Truck delivery of B.C. salmon to Teslin, Yukon highlights cultural loss

The steady and steep decline of the salmon run has led to new traditions among some Yukon First Nations. 

One example is the annual salmon-sharing deliveries from Atlin, B.C. to Teslin, Yukon. 

Last week 1,200 pounds of sockeye salmon and 100 pounds of coho were delivered from one Tlingit nation to another. 

The fish from Taku Wild, a Taku River Tlingit First Nation fishery, were brought to the Teslin Tlingit Council (TTC).

"It's just a great thing for the community," said David Boucher, who's part of Taku Wild's delivery team.

"Because there's not a lot of fishing in the Yukon [due to low fish stocks], we're really happy as a First Nations company to be able to supply other First Nations with their need for salmon," he said.

The fish was available for purchase by TTC citizens. Members gathered around Taku Wild's truck as they talked about plans for salmon suppers.

Elders suspend local fishery

Many said they were happy to be receiving several months worth of traditional food. However, the day felt bittersweet as it stirred up memories of what's been lost.

Over 25 years ago, fishers noticed something wrong in the salmon population. 

Richard Dewhurst, the senior game guardian for TTC, said his late mother, Grace Dewhurst, and her late friend, Sadie Morris, were among the first to see the changes.

"They seen the decline in salmon. They were coming later in the season and they were smaller," he said.

The Elders decided to suspend their fishery for one year. When they noticed that it helped the salmon, they continued the suspension the next year, and have done so every year since.

"We didn't have to stop. We voluntarily stopped," Dewhurst said. 

The salmon delivery by truck is an annual reminder of what the community normally looked like at this time of year when Peter Jules was young.

"When I was growing up, we had fish all the time in our caches," said Jules, who's a cultural demonstrator for TTC's Heritage Centre.

"There would be nothing to see but smoke around Teslin right now," he said, referring to the smoking process they use to preserve the fish.

"The salmon is very cultural, very spiritual to us. It's part of our heritage. It's very, very important to us," Jules said.

Losing a way of life

Dewhurst said it's a big change in their lifestyle. If people were allowed to fish, community members would all be out at their fish camps at this time of year, he said.

"We'd not only fish for salmon … [we] would stay right there and pick berries and do whatever. Get a moose if they're lucky," he said.

Eric Morris, the Naa Shaáde Háni (chief) of TTC, said that the loss of fishing leaves a cultural void.

"That was a way of life for us that in some ways, we only can talk about today, in terms of a story to tell," he said. "That hurts me a bit."

Morris remembers one year when TTC reduced its fishing to 20 ceremonial salmon for the season. An Elder, Aggie Johnston, gave him a piece of salmon for his road trip. He meant to save some of it but after a few miles, it had all been eaten.

"It's because of that taste I remember from that salmon that came from our lake. It was almost body-enlightening," Morris said.

The decision to stop fishing has created a generation without this experience in Teslin.

"My son, he's 25 years old now and he's never got the chance to see that, the harvest of the salmon, which is really sad," Jules said.

"There is a group of young people here today that have never, ever seen a salmon pulled from a net on our lake or on our rivers," Morris said.

There are more deliveries to Teslin in the coming weeks. In total, TTC citizens will receive 4,800 pounds of sockeye salmon and 400 pounds of coho.