<\/a>Jonah Hurst learns how to clean salmon. Wrangell, Alaska. (Courtesy Photo \/ Vivian Faith Prescott)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
A Salmon Home: <\/strong>To have salmon gratitude is to appreciate a sense of home. Scientists say that salmon have a better sense of smell than bears or even our dogs — salmon can smell their home streams and rivers. Like salmon, we return. We return home from college, or back home after being treated for cancer in the city, or perhaps we’ve come back from living in other places, sometimes bearing gifts, or carrying our broken hearts home with us. Our sacred objects return, too, to their rightful place from deep within a museum drawer or a collector’s wall. We dance and sing these returns, whether they are people, salmon, or a clan hat. Home is where the salmon are.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Artistic Salmon:<\/strong><\/a> Salmon are inspiring. Salmon swim through airports and splash color across school walls. They swish up totem poles and across our dance masks. On Prince of Wales Island, a recently raised totem pole, the Sakteenedi Honor Totem Pole, is a tribute to the uncles of the dog salmon clan. Salmon are tattooed on our calves and etched in silver bracelets round our wrists. Abalone buttoned salmon dance at Celebration and attend board meetings. We paddle with painted salmon. We dangle salmon earrings, fill salmon skin wallets and wear salmon on our T-shirts and hats. Our creative lives are most certainly inspired by salmon.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Mary Goddard formline salmon art. (Courtesy Image \/ Mary Goddard)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Elders and Salmon:<\/strong> The oldest salmon fossil is 50 million years old. We live with old fish. Recently an old stone fish weir, dated at 11,000 years ago was discovered in Southeast Alaska. Ancient salmon, though, had a mouthful of large sharp teeth and weighed hundreds of pounds and grew from two feet up to nine feet long—It was this big! Though our arms may not be able to stretch as far as an ancient salmon, our arms can reel in fish and gift them to elders. What we’ve learned about respecting our human elders can be applied to salmon too, and vice versa. Make sure they’re always taken care of and listen to the wisdom of both our human and salmon elders.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Salmon Connection: <\/strong>Mary Peltola amused national media outlets with her Pro-Fish! campaign. Those who weren’t from Alaska were amused and a bit confused. Do Alaskans really love their salmon that much. Yes, we do.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Salmon fillet demonstration at Mickey’s Fishcamp in Wrangell. (Courtesy Photo \/ Vivian Faith Prescott)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Salmon Sustenance:<\/strong> There are thousands of ways to prepare and eat salmon. Salmon is our soul food. We are Salmon People. Eating smoked salmon reminds us of so many people we love. We eat salmon spread (dip) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and at every celebration in between. Also, the next time you eat fish, be thankful for the people who put their life on the line to catch the fish for you. If there’s an excuse to eat salmon, we’ll come up with it. Salmon spread on pilot bread, smoked salmon, salmon chowder, salmon casserole, salmon pie, salmon enchiladas, salmon pizza, salmon patties, grilled salmon, baked salmon, and fried salmon.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Salmon Memory:<\/strong> Salmon, like trees and glaciers, are recording our lives on this planet. Through the study of salmon scales, we can predict fish origin, spawning history, sea age and river age, and estimate growth. The fish recall their home streams. Thinking about the salmon’s incredible memory is sometimes melancholy. Especially in this season, reflecting all we’ve lost during the pandemic, we remember the elders who taught us to smoke salmon, the elders who helped us learn our Indigenous languages. Elders tell us stories about their lives in the villages, or lives as fishermen, or how life was lived a long time ago. Let us keep memories alive at our tables this season. Be grateful that lives were shared, and that we share our lives with salmon.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/a>