Alaska One
TRANSCRIPTION
As soon as school was out, we were big enough, we were in the boat, going, leaving Juneau. So in the summertime we went to different (uh) various (uh) campgrounds. We had one in (uh) Home Shore. We had one in (uh) Swanson Harbor. And out by Alfred Cove. But they had out-- different camps that we went to, where we put up our fish. No, we didn’t have any in Juneau. In Juneau, you-- you’re kind of out of it, because you can’t subsist in Juneau. Because they don’t open any of the creeks to us. They don’t open any of the-- nearby creeks, where we can access like-- long time ago we were able to get our fish from a fish-- fish creek in Douglas. And all of us kids used to just go in and get our fishing quota and then take it home an’ dry it. But now that’s closed to us and so you pretty much have to have a boat, just to get your food. And then if you don’t have a boat, you just barter with people who make it like. My husband and I (um) get our fish from (um) people who live in Kwiklong [sp?]. So we-- we trade. I do a lot of beadwork, so I trade beadwork.
Sockeye’s the best (uh) fish that you can get, and we usually get it full dried, semi-dried, and (uh) cold pack, which is like your tuna fish in the cans. And then you’ve got like the smoked strips, which is the best kind you can get, the smoked strips. So…my-- my mouth is startin’ to water. (Laughs) It’s…
Yeah, we didn’t have that luxury of just bein’ at home. But then we had more fun, I think. Saw lots of people, because we went to all these different camp areas, and then we went out to different towns. Like we used to end up in Pellaton [?] for Fourth of July, and (um) we went to Goona [?] a lot, which is where my father comes from. And then in the summertime, we stayed in (uh) Icy Straits, and they had the cannery open then. So, up until I was 13, 14 years old, that’s where I grew up at, in the summertime.
And a lot of berry-picking, for winter. We used to go into D____ Bay, into_____town, after the canneries closed. And we used to pick what were called n_____s. They’re little berries that kind of grow off the ground, like strawberries, and (uh) they kinda look like salmonberries, but they’re red, really good, and well, a taste all its own. They don’t… You can’t get those any more….
UNSCRIPTED SPEECH TRANSCRIBED BY JACQUELINE BAKER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR TRANSCRIPTIONS, January 23, 2008