My mom started tanning sockeye salmon skin in 2018. Our traditional family fishcamp sits on the banks of the Newhalen River in Bristol Bay where we return every summer to harvest łiqa (salmon) for the winter.

My mom started with willow bark tanning and last year we took classes from Janey Chang to learn new ways of tanning. (Janey's classes and website can be found here). Janey integrates knowledge from different cultures around the world who have used fish skin, she shares her love of salmon and the ceremony of processing the skin.

This process of tanning salmon skin brings a whole new level of connection with this artwork. Feeling the salmon skin from start to finish and reflecting on it's life and how it came to be in our hands and sending gratitude is part of the process. Our ancestors used salmon leather for various parts of clothing for hundreds of years so it's like coming home to what we already knew but forgot. 

Each item made is named with a Dena’ina word or phrase; as I am of Dena’ina descent and these are made on lands that were traditionally stewarded by Dena’ina Athabascan people for centuries. 

Each finished art piece is smudged with sage to cleanse the items of any energies I may have passed to it, opening the items up to harness new energy. I smudge by grounding in my body first, standing barefoot and send gratitude to Naqeltani (spirit or Creator) for providing the items to make the art. I then ask Naqeltani to remove any negative energies I may have passed to the items and circle the items 3x with the sage; sending hope, love, and safety to the new owner of the art.

Each art piece comes with a one-of-a-kind water color card that describes the stones and the materials I used.