ANZLIE_JACKO EVAN_STRASSBURG JACQUELINE_JACKO JAMEY_JOSEPH JODY_POTTS_JOSEPH JOEL_JACKO JOHN_PINGAYAK LAWSON_PINGAYAK LIANA_PINGAYAK LILIAN MATTHEW PANITA_PINGAYAK PATRICK PAXTON RAINI TIG_STRASSBURG JOHN PINGAYAK Get in the boat. Let's go. JOEL JACKO And we're off. JODY POTTS JOSEPH I have a great deal of respect for the Yukon River. JOEL JACKO The Iliamna River opens up this whole area of land connecting people out here. TIG STRASSBURG My people my family we come the Koyukuk River and that's what we live on. JOHN PINGAYAK The Kashunuk River it's part of my life and it has been part of my life for thousands of years. JODY POTTS JOSEPH These rivers are a huge source of everything for us. TIG STRASSBURG We get our fish from it. Travel it. Hunt on it. Pretty much everything we need comes from the river out here. JODY POTTS JOSEPH It's just like the blood that flows in our body. JOHN PINGAYAK It's a life giving water. TIG STRASSBURG It's our blood line and these rivers they're the veins of Alaska. JOHN PINGAYAK I saw something around here. Right there! It's a seal! Lawson get ready! JOHN PINGAYAK Lawson make sure you're looking all over. PATRICK MATCHIAN, JR. I got the harpoon ready already. JOHN PINGAYAK Make sure you watch your area. PATRICK MATCHIAN, JR. Right there up in front, right there. Over there. JOHN PINGAYAK Too low. PATRICK MATCHIAN, JR. It's hard to find right now. PANITA PINGAYAK You can smell the oil, the oil from the seal. RAINI Yeah, I can smell it. PATRICK MATCHIAN, JR. Seal's they're a good treat to have. PATRICK MATCHIAN, JR. Rich in oil and they have a lot of meat. Guess we might've lost it. JOHN PINGAYAK We'll stop there in uh and wait for it to come up. Look all over. PAXTON It's got to be somewhere around here. TIG STRASSBURG Sit up and look around Evan it could be anywhere on these hills. On the banks, anywhere. The Kanuti river is a good area to hunt. TIG STRASSBURG [speaking Central Denaakk'e] Daa?tl'edze. TIG STRASSBURG Black bear in our Denaakk'e language. TIG STRASSBURG It's got nice grass on the banks along both sides of it. TIG STRASSBURG There's berries, fish in these rivers. TIG STRASSBURG It's just a good spot to go hunting with my son. It's gotta be out here, out in bear country. I see rocks. It's a tricky river to drive, it's shallow. Gets a little nerve racking you know I'm watching the banks, I'm watching the walls of the canyon I'm looking ahead for boulders in the river. EVAN STRASSBURG This is such a shallow place. TIG STRASSBURG In September bears, they'll disappear. We don't see them very often. EVAN STRASSBURG Yeah. TIG STRASSBURG So, it's best to find them right now. And after that we gotta find them in the den. It's a real good area it's pretty open, we can see all over. There's a lot of bear signs here. I know that there's bears here, many times I've seen them here this is where they come to eat salmon also. All right, let's go take a walk up here. Bears are usually always up on these hills sides eating everything. Bear meat is a staple of our diet. When somebody gets a bear were not a greedy people, all of us. We all like to share eating our natural cultural foods. Got down black bear prints. Yeah, got a little guy right here. First year on his own. Young cub, small. Looks like a wolf print almost, eh? EVAN STRASSBURG Yup. TIG STRASSBURG See a little heel right there and a small little pad. One, two, three, four, five are the toes. That's a good sign. That's the first part of our stop and we've seen some actual tracks. Not much farther. We'll get bars up here, hills, all kinds of good country. All right boy, let's go continue looking for. TIG STRASSBURG [speaking Central Denaakk'e] Daa?tl'edze. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Jamey we'll just use the same eddy that we've been using. JAMEY JOSEPH Yeah. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Today we're gonna set our white fish net, it's a small mesh net. JODY POTTS JOSEPH To hopefully catch some whitefish for us and maybe some sucker fish or other species for our dogs too. