Mt. Saint Elias (Was\u2019eitushaa), where the Yakutat Tlingit (Yaakwd\u00e1at) have carved their home.<\/p>\n
On the banks of the S\u2019itak River, Elora fearlessly admired the beating heart of a freshly killed sockeye salmon. Elora\u2019s Tlingit name is Sei S\u2019oox\u2019, and she belongs to the Teikweid\u00ed clan. Her people settled in Yakutat centuries ago. Today, she is salmon (Xaat) fishing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a little girl, I would make mom crazy trying to run into the river to swim with the salmon,\u201d she asserted, her eyes transfixed on the heart as it dances its final rhythm into her palm. \u201cI ate a salmon heart once because sister dared me to.\u201d Gasps and giggles erupt across the plywood processing table. Boys and girls are learning how to properly fillet sockeye salmon they plucked moments earlier from turquoise set nets.<\/p>\n
The group is participating in Yakutat\u2019s Culture Camp (Haa Yaakwd\u00e1at Kusteeyi Yanshuk\u00e1). This overnight camp is a place where kids are given space to be their honest selves.<\/p>\n
\u201cCulture Camp strengthens us as a native community, and it shows kids a lot of the skills they need to just feel proud of who they are,\u201d Gloria Wolfe said. Gloria\u2019s Tlingit name is X\u2019aal Eex\u2019 Tl\u00e1a, and she belongs to the Wooshkeetaan clan. She is the Cultural Heritage Coordinator with Yakutat Tlingit Tribe.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of native folks here feel lost in their identity. It can lead to things like suicide or not really knowing how to combat bullying because they just don\u2019t have a strong base.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across society, people are increasingly estranged from their heritage, the land, and the local resources that feed their families. Culture Camp is changing that for people with ancestral ties to the Yakutat area.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had one girl who came here from a difficult background who lives in a city separated from all of this,\u201d Wolfe said as she opened her arms to embrace the scene. Siblings processed salmon, and kids chased each other with fistfuls of mud, teetered on giant driftwood castles, or waded in the silty river.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat that girl told us was very impactful,\u201d Wolfe continued. \u201cShe told us that \u2018During this camp, I realized why I am the way that I am. I have never felt like I fit in anywhere before, and now I know why I feel the way I feel, why I do things the way I do. I never knew that I belonged to a people before.\u2019\u201d Wolfe smiled, her son tugging on her waistband. \u201cIt was emotional for her to have that connection. That is what we are hoping for with this camp, to ground kids and let them be healthy being who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Forty kids ages 7-17 are participating in this year\u2019s camp. Activities include salmon and seal processing, Tlingit language classes, canoe paddling, form-line painting, and cedar bark weaving. The goal is to encourage campers to respect themselves, the natural environment, and the traditional tribal values and clan systems of the Yakutat Tlingit.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single kid wants to try and cut fish and smoke the fish. There is 100 percent participation. Same with seal, you would think blood and guts would freak them out, but they can\u2019t wait for their turn. There are these impulses and these instincts that show up out of nowhere, and their amazing fish cutting abilities just come out,\u201d Wolfe said.<\/p>\n
Whether in the art of salmon filleting, weaving, or pulling oars through the S\u2019itak River, the children are naturals and their movements instinctual.<\/p>\n
\u201cCulture Camp strengthens all of us, and it strengthens kids who may be fishermen and hunters. They can be one of the top dogs here and share those skills, whereas in other scenarios, they may not feel like a leader. Here, they can be shining stars,\u201d Wolfe said.<\/p>\n
Culture Camp reborn <\/strong><\/p>\n The Yakutat people have not always celebrated Culture Camp beside the S\u2019itak. In addition to carving their homeland into one of the most dynamic landscapes on Earth, the Yakutat Tlingit have overcome myriad social challenges in their journey. Under an increasing concern for Japanese attacks during WWII, the U.S. military scrambled for a foothold to defend the Aleutian Islands. One of the communities they looked to was Yakutat. At its peak, 15-20,000 troops were stationed in this isolated Alaskan village, which is now home to roughly 600 people. Military occupation brought dramatic changes in lifestyle for the Tlingit and new technologies. It also increased pressure on natural resources. Tlingits were denied access to many traditional fishing grounds, and important berry sites were replaced by roads and regulations.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the war, land was redistributed and the Yakutat Kwann (the local Native Corporation) acquired the Ankhouw area,\u201d Wolfe explained. \u201cWe were thrilled to return back to where we traditionally harvested, and we celebrated and had a Culture Camp on that land for many, many years until we came to find that there was tons of contamination left on-site: asbestos, agent orange, unexploded bombs, quonset huts, a huge oil tank that has been leaking ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n The Yakutat Tlingit Tribe ended Culture Camp abruptly in 1996.<\/p>\n \u201cThose days at Culture Camp were the best times of my life, seriously,\u201d Wolfe said. Later returning to Yakutat after years of schooling, Gloria Wolfe became the Cultural Heritage Coordinator and went to work. With the help of countless volunteers, financial risk-taking, and hours of grant writing, the Yakutat Tribe was able to secure a permit for new lands from the United States Forest Service and begin building camp. Yakutat\u2019s Haa Yaakwd\u00e1at Kusteeyi Yanshuk\u00e1 was reborn in 2015.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a truly collaborative effort,\u201d Gloria added.