Filled with stories of family, food, and culture, and interwoven with personal recipes and photographs taken by the author, My Father's Smokehouse folds the reader into a beautiful island landscape.
"Prescott emphasizes the importance of learning the traditional values of where one lives, gratitude for what the land and sea provide, and the responsibility to share with community." -Anchorage Daily News
"[Prescott's] book is filled with traditions, memories and stories surrounding Southeast Alaska life, including a family's perseverance, the wisdom of Sámi and Tlingit cultures, and respect for elders and their knowledge of the culture. The smokehouse at the fish camp is named after her father." -Wrangell Sentinel
The smokehouse at Mickey's Fishcamp holds more than fish. It is filled with traditions, memories, and stories of a thriving Southeast Alaskan life-of a family's perseverance, of the wisdom of Sámi and Tlingit cultures, and of respect for Elders and their knowledge of the natural world.
Mickey's Fishcamp is named after three generations of Prescott fishermen who commercially fished the waters of the Inside Passage, and is located near one of the oldest Tlingit settlements in Wrangell, Alaska. Here, next to the rainforest and sea, author Vivian Faith Prescott has found her place in the world. She is a student and teacher of the natural environment-harvesting spruce tips, berries, sea lettuce, and goose tongue and processing salmon, halibut, and hooligan-who combines traditional practices with modern knowledge.
Heartwarming and introspective, My Father's Smokehouse tells one woman's stories of Traditional Knowledge that is learned and passed on, from one generation to the next.
Autorentext
Vivian Faith Prescott was born and raised in Kaachxaana.áak'w, Wrangell, in Tlingit Aaní, Southeast Alaska. She lives and writes at her family's fishcamp next to Keishangita.aan, the old Red Alder Head Village. Vivian is adopted into her children's clan, T'akdeintaan, Snail House, and she's a member of the Pacific Sámi Searvi. She holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Alaska Anchorage and a PhD in Cross Cultural Studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Vivian is the author of nine books, including poetry and short stories. With her daughter Vivian Mork Yéilk', she writes an award-winning column for the Capital City Weekly/Juneau Empire called Planet Alaska, as well as co-hosts their popular Planet Alaska Facebook page. Visit her at vivianfaithprescott.com and follow her on Instagram @planetalaska and Twitter @planet_alaska.
Inhalt
Introduction: Sense of Time, Sense of Seasons: Sea and Forest Seasoning; Spruce Tip Juice & Salt
FIRST FISHCAMP CYCLE Skunk Cabbage: A Harbinger of Spring: Roasted Salmon in Skunk Cabbage Leaves Harvesting the Soon Bloom: Oven-Dried Popweed Ceremony: Cute-Little-Raven's Herring Egg Salad Eat Your Trees: Spruce Tip Iced Tea My Father's Smokehouse: Fishcamp Salmon Spread; Dad's Salmon Spread Lessons from the Devil's Club Lady: Black Bean Salad with Devil's Club Tips The Underside of Leaves: Salmonberry Scones A Family of Crabbers: Island Crab Cakes; Spruce Tip Mayonnaise; Wild Alaskan Berry Sauce Art-Thinking at Mickey's Fishcamp: Salmonberry-Spruce Tip Artisan Butter Being Mummo: Foraging for Goose Tongue: Wrangell Ranch Dressing 13 Ways of Looking at Dog Salmon: Fishcamp Ikura (Salmon Caviar) Afloat: Spruce Tip-Labrador Tea-Salmonberry-Infused Water Halibut Sustains Us: Halibut Crepes Backyard Glaciers: Tote Ice Tea for Community: Labrador Tea Encounters with the Giant Pacific Octopus: Smoked Octopus Salad Red Huckleberry: Food for Songbirds: Mickey's Huckleberry Dream Pie Wrangell Winter Games: Shrimp Sandwiches Winter Stories: Salmon Patties; Spruce Tip Tartar Sauce; Fireweed Dipping Sauce
SECOND FISHCAMP CYCLE Field Guide to Finding Hope: Put an Egg on it and Dip it in Coffee Gathering Red Seaweed: Dried Red Seaweed A Bunch of Hooligans: Smoked Hooligan Fresh Spring Rolls Carrying on Traditions: Spruce Tip Oatmeal; Spruce Tip Toast The Art of Salmon: Fishcamp Salmon Tacos The Treat Beneath Your Feet: Dried Sea Lettuce Muskeg Love: Muskeg Muffins Gifts from the Porcupine: Spruce Tip Chocolate Brownies It's the Little Fish in Life: Rainbow Smelt: Fried Rainbow Smelt (How Dad Does It) The Bunchberry Yoik: Mixed Alaskan Berry Hand Pies Lungs of the Island: Usnea Tea Highbush Cranberries and Traditional Values: Highbush Cranberry Jelly Listening to the Forest: "Stop the Shouting and Listen to the Sunset" Stink Currants and Landslides: Stink Currant Jelly Winter Blues: Blueberry Water; Winter Blueberry Smoothie Salmon Head Soup: Salmon Head Soup The Practice of Gifting: Spruce Tip Sugar Cookies Winter Kings: White King Salmon Chowder What I've Learned from Living at Fishcamp: Mickey's Fishcamp Tips