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Normally this time of year we'd be still getting some king salmon and we'd be starting the dog salmon run but the Yukon River salmon has basically been decimated by overfishing in the ocean. People have been banned from fishing the Yukon for salmon for four summers now. JAMEY JOSEPH Try this spot huh? JODY POTTS JOSEPH It's a really challenging time right now, our people are grieving the loss of the salmon. Will that be strong enough? JAMEY JOSEPH Yeah, it's strong enough. JODY POTTS JOSEPH So, we're gonna at least try with some whitefish, it's not the same quality as salmon but it's something. You ready for me to shove off? JAMEY JOSEPH Yup, I'm ready. JODY POTTS JOSEPH The type of mesh that we're allowed to use targets smaller species fish like whitefish. Uh, oh. Hold on babe tangle, tangle, tangle. The net we're using doesn't typically catch the king salmon because it's such tiny mesh they'll bump into it and will swim away. Okay. I got it. Yeah, I got it. Every fish counts. We need every fish to make it to the spawning grounds so, you know, we can get those fish back into the salmon cycle. We're almost to the end. JAMEY JOSEPH This is ideally where they're, where they're gonna be coming up in the current on the, you know, right here. That's shallow right there. That's kinda like a choke point here. JODY POTTS JOSEPH We usually let the net set for about twenty four hours and then we check it. All right let's head home. Why you gotta be so handsome? JAMEY JOSEPH Just for you. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Skoden! JAMEY JOSEPH Skoden, huh? JOEL JACKO Tracker get out of the way. JACQUELINE JACKO Whoa, whoa, whoa. JOEL JACKO The planks on its last leg. JACQUELINE JACKO Ah! Wait! Oh, my gosh. Okay. JOEL JACKO All right, uh, I guess drop it. This is just gonna have to go in the boat like this we'll have to untangle it in the water. JOEL JACKO So, right here we're kind of at the end spot for the salmon. JOEL JACKO And they're silver in the ocean and as soon as they hit fresh water, they start to turn red. Not really good to eat anymore. This is kinda our one last shot to go get a couple more before they're too red to eat. JACQUELINE JACKO Here we go! JOEL JACKO Should we get like a hundred. JACQUELINE JACKO A hundred fish? JOEL JACKO Hundred fish. JACQUELINE JACKO Get a hundred? JOEL JACKO The biggest thing we can actually harvest here is salmon. This is one of the biggest salmon runs in the world. You know the salmon will feed you all year, that's the goal. I'm not seeing anything in here. They're usually right back in here. Oh, I don't think I've ever come back here and have not seen fish. JACQUELINE JACKO It's possible. JOEL JACKO That's not a good sign. That is weird. JACQUELINE JACKO Well, what are we gonna do? JOEL JACKO I wanna check out a couple more bays. It's weird they're not in here though. JACQUELINE JACKO That's very strange. JOEL JACKO A lot of the salmon fishing around Alaska has been restricted. JOEL JACKO Because the runs weren't big enough. JOEL JACKO I'm grateful that fishing wasn't restricted here. It's something, you know, you get used to and you do every year. ANZLIE JACKO Oh, I see some! JACQUELINE JACKO You see them? ANZLIE JACKO I see one hundred of them! JACQUELINE JACKO They're pretty red. JOEL JACKO I mean some of them are super silver it looks like. Like that, see that guy. JACQUELINE JACKO Oh, yeah. JOEL JACKO Yeah, this is going to be it for the year. This is it. JACQUELINE JACKO This is like our last, last feast. JOEL JACKO This is it. We're gonna make a ring today and it's the best way to do it is to be selective which we are today. Because we're trying to avoid the super red salmon. Here we go. We're gonna nose in, to the left with all the salmon and then you'll back up and just follow my directions. JACQUELINE JACKO Whoa, Tracker. Jeez, Tracker. JOEL JACKO I'll start backing up. JACQUELINE JACKO Start backing up? JOEL JACKO Yeah. JACQUELINE JACKO What direction? JOEL JACKO Backwards. JACQUELINE JACKO Oh, are we in reverse right now? JOEL JACKO No. The goal is to basically in circle the school of salmon with the net, so you want the bottom of your net touching the ground and then the fish have nowhere to go but into the net. Pull forward a bit, the opposite direction. Okay. Now put it in reverse quick. Now go in reverse the other way. JACQUELINE JACKO Can I start it in reverse? JOEL JACKO No. Here come hold the net. So, what we're doing this time is like the big factor. JACQUELINE JACKO You want me to just hold it while you drive? JOEL JACKO Just hold it. JACQUELINE JACKO Okay. JOEL JACKO You have seconds to try to make this ring before the salmon swim out and it's like the, it's like the most critical part of this whole thing. JACQUELINE JACKO Oh, oh, oh, oh. Yeah. We're gonna get some, we're gonna get some. JACQUELINE