<\/p>\n Salmon and strength <\/strong><\/p>\n The sun started its slow summer tilt toward the horizon, illuminating the children\u2019s faces as they raced through the wildflowers with makeshift bows and arrows. In the smokehouse, seal fat oozed from purple flesh beside carefully hung strips of dry salmon. Students focused intently on form-line as they painted a new house front for their camp. Others practiced weaving by dipping strips of red cedar into water for their regalia. One baby collapsed in the mud with shrieks of joy. Tlingit was spoken casually across generations.<\/p>\n In the cookhouse, volunteers prepared dinner. Unsurprisingly, the food that sustained this sacred scene was fresh sockeye salmon. Ted Valle, Naatsk\u2019i.\u00e9esh of the Galy\u00e1x Kaagwaantaan clan, a community elder, prepared his famous \u201csupersoup\u201d for bustling campers. He stired seal fat, ribbon seaweed, salmon roe, salmon, and onions into a cauldron. The savory aroma crawled across Culture Camp.<\/p>\n \u201cHere, steak is the rich man\u2019s food and salmon, the poor man\u2019s food,\u201d Wolfe laughed. \u201cSalmon is a major staple, and we literally eat it twice a day for three to four months out of the year. Unfortunately, kids, we are eating king salmon again for dinner,\u201d she teased.<\/p>\n Coho, King, Dog, Sockeye, and Pink salmon all pulse through the braided rivers and streams that surround Yakutat. In town, access to fresh healthy food and affordable protein is a challenge. Yakutat is not alone in its pursuit for community health. Across the state, 65 percent of Alaskans are either overweight or obese (dhss.alaska.gov). Access to salmon and the sharing of recipes, processing skills, and preservation is not only integral for cultural wellbeing in rural Alaska, but it is essential for community health.<\/p>\n \u201cNot all of these kids come from healthy homes, and this is a healthy environment to talk about things. They get to be safe here, are well fed, and they have a place to laugh and have fun. We don\u2019t serve sugary drinks here, and the kids don\u2019t ask for them. The whole theme of this camp this year is \u2018What makes me healthy?\u2019 Part of that is having a cultural identity and part of that is eating your mother\u2019s food.\u201d<\/p>\n Gloria and a group of kids run fingers across a blanket of black seaweed, carefully separating the pieces to dry.<\/p>\n \u201cThese recipes, these foods have been passed down to you, and your body craves it, but sometimes you don\u2019t even realize what exactly you are craving. It just feels like you need carbs or energy,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cBut actually, what you need is seaweed! Or sockeye!\u201d<\/p>\n Nearby on sheets of cardboard, Kimberly Buller, Kuw\u00fax, emptied buckets of fresh salmon roe that the kids harvested in the morning. She and her sons prepared the roe for the smokehouse.<\/p>\n \u201cMy son told me that all he wants for his birthday is fish eggs,\u201d she said laughing. Clearly, the smallest generation at Culture Camp has the appetite to herald family traditions long into the future. He plunged his chubby fingers into the glowing orbs, pounding fistful after fistful past his toothy grin.<\/p>\n This site, these rivers, these practices, these foods, and these ceremonies are sacred. Organizing this camp has demanded resilience and community champions in the face of asbestos, loss, and hardship. The true champions, however, are the kids themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though we eat salmon all the time, those skills are not necessarily passing down. Some families here make the best dry fish, and their grandkids have no idea how to make it. That generational separation is hard to navigate. But, when the kids are here, their peers provide the positive influence that brings more of their peers to the table. \u2018Hey, this is what I know how to do, and I\u2019m pretty cute, and I\u2019m going to fillet this fish faster than you!\u2019\u201d Wolfe said.<\/p>\n Across the camp, supersoup is served. \u201cI could wrestle a bear after this,\u201d Ted whisperd after taking his first sip. Tlingit words were practiced, and elders shared stories of great migrations and the Little Ice Age. Beside a blazing driftwood fire, counselors remixed old songs with fresh beats. With salmon in their bellies, their smokehouses, and their streams, Yakutat\u2019s Haa Yaakwd\u00e1at Kusteeyi Yanshuk\u00e1 closed another day beside the swelling S\u2019itak.<\/p>\n Culture Camp is a cultural leadership resource for Alaska Native youth. Elders believe that Tlingit values, worldviews, and a sense of morality are embedded within their culture. It is important to the entire community of Yakutat that their children become culture bearers, Tlingit language speakers, and ambassadors. Culture Camp focuses on the health of the mind, body, environment, and community.<\/em><\/p>\n A version of this story also appeared on \u201cThe Salmon Life,\u201d a blog hosted by The Salmon Project, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The group\u2019s stated mission is to \u201cgive voice to Alaskans\u2019 deep relationships with salmon to ensure that Alaskans\u2019 lives will always be salmon lives.\u201d Visit http:\/\/salmonlife.org.<\/em><\/p>\n Bethany Goodrich is a freelance storyteller and the Communications Director for the Sustainable Southeast Partnership (SSP). SSP is a diverse group of partners dedicated to the cultural, ecological and economic prosperity of Alaska\u2019s rural communities. Visit www.SustainableSoutheast.net or www.bethany-goodrich.com for more.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From sea to summit, Yakutat\u2019s horizon boasts the tallest, most rapidly ascending mountain on Earth. It is here, below Mt. Saint Elias (Was\u2019eitushaa), where the Yakutat Tlingit (Yaakwd\u00e1at) have carved their home. On the banks of the S\u2019itak River, Elora fearlessly admired the beating heart of a freshly killed sockeye salmon. Elora\u2019s Tlingit name is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":13221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":7,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[74],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-13220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","tag-arts-and-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13220"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=13220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}