The Pride of Bristol Bay

NOURISHING HER FAMILY, NOURISHING THE LAND COMING FROM A LONG LINE OF BRISTOL BAY FISHERMEN AND ONE HERSELF, MELANIE BROWN WORRIES THE PEBBLE MINE COULD BREAK LOCAL CONNECTIONS TO RICH SALMON RUNS

For Melanie Brown, picking and pulling sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay is part of who she is, who her family is and what her Bristol Bay home is all about. “Without salmon, Bristol Bay would become a desolate place,” she says. “They don’t just nourish the people; they nourish the land.” (JOANNE TEASDALE)

BY BJORN DIHLE

When Melanie Brown was 10 years old, her mom decided it was time for her to begin fishing the family’s setnet site on the Naknek River in Bristol Bay.

“It was exhausting,” Melanie said, remembering that first season. “Once, when I was really tired, my mom told me to go take a nap in the truck. After a short bit, I ended up sleepwalking back to go fishing.”

Salmon runs in Melanie’s blood. She is Yup’ik and Inupiaq – her people have been connected to the salmon, land and waterways of Bristol Bay since time immemorial. Her great-grandfather Paul Chukan commercial driftnet fished Bristol Bay during the end of the sailboat era.

THE FISHING LIFE Commercial fishermen in Bristol Bay either driftnet or setnet to catch sockeye and other species of salmon. Driftnetting involves the use of a boat and allows fishermen to chase fish across different districts of Bristol Bay. Setnetting involves a specific site operated from the shore that, ideally, lies along the trajectory of where salmon are running.

Native women, according to the stories Melanie has heard, came up with the idea of setnetting in Bristol Bay. While the men were away driftnetting, women came up with the idea to motor out a net and stretch it perpendicular to the shore. Women negotiated deals with canneries across the bay and were incorporated into the fishery.

THE GOVERNOR’S GROUNDS The setnet site just upriver from

Melanie’s family was fished by former Alaska Governor Jay Hammond and First Lady Bella Hammond. Jay passed on in 2005 and is remembered as a good, fair and respectful leader by Alaskans across the state.

Bella Hammond lived alone at the couple’s homestead on Lake Clark until last winter, when she, too, at the age of 87, passed. The Hammonds, like Melanie and the majority of Alaskans, were adamantly opposed to the proposed Pebble Mine. Bella is remembered as

As you might expect, Melanie’s kids Marianna and Oliver are also out on the water, following in the family tradition of fishing these sacred salmon waters. (JOANNE TEASDALE/MELANIE BROWN)

a private person, except for when it came to protecting Bristol Bay. Now, the Hammonds’ setnet site is operated by their daughter Heidi.

“They were good, down-to-earth people. Hardworking people like us,” Melanie said in remembering Jay and Bella Hammond.

FAMILY FISHING LINEAGE Many setnet operations are worked by multiple generations of a family. At first, Melanie worked alongside her greatgrandfather Paul. Later, once she became a mother, Melanie started her daughter fishing at age 10, too. Her daughter, now 18, and son, 13, also fish commercially alongside Melanie and her parents.

If you were to hang out at the airport in the Bristol Bay town of King Salmon at the start of fishing season, you’d meet people flying in from locations around the state, ranging from tiny villages to Anchorage, coming “home” to work their family’s setnet operations. Fishing is hard work, but it also serves as a family reunion.

Paul Chukan, Melanie’s great-grandpa, with a ski-load of salmon in Bristol Bay back in the old days. Like so many in this region, fishing is a family tradition that spans multiple generations. (BROWN FAMILY)

That there are multiple generations of Bristol Bay salmon fishers make these family moments so special. (MELANIE BROWN)

For many people, specifically Alaska Natives, fishing Bristol Bay strengthens their connection to their culture, salmon and the land. Pebble threatens that connection, as Melanie and many others point out.

“That’s what really breaks my heart – the thought that the connection to my culture, to the Native foods of Bristol Bay, could be broken. Without salmon, Bristol Bay would become a desolate place. They don’t just nourish the people; they nourish the land. It’s a sad thought to think that could be disrupted,” Melanie told me. “The disappearance of salmon has happened all over the world. My hope is our collective consciousness can keep projects like Pebble from destroying places like Bristol Bay.”

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Melanie Brown is a self-described foodie. Her favorite foods are simple, traditional and local: delicacies like salmon, berries and herring eggs.

“I call them, ‘is what it is’ foods. Native foods. I grew up an urban Native, but fortunately each summer my parents would return to my family’s roots. The thing that really makes me feel connected to my culture is food, and the process of preparing food. Amy Gulick (author of the book The Salmon Way) said, ‘Salmon bring people together.’ And it’s so true. Fishing, processing and eating – it brings people together.”

MELANIE BROWN’S BAKED SALMON RECIPE • Heat oven to 450 degrees • On a cookie sheet lined with tin foil, place fresh or fully thawed salmon • Season with sea salt and onion powder • For every inch of thickness – measure the thickest part of the salmon – bake 10 minutes. If thicker or thinner, adjust accordingly. If your oven is fully preheated and your fillet is fully thawed, your salmon should turn out fully cooked, but not overcooked.

Note: If it is not king salmon, consider adding a bit of fat and flavor by laying a piece of bacon on your fillet or some salami slices. Wild berry jam is a nice addition too. BD

A LIVELIHOOD AT STAKE Besides commercial fishing, Melanie works as an organizer for SalmonState (salmonstate.org). The nonprofit fights to ensure Alaska’s salmon don’t share the same dismal fate of salmon elsewhere in the country and the world, which is where the Pebble Mine comes into the fray.

The threat Pebble poses to Native “Without salmon, Bristol Bay would become a desolate place. They don’t just nourish the people; they nourish the land. It’s a sad thought to think that could be disrupted,” Melanie says of the proposed Pebble Mine. (JOHN WHITTIER) culture, as well as to the $1.5 billion fishery that generates more than 14,500 jobs each year, is why Melanie has worked for years advocating against the mine. She’s crisscrossed the state and, with her friendly openness and firm convictions, inspired countless people to get involved in fighting for salmon. ASJ

Editor’s note: Pride of Bristol Bay is a free column written by Bjorn Dihle and provided by its namesake, a fishermandirect seafood marketer that specializes in delivering the highest quality of sustainably caught wild salmon from Bristol Bay to your doorstep. For more

information, visit prideofbristolbay.com.

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