ALASKA'S SACRED SALMON
More than a mere meal, this fish is a heroic character in legends and a key player in the circle of life.
More than a mere meal, this fish is a heroic character in legends and a key player in the circle of life.
To Native Alaskans in the Pacific Northwest, life is sustained by the First Foods: salmon, wild game, roots, berries and fresh water. Honored at tribal ceremonies, woven into folktales and carved into totems, they are a symbol, lifeblood and cultural identity. In tribal celebrations, the annual return of the sacred salmon symbolizes the renewal and eternal sustainability of human life.
Chief Weninock of the Yakima people said of the salmon in 1915, “My strength is from the fish; my blood is from the fish, from the roots and berries. The fish and game are the essence of my life.” Many coastal Alaskans are taught that the Creator had a purpose in putting them at a place where salmon return.
Some say the word “salmon” comes from the Latin salmo, meaning “leap.” Others relate it to the Hebrew shalom, for peace. The Salmon surname survives today in English, probably as a derivative of Solomon, the wise ruler.
Throughout coastal regions of Alaska, salmon play a key role in tribal religion, culture, the economy and daily sustenance. Commercial fishing is a favored way of life. And in traditional stories, Salmon (with a capital “S”) is a hero who sustains and guides his people.
SALMON AS A TRAVEL ATTRACTION
Any visitor who has tasted fresh-caught salmon prepared on a cedar plank by experienced native hands knows that it’s truly a gift from the gods. In all of its life cycles, salmon is also a gift to the traveler’s
IN SOME TRADITIONS, DRIED SALMON RETAINS THE SAME PROTECTIVE ESSENCE THAT THE CREATOR ENDOWED IN SALMON THE SPIRIT.
camera and the angler’s fly rod — a singular sportfishing challenge in the water, and a mesmerizing geometry when your lens finds them drying on frail wood racks erected on a rocky shore. Take a selfie when you find a primitive salmon wheel set up in a native village. Salmon as an art form is sold in galleries and studios. Displayed on ice in a local market, salmon flash silver, pink and red for the camera. Spawning salmon, all sparkle and splash, are a challenge for the wildlife photographer as they swim or jump upstream.
FOLKLORE, FAIRY TALES, TRUTHS AND TRADITIONS
In some Pacific nations, fish bones and entrails are returned to the water after a feast, assuring return of the sacred fish. The ceremony is often carried out by twins, who are considered to be good luck. This is followed by a traditional Salmon Dance. One folktale speaks of a woman who sees salmon ghosts by the shore and asks them why they float in and out of the water. The salmon tell her that they cannot return home because
humans stopped bringing their bones back to the water.
In Japan, speared salmon are given a death blow by a willow stick. Using a stone is considered an insult to the salmon that is giving its life to feed humankind. A similar story among some Alaskan tribes has Raven, the crafty spiritual character, luring Salmon to shore with a green stone. Salmon is then killed with a wooden club.
Salmon ceremonies differ from tribe to tribe. The Koyukon people of the Yukon believe that every salmon has a powerful spirit. The first one caught each year is ritually sprinkled with water dipped up with a willow switch. People tell Salmon, the spiritual character, “Pull up your canoe here,” thus inviting more salmon to come to this place. Then the fish are cooked and everyone shares their own first-caught salmon.
Before the arrival of European settlers, many indigenous tribal economies were based entirely on salmon, which was their staple food and the currency they traded for other foods such as caribou.
In ancient times, when the Haida people had no salmon, they asked Raven to unlock the secret. Raven flew to the place where many salmon spawned, captured the Head Salmon’s son in its claws and flew back to the hungry people. A rush of salmon followed in hopes of rescuing the Salmon Prince but they were captured in a net. A great totem was erected featuring the three spiritual characters Thunderbird, Raven and Salmon. Forever after, the salmon followed the same route to that place.
Many traditional storytellers have versions of a tale in which Salmon disappears because people became greedy and careless about caring for its habitat. In one story, Old Man Rattlesnake, called Grandfather, is recruited to revive a dead salmon so it will go to his brothers and bring them back. Coyote had pretended to bring the salmon back to life but the people were not fooled. Slowly and painfully, old Grandfather five times passes his hands over the salmon as he promised. The magic happens, Grandfather disappears into the dead salmon’s body and the fish comes back to life. Still today, in the spine of salmon you catch, you can find a white membrane that is the spirit of Grandfather, who brought Salmon the spirit back to a repentant people.
In some traditions, dried salmon retains the same protective essence that the Creator endowed in Salmon the spirit. In some tribes, a piece of dried salmon is woven into snowshoes. A tiny strip of dried salmon may be nailed inside a home. A vest made of dried fish skin might be worn by children.
A folktale about Salmon Boy, a lad who went to live with the Salmon People, is taught to Alaskan school children to explain the balance of nature and the importance of conservation. Humans and fish must learn to live together.
MANY TRADITIONAL STORYTELLERS HAVE VERSIONS OF A TALE IN WHICH SALMON DISAPPEARS BECAUSE PEOPLE BECAME GREEDY AND CARELESS ABOUT CARING FOR ITS HABITAT.