JACKO Oh, my gosh! JOEL JACKO Oh. That's too many! That was too many. JACQUELINE JACKO Whoa! Woo! JOEL JACKO And we're done fishing. JACQUELINE JACKO Dang. JOEL JACKO They actually look pretty good. I'm impressed. We can start pulling them in. It's super exciting when you're doing a ring you're like holding the net and you see the fish swimming in there and they're coming out of the water and then you're holding the net you can feel that weight hitting it and its pulling you. It's, uh, it's pretty exciting because you only get to do it you know this like one week in the summer. ANZLIE JACKO Dad, can I help? JACQUELINE JACKO Did you count those fishies? ANZLIE JACKO One, two, three, four fish. One, two, three, four, five, we have five. I still see the floating one. JOEL JACKO Oh, yeah? JACQUELINE JACKO Maybe an eagle will eat it. JOEL JACKO If not a bear will come eat 'em or something. Oh, oh, ah! ANZLIE JACKO That was crazy! JACQUELINE JACKO Tracker! God. ANZLIE JACKO Tracker, no. Uh! JACQUELINE JACKO Tracker! ANZLIE JACKO Don't hit me in the face. JOEL JACKO Tracker, uh, is the worst fishing dog I have ever seen. Every fish that you pull into the boat he's like trying to bite it he's just super happy and in the way and knocking people over but he's having so much fun doing it that it's hard to leave him home. We're gonna smoke these for two days. ANZLIE JACKO Tracker's right next to us! JACQUELINE JACKO Oh, my gosh. He better not swim in the net. JOEL JACKO What? Where's Tracker? ANZLIE JACKO Tracker is underneath us. JOEL JACKO He is? JACQUELINE JACKO What? ANZLIE JACKO I think. JOEL JACKO Oh, there he is. Ugh, two more. JACQUELINE JACKO Last two. JOEL JACKO Ugh. Now we have to do the work. JACQUELINE JACKO Yeah. ANZLIE JACKO Daddy will get the guts out. JOEL JACKO We gotta get the guts out. JACQUELINE JACKO Gotta get the guts out. JOEL JACKO All right. You ready? JACQUELINE JACKO Yeah. ANZLIE JACKO Yeah. JOEL JACKO You ready? ANZLIE JACKO Yeah! JOEL JACKO The last hoorah for fish. JODY POTTS JOSEPH So, the water rose up quite a few inches, huh? How far high do you think it is? JAMEY JOSEPH About a foot (30 centimeters). JODY POTTS JOSEPH Like a foot (30 centimeters), yeah. So, we're headed to check our fish nets that's been in the water for. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Uh, twenty four hours. Lot of drift babe. So, I guess we'll see. Oh, hey, look! It's, Jamey, come. It's a live salmon. You got it? JAMEY JOSEPH It's a small salmon. It's good to see but, uh, There are rules and regulations in place. JAMEY JOSEPH I mean if they're alive we can't keep them. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Does it look healthy? JAMEY JOSEPH Yeah. It's good. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Go to your spawning grounds fish. JAMEY JOSEPH I would've liked to have kept it, you know, I love salmon but, uh, there's not enough of them so, it was the right thing to do. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Nothing but that one live salmon that we threw back. Nothing, nothing. Gosh, when I was growing up, you know, when we'd set our white fish net, it'd always be full, we'd always have plenty for our family. JAMEY JOSEPH All right, let's pull it and move it. JODY POTTS JOSEPH All right. Let's pull it then. JAMEY JOSEPH Okay. JODY POTTS JOSEPH You know all summer these nets would always be producing. It's just really unusual what we're experiencing. Not having full nets is really tough, tough time. Whatever we spend our time and money doing, we really wanna make sure it's kind of worth it. We're burning gas and spending time fishing. Little muddy. It's good. JAMEY JOSEPH All right. JODY POTTS JOSEPH So it's not far. So, this, uh, clear river comes in, it's snow melt and run off meeting up with the Yukon that's full of glacial silt. JAMEY JOSEPH Oh, that's why we got clear water where the whitefish and sheefish and pike and stuff kinda go up to do, you know, they hang out there. So that's what we're after. JODY POTTS JOSEPH It's kind of a cool spot where it blends together, the clear water with silty water and it always reminds me of like mixing coffee with cream. JAMEY JOSEPH You ready? JODY POTTS JOSEPH Yes. JAMEY JOSEPH You ready to do this? Okay. