Water and land are interconnected in early Dena’ina culture. And salmon is at the forefront of these connections.
That’s according to Adam Dunstan, assistant professor of anthropology at Kenai Peninsula College. He spoke late last month about the uniqueness of these pre-colonial connections at the Kenai Chamber.
“We want to put things in boxes, and we want to put cultures in boxes, but cultures are a lot more creative than any sort of box we can come up with,” Dunstan said.
Unlike Native groups in the Interior and other regions of Alaska, early Dena’ina people in Kenai had access to both land and sea. Dunstan says this allowed them more resources for food, clothing and other goods.
He says land-based items, like caribou-skin boots, would be used for seafaring endeavors, like fishing. Aquatic resources, like salmon, would be used as bait, land offerings or dog treats when hunting on land.
“So salmon then become this kind of connection of ocean and land that’s connecting village, and leadership, and dogs, and hunting, and fish and clothing,” Dunstan said.
And, Dunstan says early Dena’ina villages would not be possible without salmon.
“So were Dena’ina people historically ocean adapted? Yes. Land adapted? Yes. And it was salmon that was running as a thread throughout all of that,” he said.
Dunstan’s presentation follows last month’s cultural exhibit at the chamber, which highlighted the early history of Kenai. The exhibit was the first time since the 1990s the small museum had new artifacts on display.
“The early history of Kenai, not a lot of people are familiar with that history,” said Danielle Lopez-Stamm, cultural center coordinator at the chamber. “If we don’t preserve it and educate ourselves about it, we’re going to lose that knowledge.”
“Artifacts are beautiful and wonderful, and they’re a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of folks’ ancestors,” said Dunstan. “It’s also, for me, a springboard to talk about Alaska Native people today, and issues that we face as a community and that we’re facing together as a community, and how we can do that better.”
The chamber’s cultural exhibit on early Kenai ran through the end of January. It’s been swapped out for this month’s exhibit about Alaska’s Russian history.
The museum's next presentation will be on Feb. 21. It'll focus on the history of Kenai's Holy Assumption Russian Orthodox Church.
