COASTAL CATCHES Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined, so it’s no wonder we’re able to harvest a bounty of fresh-caught seafood from the hook to the table for both visitors and locals year-round. From sea urchin, mussels, octopus, and shrimp to weatherwave scallops, four species of king crab, and 48 different species of fish, many Alaska Natives rely heavily on subsistence fishing for personal or family consumption as food, sharing, or customary trade. SEASONAL HARVEST Spring » Across Alaska, vibrant fireweed is gathered. It is made into tea and salves, as well as sweet condiments. Edible plants and mushrooms are foraged in the lush boreal forests of Southeast’s Tongass National Forest. Herring eggs are collected from branches and seaweed and are often pickled. Coastal shores offer healthful seaweeds and beach greens . » Shorebird (ducks and geese) eggs are collected as soon as the ice melts in ancestral Yup’ik homelands. Whales, seals, and walrus are hunted in the Arctic as important food sources. Muktuk is a traditional food of the Iñupiat, consisting of bowhead whale skin and blubber. Fiddleheads and spruce tips are picked in Southcentral Alaska. » BETHANY SONSINI GOODRICH » » » » 11
Alaska Native Culture 2024: Page 11