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Okay. We're gonna go ahead and try our luck here in this location and just hope that we have better luck. TIG STRASSBURG All right, son. We're back in the Kanuti now. TIG STRASSBURG There's this inlet right here. We'll float through there and check the walls of the canyon see if we can see any, see anything eating on the hill side. TIG STRASSBURG There's a nice big canyon back there where the bears like to go and eat berries on the sides of the hills. TIG STRASSBURG And the canyon, and they dig up the roots. Geese right here, Ev. Let's go grab one, have us some dinner. I didn't bring any food for us to eat. I knew that, you know, if we got hungry, we'd find something. These birds can't fly quite yet, every summer they molt their feathers, and they have to grow new ones back and they can't fly for a while. Let's try to get these ones to go over to the bank over there. Get them stuck on the cut bank. Ev, jump up front. EVAN STRASSBURG Okay. TIG STRASSBURG Gotta peak around the water see if you can see them underneath. EVAN STRASSBURG Okay. TIG STRASSBURG You see them scoop them with that net. EVAN STRASSBURG Okay. TIG STRASSBURG Right there, dead ahead. Ah. EVAN STRASSBURG No, ugh. TIG STRASSBURG Look for them, Ev. You see him? EVAN STRASSBURG No. TIG STRASSBURG Right there. Right against the grass right there you see it? EVAN STRASSBURG Oh, right there. I see him now. TIG STRASSBURG Don't let him go. Get him. Come on, get it! EVAN STRASSBURG Agh. No! I got him. Think I got him. TIG STRASSBURG All right. Good job, Ev. EVAN STRASSBURG Uh hmm. TIG STRASSBURG Make sure his neck break. The Kanuti River it's always a bountiful place for us to get some food. Let go make our way out of the canyon and we'll check out Gogo Mountain. EVAN STRASSBURG Sounds like a plan, man. JODY POTTS JOSEPH James, I'm just gonna pick these ones here. These are really nice healthy looking raspberry leaves. JODY POTTS JOSEPH I'm gonna give you this to hold while I pick the raspberry leaves. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Our net is in the water we're just waiting to check it in the morning but. JODY POTTS JOSEPH For today think we'll go ahead and just pick some medicinal herbs, get some picked before, uh, it's too late. JODY POTTS JOSEPH There's a few things that we need to get done and wrap up, before this winter. And so one of the things is I wanna get these medicines harvest and hung to dry. What I've heard is that rose hips have five times the vitamin C of an orange. They're super good for you. Picking the ripe ones. The darker reds ones are ripe when they're soft. And you can actually eat them right now. So normally I'd be taking care of fish that I wouldn't have a whole lot of extra time to harvest a bunch of medicine, I'm just trying to make the most of not being able to be super busy with a ton of fish. These are really big stocks of these rose bushes are as big as like a small tree. Our world here is changing and we're having to adapt as native people. We're like canary in the coal mine living so close to the land and being so dependent on the land and its resources for our way of life we are the ones to first face the impacts. Okay. So this is stinkweed, this is, um, a cancer fighter, very high in antioxidants and it makes actually really nice, flavored tea. I'm just doing my best to stay busy and productive and still have this time on the land and use what it offers for us. Well, I think I got enough, I got quite a bit. All right, pups, let's go home. JAMEY JOSEPH Come children. PATRICK MATCHIAN, JR. Try not to make too much noise in the boat. JOHN PINGAYAK When we saw the seal, it was. JOHN PINGAYAK Inside the river. JOHN PINGAYAK We have to be very alert. JOHN PINGAYAK Estimating where it�s going. LAWSON PINGAYAK Over there. Oh, too high. PANITA PINGAYAK Try not to rush your shot, Lawsy. PATRICK MATCHIAN, JR. It is an exciting moment when we get our first seal. PATRICK MATCHIAN, JR. Makes you feel proud. JOHN PINGAYAK Patrick, do you want to start shooting? Lawson is a young boy. He hardly even 8th grade, but he's becoming a young man. JOHN PINGAYAK And he's becoming a good provider, but we help each other when we're hunting out there. Side by side. PANITA PINGAYAK Get ready. JOHN PINGAYAK Over there! PANITA PINGAYAK Think I shot at the same spot. JOHN PINGAYAK We try to get it tired. We keep shooting it, even if it's a little too far away. Try to outwit that seal. PANITA PINGAYAK Right there, front, front, front. JOHN PINGAYAK Right there, shoot it! LAWSON PINGAYAK I got it! PATRICK MATCHIAN, JR. Got it. PATRICK MATCHIAN, JR. I think we got it. JOHN PINGAYAK Oh. Yeah! All