"In the early days, there was no education in our area (Haines). It was mostly knowledge of survival. We had to listen to everyone, not only the local people. Everyone that came around had something to offer, whether they knew it or not.
Today, it is called subsistence. It was not subsistence in the old days; it was our way of life. Even today, it is still our way of life. We still depend on fish for our survival.
My Tlingit name is Goox Daaka Shoo. I was born May 17, 1930, in Haines. I belong to the Kaagwaantaan tribe, Brown Bear clan.
In the old days we had one chief in the community, especially in Klukwan. He wouldn't let anyone go gaffing for salmon until the Chilkat Lake was full enough for a year.
What he would do is send four or five young men to Ten Mile to see where the salmon were. When the salmon hit Ten Mile, he'd say, "Bring enough for the whole village to eat, but don't take more than that.""
Get the Story:
Alaskana: Tlingit way of life
(The Anchorage Daily News 6/18)
pwpwd
Related Stories:
Interview with Paul Wilson, Tlingit elder
(05/29)
Interview with Joe Hotch, Tlingit elder in Alaska
Monday, June 19, 2006
Trending in News
1 Tribes rush to respond to new coronavirus emergency created by Trump administration
2 'At this rate the entire tribe will be extinct': Zuni Pueblo sees COVID-19 cases double as first death is confirmed
3 Arne Vainio: 'A great sickness has been visited upon us as human beings'
4 Arne Vainio: Zoongide'iwin is the Ojibwe word for courage
5 Cayuga Nation's division leads to a 'human rights catastrophe'
2 'At this rate the entire tribe will be extinct': Zuni Pueblo sees COVID-19 cases double as first death is confirmed
3 Arne Vainio: 'A great sickness has been visited upon us as human beings'
4 Arne Vainio: Zoongide'iwin is the Ojibwe word for courage
5 Cayuga Nation's division leads to a 'human rights catastrophe'