There were five, and then there were six

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A hand-illustrated miniature booklet prepared by students of the school, in Shishmaref, Alaska—a fishing-dependent Inupiat island village just north of the Bering Strait. The 1952 text, published as a fundraiser for the Alaska Crippled Children’s Association, is a historic cookbook. This was a gem of a find at our AirBnB.

When the salmon eggs have dried, put in a dish and mash them. Mix with cold water and seal oil until smooth. Add black berries when you are ready to serve.

Salmon run on Kaasda Héen (*Indian River*) in Sitka

They started out counting on one hand. The pinky is for Pink (aka Humpback or Humpy), the ring finger is for the silver you point on your finger i.e., Silver (aka Coho), the middle and biggest finger is the King (aka Chinook), the poke you in the eye finger is for Sockeye (aka Red), and Chum (aka Dog) sort of rhymes with the Thumb. And then, the steelhead got added to the clan. And the five fingers coming together in a fist got to represent the Steelhead.

Written by locomotoring

December 12, 2023 at 6:32 am

Posted in Uncategorized

Locomotoring