right. Lawson, good job! LAWSON PINGAYAK What kind of seal is it? JOHN PINGAYAK Look like a maklagaq. LAWSON PINGAYAK I didn't know it was a maklagaq. LAWSON PINGAYAK Until my Aata said it. JOHN PINGAYAK It's a five star honor for a young man to catch a bearded seal. The seal comes to us for a drink of water, so you have to be the one to give water to it. LAWSON PINGAYAK We don't catch 'em, they give themselves to us so they can have some water. JOHN PINGAYAK Now you're gonna kill the spirit of the seal. Cut it on the forehead of the seal. Okay. Yeah, right there. Okay, cut. When we cut the forehead of the seal, we kill the spirit and it goes to the bladder. And there it's contained, the spirit. That's how you have to respect the seal. LAWSON PINGAYAK Okay. JOHN PINGAYAK Okay. Give me that knife. Gimme five. All right. Let's go back. Lawson's first seal. RAINI Way to go, Lawsy. JOHN PINGAYAK And that's a blessing for our family. When we get back to Chevak, we're going to give it away to the elders. TIG STRASSBURG There's Gogo. TIG STRASSBURG Evan and I, we're gonna go climb Gogo Mountain. TIG STRASSBURG There's a lot of different areas where go for different types of animals. TIG STRASSBURG And this is an area that we look for Daa?tl'edze. TIG STRASSBURG That ridge right there. It's a long ways away from the river and these bears when they're eating blueberries and not fish, they got a sweeter taste and they're fat and their meat is good food for the winter coming up. TIG STRASSBURG No strap, you gotta carry it incase something pop out, you gotta have your gun ready 'cause we're going into bear country now. We're gonna be sneaking, whenever you're sneaking you can usually walk up to something. And when you startle these animals they get mad and they like to attack, so you got to have your gun ready. EVAN STRASSBURG Okay. EVAN STRASSBURG If I see a Daa?tl'edze. EVAN STRASSBURG I would be pretty scared but if it's in the distance I wouldn't be scared cause probably can't do nothing but run. This part is steep. TIG STRASSBURG Yup, first part is the worst part. Watch your foot. Evan, he likes to be out in the woods. He's ready to learn, he wants to learn all this, it gives me hope for this next generation coming up. Look at that. It's what we're looking for. That's bear scat, bear poop. See how it's all purple? EVAN STRASSBURG Yeah. TIG STRASSBURG That means he's eating blueberries, he's not eating fish. It's a good sign, exactly what we want to see. So, we'll start trying to be quiet and maybe we might see something. TIG STRASSBURG Now we are in the bear country. Evan, look at that. Little bit of blond hair. See, when he rubbed his back on here. Next bear will come by, he'll smell it and it's just like a log book for them. They know who's in country. They all know each other; they've all fought before. Keep looking, there's gotta be a live one around someplace. JOEL JACKO Tracker dog. JOEL JACKO So the ring worked out, we were able to catch a bunch of salmon. JACQUELINE JACKO Should we count, while we do it. JOEL JACKO Oh. This is kinda the worst part of the whole thing. It's always fun to catch a salmon but the cleaning, it's the labor intensive part. All right. Hundred and three. JACQUELINE JACKO Um, I'm gonna start with the head, right? JOEL JACKO Yeah. So cut, yeah, like there. And once you break through the backbone. JACQUELINE JACKO Collar. JOEL JACKO Yeah, then follow the collar around. So, it took Jacqueline a few years, you know to kinda get accustom with the fish cause when I first brought her out here she wouldn't even touch 'em. JACQUELINE JACKO Anzlie, bring daddy a fish. JOEL JACKO But now it's like, she's like a natural. She's cleaning and in great spirits about everything. ANZLIE JACKO Here, daddy. JOEL JACKO Anzlie's come along way too. Now she's helping us out, throwing fish for us, it's great. So after we filet them, we'll salt them like normal for. JACQUELINE JACKO Fifty minutes. JOEL JACKO Fifty minutes? JACQUELINE JACKO Uh hmm. JOEL JACKO Yeah. And then we'll hang 'em. So all the fish we're getting today is for canning. That's kinda our favorite thing to eat in the winter. It'll last forever like it'll last for years and years. JACQUELINE JACKO It's a bear for sure. Tracker definitely heard a bear. JOEL JACKO They're fighting. JACQUELINE JACKO What? What? JOEL JACKO Oh, yeah. I can hear the bear growling. JACQUELINE JACKO I'm getting on it. JACQUELINE JACKO No, you stay with daddy. JOEL JACKO