At the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor's Center Friday, a handful of folks treat salmon skins by rubbing them back and forth along the edge of a weathered wood panel. The somewhat laborious task helps make the skin flexible and is the last step in turning an often discarded part of fish into usable leather.
The one-of-a-kind workshop is one of several salmon-related activities the wildlife refuge held throughout the week, honoring this year’s salmon runs. Leah Eskelin is the lead park ranger at the refuge.
“Part of July here in Alaska is all about sockeye and salmon and the fish coming back," she said. "One of the things we have a responsibility to do is to use those fish to the best of our ability, and that includes not being as wasteful.”
The practice of using salmon skin to make leather is deeply rooted in Alaska Native culture. The Dena’ina people, who have lived on the Kenai Peninsula for thousands of years, have used salmon skin to create a number of products, like sheaths and clothes.
Tia Holley is a traditional wellness consultant at the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s Dena’ina Wellness Center. She’s instructing the workshop and hopes those participating will come away with not only a nice piece of leather but a deeper appreciation for the resources available in our backyard.
“To learn more about being good stewards of the land and the practice of using every bit so that you’re not wasting anything,” Holley said.
Once caught, fileted and skinned by the tribe, students of the workshop first scrape away excess meat from the skins. They’re soaked in cold water with a dollop of dish soap, and treated with baking soda to remove scales. Later, they’re oiled and rubbed against a wood panel.
Max Derseweh makes custom leather products in California but is in town on vacation. By chance, he stumbled upon the salmon leather workshop while dropping by the visitor’s center.
Derseweh has never worked with salmon skin before but is excited to take his newfound knowledge back home.
“Part of the whole romance of being up in Alaska for me as a Californian is, ‘How do they actually not survive but thrive under these conditions, and use everything that’s up here in an efficient way?’ I think it’s really important to do that, especially since we’re all talking about going green,” Derseweh said.
Derseweh is joined by friend Kimberly Switzer, who’s also from California. She’s come to Alaska to salmon fish for over 20 years.
“I love fishing, and I love fileting and doing all that," Switzer said. "Now I’ve got a whole other, new little hobby I can do with what I catch. Become a new annual hobby.”
Across the room treating her salmon skin with a weathered piece of wood is Jessica Beauchemin from Oregon. She plans to make earrings with her salmon leather and says the workshop helps her feel a deeper connection to a land she’s unfamiliar with.
“We live in a throwaway culture, and that’s really unfortunate, because that’s not how people lived for most of humanity," Beauchemin said. "Getting back to those roots and understanding a more circular way of utilizing resources is a nice way of not creating resources when you don’t need to, and to see the function in something that is seen as a throwaway object.”
If cared for properly, fish leather can last a long time. For a full lineup of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s activities, visit their Facebook page.
