Gwichyaa Zhee, also known as Fort Yukon, has always depended on salmon. But for the fourth year in a row, managers have severely restricted fishing, as the Yukon River king and chum salmon runs collapsed.
Without salmon, Gwichyaa Zhee is missing its heart.
Without fish, Englishoe said, nothing in the village is the way it’s supposed to be. The smokehouses, normally full of salmon drying for the winter, are empty. Even the smell of town is different. The river’s once-strong king salmon run has been on a long, slow decline since the 1990s. Chum salmon runs have also been unpredictable. But in the last four years, both species’ runs abruptly crashed.
“A lot of our young people are kind of lost, because of not having our traditional foods and showing them our traditional values, and teaching them, going to fish camp,” Peter said.
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