By Amy Romer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Growing up, Yanshkawoo (Harvey Kitka) never saw many grey whales in the waters of Sheet\u2019k\u00e1 Sound. The \u0141ing\u00edt (Tling\u00edt) Elder and subsistence yaaw (herring) fisherman recalled harvesting g\u00e1ax’w (herring eggs) in his territories before \u201cAlaska\u201d became a \u201cU.S.\u201d state in 1959. It was a time when yaaw were plentiful and sightings of whales were rare \u2014 just a handful at most. \u201cThere was food everywhere,\u201d mused Yanshkawoo, tracing a slow circle in the air with his hand \u2014 a gesture toward the abundance the ocean once held. He sat at a crowded caf\u00e9 in Sheet\u2019k\u00e1 (Sitka), his voice calm but thoughtful. \u201cThey had no reason to come into the Sound back then.\u201d But things changed in 2019, when fishers, researchers and community… <\/p>\n
By Amy Romer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Growing up, Yanshkawoo (Harvey Kitka) never saw many grey whales in the waters of Sheet\u2019k\u00e1 Sound. The \u0141ing\u00edt (Tling\u00edt) Elder and subsistence yaaw (herring) fisherman recalled harvesting g\u00e1ax’w (herring eggs) in his territories before \u201cAlaska\u201d became a \u201cU.S.\u201d state in 1959. It was a time when yaaw were plentiful and sightings of whales were rare \u2014 just a handful at most. \u201cThere was food everywhere,\u201d mused Yanshkawoo, tracing a slow circle in the air with his hand \u2014 a gesture toward the abundance the ocean once held. He sat at a crowded caf\u00e9 in Sheet\u2019k\u00e1 (Sitka), his voice calm but thoughtful. \u201cThey had no reason to come into the Sound back then.\u201d But things changed in 2019, when fishers, researchers and community... <\/p>\n