Salmon Fishing in Allakaket ~ Salmon Life

Freedom Legacy

During any given day on the upper Koyukuk River village of Allakaket, you may find people fishing, picking berries, gathering wood, camping, swimming or working. Like many communities in Alaska, people do what they need to do to survive the harsh winters and stay busy in all seasons. They may spend their fall times harvesting moose, caribou or Dall sheep, but summer is mostly focused on fishing.

Steve Bergman is not only providing for his large extended family by fishing for salmon, he’s also feeding his dog team. He estimates he needs to catch about 2,000 chum salmon to feed his 17 dogs. Being nutrient rich, salmon provide a much needed resource for an active dog team. Chum salmon for dogs is cut in a way that preserves as much of the salmon as possible. For instance, the salmon is cut from the tail all the way through the head and dried.

Prev Next

Shipping prices are especially steep when you are trying to get food and supplies to remote rural Alaskan communities. It comes down to economics. Steve says, “The post office is so expensive, too expensive to send dog food on its own.” It costs $45 to ship one bag of dog food and that is often more expensive than the dog food itself. Even comparing to his time spent and fuel costs, it makes more sense to get as much chum salmon for his dogs as he can vs. buying and shipping dog food from Fairbanks.

There are just over 100 residents with one main store in the community. Alatna is an even smaller community of 37 residents across the river from Allakaket. Allakaket is made up of mostly Koyukon Athabascan people who have a long tradition of surviving off the land. Both communities were transformed immensely by a flood that wiped out most of the homes, caches and smokehouses in 1994. Both communities are right below the Brooks Range where the water gets more and more shallow as you go up the river.

Steve grew up surviving on the land and teaches his children and grandchildren how to hunt and fish to ensure his lifestyle continues through the generations.

Although, Steve’s extended family often helps him set the nets, pull them out of the net, process, hang, smoke and store the salmon, he often does much of the work himself. At any given time throughout the summer, Steve will have more than one fish net set. His wife, Gladys, is a health aide in the community’s clinic and stays close to home. Steve grew up surviving on the land and teaches his children and grandchildren how to hunt and fish to ensure his lifestyle continues through the generations.

Allakaket residents love salmon and look forward to eating it. When they first get salmon, they smoke half-dried and fully dried salmon. It takes about two to seven days to smoke the fish. They do not waste anything and often boil the eggs for a side dish or make fish head soup as an entrée. Steve dries his salmon for dogs for about one week, then puts up in the cache. Not all the salmon go to the dogs. He also puts salmon in his freezer for his family to eat.

Koyukon Athabascan people of the Koyukuk River have survived by traveling to winter, spring and summer camps for thousands of years. More and more people have to stick close to the village throughout the year for jobs. Many can’t afford to take the weeks away from the village to fish, hunt and trap. Another challenge is paying for the high costs of fuel and boat maintenance. That means less and less people are spending time in fish camp in the summertime.

Steve still spends time in fish camps as far as 20 miles away to follow the fish runs. Allakaket also sits near the mouth of the Alatna River. He fishes, traps and hunts along the Koyukuk and Alatna rivers. In the winter, Steve runs his dogs on many well-travelled trails around the area. He and his children often enter local and regional dog races.

Many changes have come to the communities throughout Alaska with first contact, statehood and mining for resources like gold and oil. Currently, there is a proposed road, Ambler Mining District Road, that may go over the Alatna River. Steve and other community members are concerned on what the proposed road will mean to subsistence fishing, hunting and trapping.

Elder Pollock Simon, Sr. spent his life surviving off the land. He appreciates locally caught salmon and other fish in the summer. Pollock wonders if the proposed road will bring other hunters and fisherman into the region and create competition for precious fish and game. He also worries about potential pollution on the Alatna River. Pollock says, “People outside think we’re against progress. We just want to defend our way of life. They tell me it’s progress. Can’t fight progress forever.”

"My father and grandfather lived here before me and hunted and trapped in the same place that I do."

For Koyukuk River residents, salmon harvesting is a way of life. It is more than a recreational activity. They prefer fresh salmon vs. store bought alternatives. “My father and grandfather lived here before me and hunted and trapped in the same place that I do. They were born and raised in this village,” says Pollock Simon, Sr.

There are many dialects of the Native language spoken by Koyukon Athabascan people. Here are some common words for fish translated by locals from Allakaket. As you delve deeper into the language, you can learn more and more about salmon. For instance, there are not only words for each type of salmon, the names could be different based on the time of year the salmon is harvested.

Koyukon Athabascan Words

Fried fish – łooga daał

Boiled fish – łooga baats

Frozen fish – k’itihn

Dry fish – lagona

Half-dried fish – gaghoga’

Fish eggs – goon’

While the language and customs may vary by region and local villages, the lifestyles are very similar. People fish to survive off the land. They may have their own tried and true ways to harvest and process salmon and have their favorite recipes shared over the generations. It may be considered hard work to live off the land, but Athabascan people do not consider it work if they luck out with fish and game. The lifestyle is physically and mentally demanding, but has many lasting rewards for families, dog teams and a communities.

Salmon Life

Salmon Fishing in Allakaket

Give Me a Life Jacket and a Paddle

Living the Dream

Salmon Fishing in Allakaket

Give Me a Life Jacket and a Paddle

Living the Dream

You Might Also Like

Depths of Thought

What the Day Brings

Salmon Grown

Coho & My Year of Living Vulnerably

A Marriage, Built on Salmon