In some Alaska villages, hunting and fishing season starts with a "throwing party"
Briefly

from www.npr.org8 months ago
Traditionally, throughout many Indigenous coastal communities in Western Alaska, when a young family member hunts their first seal of the season, their family hosts a party to distribute that fresh catch to women and elders in their community.
www.npr.orghttps://www.npr.org/2024/06/11/nx-s1-4986103/how-an-indigenous-tradition-that-started-with-catching-seals-has-evolved-in-alaska
Over the years, the tradition has expanded to celebrate all kinds of firsts: graduations, the birth of a child or grandchild, a wedding.
www.npr.orghttps://www.npr.org/2024/06/11/nx-s1-4986103/how-an-indigenous-tradition-that-started-with-catching-seals-has-evolved-in-alaska
The villages of Western Alaska are roadless, reachable only by airplane, and people rely heavily on birds, fish, and marine mammals for food.
www.npr.orghttps://www.npr.org/2024/06/11/nx-s1-4986103/how-an-indigenous-tradition-that-started-with-catching-seals-has-evolved-in-alaska
Once the elders find their place in the middle of the crowd, Tom, her daughter Teddy Ann Bell, and her niece, Amy Kassaiuli dig their hands down into a blue plastic box on the front porch. One two, three, they count in unison and then lean way out over the porch railing to fling fistfuls of goodies into the air.
www.npr.orghttps://www.npr.org/2024/06/11/nx-s1-4986103/how-an-indigenous-tradition-that-started-with-catching-seals-has-evolved-in-alaska
Read at www.npr.org
#indigenous-communities #western-alaska #throwing-parties #yupik-traditions #celebrations
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