Salmon Lifeway

by Joel Isaak, Dena’ina

The Salmon come to us. This simple statement is deeply profound but today western science is just catching up to why this matters. Across Alaska our Indigenous people have lived with Salmon for thousands of years. Scientific fields describe Salmon as a keystone species. In the slow growing glaciated north plants have a limited growing cycle. Salmon provide the main nutritional value for the entire ecosystem of Alaska. Salmon bring the nutrients from the ocean up our rivers and streams and everything that eats salmon spreads these nutrients inland from the rivers. Without Salmon the north would look very different. 

Salmon are spoken of as our relatives. Salmon are individuals and a collective. Our forests and rivers have grown together to create ideal Salmon habitat. Our people have situated our lifeways, our village locations, migration patterns, technologies, medicine, clothing, and ceremonies around Salmon’s return. Our people do not view ourselves as separate from Salmon. Recently geneticists have found genetic markers in our ancestral and contemporary DNA that show our people have lived with Salmon as a mainstay of our diet for thousands of years.

The Salmon want to return, they come to us, they give themselves to those who take good care of them. We have a first fish ceremony and a blessing of the water every year as a sign of respect and to call our Salmon relatives home. It is important to return their bones to the water.  As much of the Salmon is used as possible. Nothing is wasted. Keep the spruce trees, willows, and grasses growing along the river. Don’t take more than you need. Have good thoughts when putting up the Salmon. Don’t go out into the ocean to harvest a lot of Salmon, that’s their home. Don’t go up to the spawning grounds to harvest Salmon, that’s their nursery. 

If we don’t take good care of Salmon they will not return to us and the lands will change as well.  It is possible to take Salmon and exploit them. This was done when the canneries first arrived in Alaska. Colonizers saw the sheer abundance of these fish and literally tried to catch them all, every single one. This love for money is diametrically opposed to our spiritual connection with Salmon. There used to be hundreds of Salmon cultures around the world; now there are very few. This is what happens when Salmon are exploited. Elders say, “don’t sell our foods.”  This is a warning to remember to treat the lands and waters with respect. 

Salmon and the lands and waters they navigate through are considered relatives. We don’t have a tradition of buying and selling human beings in our culture. Slavery is not something we have practiced nor is it something that we would impose on our Salmon relatives. If we don’t take good care of the Salmon they will choose not to return. We have seen this in the past, and we are seeing it today. However, we have also seen Salmon return when we welcome them back in a good way.

Editorial Note:  Joel was a recipient of an Indian Affairs Committee stipend while a student at SUNY Alfred. Rebekah and her granddaughter Yeva visited Joel at his home in Alaska this past summer.