“ This isn ’ t just food . It ’ s our culture ; it ’ s our spirit . This is the taste of what it means to be Tlingít .”
HARVEST TIME
After spawning , the eggs are then harvested and distributed by the Sitka Tribe of Alaska and other Alaska Native locals in keeping with Tlingít tradition . The Tlingít tribe ’ s long-standing relationship with the herring , or yaaw , dates back thousands of years , some of which is told through the story of the herring lady . Oral tradition tells of a woman who , out of respect for the yaaw , would go down to the water and sing to them , inviting them to come to her . One day , she fell asleep by the water , and when the tide came in , the yaaw laid eggs on her floating hair . Today , the Tlingít Kiks . ádi women carry on this tradition and responsibility in a ceremony to honor the yaaw . “ This isn ’ t just food . It ’ s our culture ; it ’ s our spirit ,” says K ’ asheechtlaa “ Louise ” Brady , a Tlingít elder and founder of the Herring Protectors , a grassroots organization run by Indigenous women . “ This is the taste of what it means to be Tlingít .”
A SUSTAINING SOURCE OF LIFE
After being dipped in hot water , herring eggs are often eaten with seal oil , soy sauce , butter , or as part of a salad . Harvesters set hemlock branches at first sight of spawn and let the limbs soak for a few days as the eggs adhere to the branches . Once brought out of the water , eggs can be eaten fresh or are frozen . Since Sitka is among one of the last communities to still have a herring spawn , our harvesters ship approximately 80 % of the year ’ s bounty to Southeast Alaska neighboring communities and to rural villages across the state as precious frozen cargo on Alaska Airlines and Alaska Seaplanes .
In Sitka , the herring are an integral part of the food ecosystem , a life source for the whales , other marine life , birds , and the people . Their presence points us to the past and simultaneously guides us to the future . Their shiny scales gliding through ocean waters are a tangible symbol of the changing seasons , and with them comes the opportunity to celebrate tradition and feed a community .
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