Pam Frichtl
September 26, 2007

To experience an Alaskan Dena’ina Athabascan Fish Camp dedicated for Women was a dream come true!! 

It began with an awesome flight from Anchorage to Nondalton which was a feast for my eyes!  We threaded through spectacular snow capped, rugged mountains over pristine back country, glacier fed waterfalls and braided rivers and streams!! 

I was grateful to be given the opportunity to observe &/or to be a participant processing fish with Karen, her family and their friends.  As we worked, the elders passed on their stories of living and raising a family in this remote area which I found very enlightening. 

The following day, after a walking tour of Nondalton, we then traveled by boat from her parent’s Lake Clark fish camp to the main base camp at the mouth of the Chulitna River.  This was Karen’s cabin, home to many treasured family memories, nature hikes and hunts for birds and moose.

Throughout the camp, Karen shared knowledge of her culture, the medicinal plants and their uses, the fish and wildlife, as well as the geography of the area and concerns for her people. 

Judy Putera
July 2007

There is no better example of human harmony with a local natural resource than the relationship of the Dena’ina  Athabascan with salmon.  As a seven year resident of the Lake Clark region, I had always considered putting up salmon to be a chore, that is, until I spent a weekend with Karen Stickman and her family at fish camp.

As we boated downriver toward camp, the sight of red-fleshed fish strips hanging on wooden racks at each family fish camp gives the first indication that something very unique and special is happening here.  Year after year, generation after generation, salmon are caught, cut, dried, smoked, canned and frozen to provide food for the year. 

I ‘helped’ three generations of Evanoff’s haul in one net full of several hundred salmon and grabbed one slimy salmon out of the water for every ten grabbed by someone else.  Again I was humbled as I watched Karen, her mother, brother, and nephew, expertly cut and prepare salmon to dry on the racks in preparation for the smoke house.  With everyone’s help I was finally able to cut fish and contribute to what I can best describe as being immersed in a natural sympony.  During dinner, I learned more about the Dena’ina culture and language, and the importance of family.  After I took a cleansing steam and settled into my small fish camp cabin, I thought of the long tradition of family coming together to gather subsistence foods such as salmon, berries, moose and caribou in a land that today is still one of the most pristine ecosystems on the planet.  I thank the Evanoff and Stickman family for the opportunity to participate in this life sustaining event and for giving me a weekend I will never forget.