A big part of Culture week was spent learning about traditional foods and how to prepare them. This is how the Gwich'in people survived for hundreds of years before contact from the outside. Traditionally, they have been hunters, following the caribou. Hunting, especially for caribou, is still a primary food source in the village. Some hunters brought four Caribou to the school and the kids got to cut them up for the potlatch later in the week.
Notice the heads have already been removed. They used the heads for a "Caribou Head Skinning Contest" as a part of the Spring Carnival, so those were skinned and prepared separately. Don't worry, we got pictures of that too.
Grandpa Alo, one of the elders, explained to the kids how to skin and cut up caribou. They started with removing the lower legs. The caribou had already been gutted by the hunters right when the caribou were killed, so the kids were just cutting up the caribou for meat.
Here they cut down the bottom of the rib cage and they have already removed some of the ribs. Later we got to eat the ribs roasted for hours over an open fire pit. Every part of the caribou was cut up and used to make fry meat, stew meat, roasted meat and soup. They even ground up some of the meat to make "Indian ice cream." Yes, you read that correctly...ice cream made of meat! They grind caribou up very fine, mix it with marrow, spread it out on cookie sheets, bake it, then freeze it. They cut it up in pieces like brownies and call it "Indian ice cream." It was my first time every having it. I have had "Eskimo ice cream," which is made with seal fat and berries, but I had never had ice cream made of meat! I personally would call it an acquired taste. Calling it ice cream really through me off. It is rich, but not sweet.
The kids also had the chance to cut up beaver. I have seen people cut up and prepare caribou before, but I had never seen someone skin a beaver before. Check out how big those teeth are! Man they are huge! Beaver meat is really rich and fatty! A cholesterol rich treat that isn't a daily staple, but a special treat for potlatches and big events.
Boys will be boys! Across all cultures, in all settings, children will find ways to have fun! Here the boys decided to start fighting with beaver tails. They also tried to take turns smacking each on the arm with the beaver tails to see if it would hurt. Answer: Yes, getting smacked with a beaver tail sure smarts! Beaver tails are very hard and stiff.
The kids each got to try their hand at ice fishing in the Chandalar River, just outside the school. It was beautiful to just stand back and take in the majestic mountains across the river. They had to drill through 4 ft of ice to create fishing holes in the river.
Alo and Jack show the kids how to tie the line to their fishing poles and explain to the kids how to gently pull their lines up and down to keep it moving as you wait for a fish to bite.
Like any type of fishing I have ever done, ice fishing involved being patient and waiting. Thankfully it was a beautiful day and not too cold. It was well above zero degrees. As you can see, this student didn't even wear his coat, insisting that it is now "sweater weather." Only in Alaska is 20 degrees "sweater weather."
The kids caught this grayling. There are also lush in the Chandalar river. Unfortunately we are way to far inland for salmon, but people in Arctic trade with friends and relatives to get some salmon occasionally too.
Here the kids cut up Salmon brought up from Fort Yukon. Caribou may be the meat of choice here, but salmon is still my personal favorite!
So you may have noticed a theme here; meat, meat and more meat! The bounty of the land up here is definitely animals. It has been a wonderful week of eating traditional foods, but I will confess I snuck home and had a salad in-between meals!
