Kodiak Haakansons: Dig Afognak

Squirrel trapping

Cole's first octopus

Sven getting the seal gut ready for braiding

For a long weekend, the family enjoyed the lovely Dig Afognak Subsistence Camp. Sven used to be the camp manager in the summers between graduate school, and his parents used to be the cooks, so its always bittersweet to go to Afognak and see all the changes. The camp has really turned from a 'camp' into a gathering place. There's a men's banya and a women's banya, 4 or 5 nuzhniks (outhouses), a gathering yurt, and nice cabins for everyone (with bunks! No tents!). And the tents have little heaters. I almost felt guilty for calling it a camp. The most wonderful thing about the camp according to the kids, "Elder story time (every evening), the beach, the kayaks, and the swing".

The weekend was full and wonderful. We were able to do a tour of the salmon hatchery, catch and process octopus, seal & salmon, take a few walks and a do a few kayak trips onto the lake. For crafts, the kids were able to experience bears bread wood burning, making squirrel traps (daddy taught that one), canning salmon, spruce tip jelly making & much more. One of the highlights was taking out the skiff and doing a subsistence salmon pick. For many of the kids & adults, it was the first time they had plucked a fish from a net!