What? JACQUELINE JACKO I'm gonna go shoot that bear if it's getting Tracker. Okay. JOEL JACKO Hey Jacqueline! Tracker's coming back. JACQUELINE JACKO Huh? JOEL JACKO He's coming back. JACQUELINE JACKO Oh. Oh my gosh. I'll do whatever I can to protect that dog, he protects us. And we have a gun so I can at least go scare the bear away from Tracker if he's starting to fight our dog. JOEL JACKO Tracker may not be a good fish dog but he's a hell of a bear dog. JACQUELINE JACKO Oh. JOEL JACKO So you were gonna get in between the dog and the bear fighting, huh? JACQUELINE JACKO Absolutely, yes! JOEL JACKO All right. And that's how Jacqueline died. JACQUELINE JACKO I wouldn't. JOEL JACKO Good on her, I mean good on her. I, you wouldn't catch me doing that. And we have so many salmon that it brings all the bears and draws all the bears from all over the place, here. JACQUELINE JACKO It's amazing that he can just smell them and hear them. JOEL JACKO Yeah I know, I didn't hear nothing. JACQUELINE JACKO You know, we don't, it's no wind or rain. JOEL JACKO Ah. JACQUELINE JACKO What? JOEL JACKO You were gonna after, you were gonna go after the bear. JACQUELINE JACKO It's not funny. JOHN PINGAYAK Bring the, bring the seal in. LIANA PINGAYAK What do you got? LAWSON PINGAYAK [speaking Cup'ik] A Maklagaq. LIANA PINGAYAK Whoa! LIANA PINGAYAK I got a phone call from my dad excitedly telling me. LIANA PINGAYAK Liana, Lawson caught a Maklagaq! And I was like, what? You know, wow. 'Cause that's a big step for a young hunter. Oh it's pretty clean. You're a good shooter, Lawson. LIANA PINGAYAK Glad you caught your first Maklagaq with your Aata. LIANA PINGAYAK Awesome, good job. Okay, let's get started sisters. PANITA PINGAYAK Okay. LIANA PINGAYAK The first thing we wanted to do was process it to give it to as much elders or community members you know to feed their families. PANITA PINGAYAK We're just separating the meat from the oil. PANITA PINGAYAK We give these to people, we want to make sure that they're our best. JOHN PINGAYAK When the youngster catches one for the first time, all of it gonna be given away. That's the tradition. LIANA PINGAYAK When they're working on the skin, I'll be working on the meat. Growing up here we had our own factory going. We all had our different jobs to do when it came to working on a seal. And Panita was the skinner, that's why she's an expert at it. PANITA PINGAYAK I'm happy to be helping with Lawson's first catch. LIANA PINGAYAK I know he's gonna be a great hunter, he already is. He'll just keep me busy, but it's a good thing I have all my sisters to help me. I want to try and preserve the skin to practice one of our traditions. JOHN PINGAYAK We call it Kalukaq. JOHN PINGAYAK Kalukaq is a feast. A big feast for him as a young hunter. LIANA PINGAYAK Should I start calling some people? PANITA PINGAYAK Yeah, we're almost done. RAINI Who you going to call? PANITA PINGAYAK Ghostbusters. LIANA PINGAYAK Some elders, we'll see. LAWSON PINGAYAK Your first catch, you can't just have an animal so we give it away. PANITA PINGAYAK Liana, I'm done. LIANA PINGAYAK I know when Lawson blesses others, they're gonna bless him too. LIANA PINGAYAK With good thoughts. JODY POTTS JOSEPH I guess this is the last net check. JODY POTTS JOSEPH If we don't get anything now then I think we just pull it. JAMEY JOSEPH Yeah. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Well, let's go check it out. JAMEY JOSEPH Kay. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Fishing on the Yukon is not a sport, it's not a hobby, it's not a pastime. This is our way of life. Let's pray we have something. I think we have like a little, oh I don't know if it's in here. Yeah, it's a little dog salmon. JAMEY JOSEPH Ah. JODY POTTS JOSEPH It's dead though. JAMEY JOSEPH It's alive? JODY POTTS JOSEPH No it's dead. JAMEY JOSEPH The numbers are so low, um, that if it was caught alive we would release it but it's dead so we're gonna keep it. And that's for our consumption there. JODY POTTS JOSEPH A little one. While we're thankful for this fish. We need these salmon to have an opportunity to make it to the spawning grounds. Nothing's dead. JAMEY JOSEPH Hang onto it, I'll pull it. If we don't let them come back, they will die off. I sure hope it doesn't disappear, not in my lifetime I hope. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Are those Peregrine or hawks? JAMEY JOSEPH They look like falcons to me. