Carmacks

The Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation People of Carmacks

The Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation is based today at Carmacks on the Yukon River. In earlier times, we travelled with the seasons across our traditional territories to hunt, fish and gather foods needed for survival.

In summer, our people have fish camps along the Yukon River to harvest and dry two species of salmon – the King and Chum – migrating upriver from the Bering Sea. Until recent decades the fish returned by the tens of thousands each year, providing a reliable, plentiful and delicious source of protein that kept us healthy and happy. Now we find our King Salmon fishery is severely depleted, with much smaller fish and drastically reduced numbers. We are working with Indigenous groups in Alaska and the Yukon to study the problems facing the salmon in order to prevent further degradation or even extinction of these magnificent fish.

Our oral traditions are strong and timeless. Most important was and is our Northern Tutchone language that encapsulates the long-standing wisdom of our people – place names that point to particular resources, landmarks to guide our travels, social terms and concepts to help us live well, supporting each other through dark cold winters and bright intense summers. Our Elders’ stories describe the giant animals that shared the land with us and detailed accounts of the methods used to hunt them.

In our language we don’t have a word for goodbye. As our Elders say when visitors leave: Hutl’an nanùch’ín hé “we’ll see you again!”

I was raised by my grandma in the bush

My Northern Tutchone name, Halaleja, means “So rich – always have porcupine.” I was raised by my Grandma in the bush, travelling from Little Salmon to Tlu Tli (meaning “bundle of fish”), our name for Frenchman Lake, and along the Yukon River. We hunted moose, set nets for fish and gathered berries. We always had lots of good food in those days. My Dad worked at wood camps and trapping so we also bought flour, sugar, dried fruits and tea at the store. Grandma was very strict and always wanted me to speak our language so now I am happy I can teach it still to people today.

Halaleja, Elder Agnus Charlie