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Uh hmm. Nice to see the falcons come back. Seeing those falcons over us, it's just a reminder that maybe there's still hope. In the eighties growing up here there was none and the park service and other agencies were doing studies and stuff and trying to bring them back and that's when all the raptors in North America were being impacted from DDT and almost extinct but we've had a really good comeback. It's a reminder that, you know there's one salmon there's more in there. Let's let them get up to the spawning grounds 'cause every salmon counts. Let's go home and cook it up right now, huh? JAMEY JOSEPH Okay. JODY POTTS JOSEPH We'll cut this up and cook it. JAMEY JOSEPH Yeah. TIG STRASSBURG Look at that, there's moose poop. As we were hiking up Gogo mountain we did run into some signs of bear so we're just gonna keep going to the top. Oh, see this. There's old trash around. TIG STRASSBURG The people a lot of times on the hike up they drink them and then they'll hang them on branches as a trail marker. TIG STRASSBURG But as you can see this is a little worn out trail into the ground, you don't need trail markers so, we'll might as well pack these home. EVAN STRASSBURG Yeah. TIG STRASSBURG And if you don't they ain't never going anywhere, they'll be here forever. You know, this is our land. We got no maid coming in behind us cleaning up you know. At some point in time I gotta pass this land off to my children. They gotta pass it off on to their children and we don't want to pass a lot of trash down. We want to pass down something beautiful. Stuff like this, it will benefit us future down the line. Someday I'm gonna be gone and that's my legacy right there. That's what I'm gonna pass on to this world. I guess we'll sit and wait, pull out the binoculars. And see if we can spot anything over there on that hill. From right here we can plan an attack. See what you gotta do if you want the good food. Getting here is one part and patience is the next. TIG STRASSBURG And it's all about getting the vantage point. TIG STRASSBURG Can't believe it got this dark on us. EVAN STRASSBURG Yeah. TIG STRASSBURG Another sign of fall time, starting to get dark again. It's starting to get pretty hard to see, we're gonna have to get off this mountain before it gets pitch black on us. So, we did it, we tried. And we should start making our way back to the boat. We still got a long ride home. Now you know this trail. Feel confident that someday when you got the boat to yourself you can bring your kids up here. Show your kids these trails. Even though we didn't have any luck, I do feel proud as a father seeing my son be able to navigate this country. Learning how to navigate this life. Don't forget, you always need your axe when you come up here. My dad always worked a lot, didn't get to see him a whole lot so I try my hardest to spend as much time as I can out there with all my kids. Holy cow, we made it boy. Oh. I look over at my son, he doesn't mind, he's still got a big smile on his face. He's just loving being out there in the woods and so I gotta step back and look at that. No bear but that's okay. It's not gonna be up there every time we go up there. Sometimes they're there, sometimes they're not. Just gotta keep trying. JOEL JACKO So, you guys want to pull it up and I'll go up there and catch 'em. JACQUELINE JACKO Yeah. ANZLIE JACKO Can I hook it? JOEL JACKO Yeah. Yeah go right, there you go right in the middle. Yeah. So I got all the fish filleted and everything ready to go in the smokehouse. So we'll drag them up there and throw them in there for a couple days. JACQUELINE JACKO Go, go, go, go! Pull baby! JOEL JACKO Pull! Hull! JACQUELINE JACKO Pull! JOEL JACKO Heave! Don't drop it. We'll have fish all over the place. JACQUELINE JACKO You gotta get it! JOEL JACKO I got it. Do the other one. One of the funnest thing about this is like Anzlie has a lot of fun doing it and just the whole process to her is you know. You see her face light up with everything. Come on in. ANZLIE JACKO It's a playhouse. JOEL JACKO It's a playhouse? ANZLIE JACKO [inaudible] JOEL JACKO Look at that. JACQUELINE JACKO Nice. JOEL JACKO We start hanging? JACQUELINE JACKO Yeah. JOEL JACKO Sticky. JACQUELINE JACKO You think there's enough fish to keep our bellies full? ANZLIE JACKO Yup. JACQUELINE JACKO So, we're gonna two day smoke this batch of fish. It crisps the skin, it keeps all the oils locked in and it's kinda that fatty good fish flavor. JOEL JACKO This dries it out just enough too, to where it's. JACQUELINE JACKO Still got that oils and. JOEL JACKO And it can even go on a cracker right now. It's good. JACQUELINE JACKO Yeah. JOEL JACKO Should we light the fire? Is there any smoke coming out of the eves yet? JACQUELINE JACKO Oh yeah. JOEL JACKO Oh yeah, it is smoking a little bit. JACQUELINE JACKO Nice work. Nice working hunny. JOEL JACKO And now we wait. JOHN PINGAYAK Come in. JOHN PINGAYAK [speaking Cup'ik] Aalaa, quyana ilagararpekut. LILIAN Yes. JOHN PINGAYAK [speaking Cup'ik] Quayana Taiguten. LILIAN Wow. Wow look at that. LAWSON PINGAYAK [inaudible] LILIAN [inaudible] LILIAN [speaking Cup'ik] Quyana. LILIAN Wow, Lawson, so I'm gonna have a good meal. LIANA PINGAYAK That's the kind of vibes we want to send towards Lawson and his hunting career. JOHN PINGAYAK [speaking Cup'ik] Yaa, ii i. Quyana. Aryuqamken. JOHN PINGAYAK [speaking Cup'ik] Aryuqamken. Tailuten. JOHN PINGAYAK [speaking Cup'ik] Tutgarama pitaa. JOHN PINGAYAK It was a great honor for them to come over and to honor the hunter in the family. LIANA PINGAYAK Want him to bring it out for you? MATTHEW Oh, ok. I was gonna hug you. LIANA PINGAYAK Hug. MATTHEW Hey. LAWSON PINGAYAK Felt good getting blessed by elders. Hope you enjoy it. MATTHEW All right. JOHN PINGAYAK He's a provider now. He�ll be a great hunter. JODY POTTS JOSEPH As far as the native value system, we are a part of nature. We are part of this environment. When one thing is impacted, so are we. I fried up that fresh chum salmon that we caught, made us a little meal. The way to Jamey's heart is through his stomach. JAMEY JOSEPH Hmm. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Lucky for me I'm a good cook. [inaudible] JAMEY JOSEPH Well, glad we got some medicine put away. JODY POTTS JOSEPH It's nice that we have other ways to, other things we can harvest from the land. I'm thankful for the one fish. It's just sad it's not more. That's all that's in my heart and mind right now is just praying for the salmon. Right now we are out of balance. JODY POTTS JOSEPH Think a lot of these resources need to be managed by the indigenous people of this land. We need to quit commodifying our resources. We need indigenous sovereignty. JOHN PINGAYAK Our river's work together as one source. JOEL JACKO Waterways for the salmon and the trout and everything and that's, you know, pretty important to me and pretty important to other animals too. JODY POTTS JOSEPH When we're impacted so are things around us. TIG STRASSBURG We're a people of the river. We're connected, we're one with that river out there. JACQUELINE JACKO Ooh, okay. Whoa, whoa, whoa. JOEL JACKO Really trying to keep the vampires away. JACQUELINE JACKO We don't want that much garlic, pumpkin. ANZLIE JACKO [inaudible] JACQUELINE JACKO We'll be keeping everybody away. Our last canning salmon of the year. I'm excited we'll be able to fill the pantry. JOEL JACKO I'm just really happy that me and my families back and get to, we get to enjoy everything together again. JACQUELINE JACKO This is gonna be the hot batch. This is my spicy batch. JOEL JACKO Yeah. Those are good ones, I like the spicy ones. JACQUELINE JACKO Yeah, see what you think. Taste it. JOEL JACKO Oh. That's super spicy. I mean the purpose of this 'cause it keeps like for years. JACQUELINE JACKO Yeah. JOEL JACKO I mean the smoked fish, the dried, the stuff that's cold smoked, that stuff's good for adventures. So that's good to take with you when you're hiking or something but the canned stuff is, is more, it's better for, you know, home. You don't have to worry about it going bad. JACQUELINE JACKO I know. Look. Oh. We have one down. JOEL JACKO One jar down. JACQUELINE JACKO One down and. JOEL JACKO Two hundred to go. JACQUELINE JACKO Yeah. JOEL JACKO One of the biggest things with all this is kinda passing on my knowledge to my daughter and Jacqueline for that matter. And how the world's, you know, going like couldn't be someday this is the way of life. Might have go revert back to old school times where we are living off the land a hundred percent. The big thing with living out here is you are self sustainable. You know, from fishing to hunting to just fixing your own stuff. It's very gratifying. Throw in the pressure cooker. I never made a bomb before. JACQUELINE JACKO All right so, now we're gonna wait and it'll be done in ninety minutes. ANZLIE JACKO Ninety? JACQUELINE JACKO Uh hmm. JOEL JACKO Uh hmm. And now we wait.