♪ ♪
DANIELLE: Ready?
(grunt)
CHRIS: Alright, wait, wait, wait.
DANIELLE: My dad retired from being the captain
about a year ago.
So, my brother is gonna be taking me out
to look for Hanasaki crab and geese and longnecks.
And if we're lucky, we might see some seals.
Boating in the Bering Sea with our skiffs
can be very dangerous.
Things can change quickly,
and you have to be ready for anything.
Are we jumping in or do I need to take the walk?
CHRIS: Yeah, we just need to jump in.
(grunt)
♪ ♪
DANIELLE: Agh!
♪ ♪
DANIELLE: Yeah.
Holy (bleep), that was scary.
DANIELLE: The boat was going real fast!
DANIELLE: Oh, my heart's racing.
Accidents just happen.
Especially being in the Bering Sea.
It's like the coldest water and the craziest waters.
It can be scary.
♪ ♪
DANIELLE: I'm just super grateful
that I have the opportunity to do these types of things,
especially being a female hunter.
CHRIS: Lots of grey heads.
DANIELLE: We see some longnecks out here.
(whistling)
(gunshot)
DANIELLE: Woo! CHRIS: Ooh-ah.
When they're flying sideways,
you gotta shoot in front of them a little bit.
DANIELLE: Okay.
♪ ♪
CHRIS: Right there, right there, right there.
Right on it.
(gunshot)
It dropped over there.
CHRIS: Right there, right there!
(gunshot)
Ah, you got it.
(laughs)
DANIELLE: Growing up I didn't think that I'd be going out
with my brother all the time.
I thought it was always gonna be my dad.
And as we got older, my dad overworked himself
and he had a heart attack.
He can't do as much as he used to.
Although my brother is not my dad,
I feel completely safe with him.
MARVIN: I was brought up all hands-on.
You couldn't run down to the store or get parts,
you just had to put it together with what you had.
♪ ♪
Oh, what's that angle?
Oh, yeah, perfect 45.
This is exactly how I'm gonna build the one I'm putting.
I'm going to notch these 4x4s
and splice them together just flush.
Just same thing as this right here.
This is the same kind of cross I'm gonna build.
We are Russian Orthodox.
Kodiak Island used to be part of Russia.
Our church is over 100 years old.
And when I was a kid, my dad worked in the church.
He was the person that lit the candles.
It's been many a year since I've done everything
up here in the graves.
I don't really like to go to funerals,
because I've never really dealt with the past very well,
and, um...
...to, uh...
...at least build a cross and a box for my dad's grave,
it makes me feel a little more at peace.
My dad passed away when I was pretty young.
That's the last time that grave was ever built nice.
It's already rotten, the cross fell.
And I feel that it's about the time to put one together
and show a little more respect.
Honor the elders that were here before us.
Alright, I got a good strategy.
Something good to follow.
♪ ♪
(saw buzzing)
Now, I'll put some screws in.
(whirring)
Growing up with my dad, working in the church
was one of my greatest experiences
of becoming what I'm becoming now,
because all this subsisting is all brought down from my dad.
He was a man of all trades,
and that's where I learned a lot of what I'm becoming,
and I wish I would have done a long time ago.
♪ ♪
Oh, yeah.
Now, that this is, uh, done,
that's gonna go up on the grave,
and just put your flowers,
whatever's gonna grow inside of it.
We're gonna paint it and it's very heavy, put together.
Now I'm gonna build a cross.
JOHN: The people in the world have to start living
in the harmony of nature.
We have to start preserving our land,
the rivers, and the ocean.
♪ ♪
Heh.
Alright, you guys finally came!
JOHN: We're gonna start building the cabin
as soon as we, we can.
PATRICK: Okay.
JOHN: We have to get started today.
At our fish camp,
we are building a foundation for our cabin.
I have my grandson, Sonna Boy, and Patrick for help.
JOHN: Here, Sonna Boy, here's some of the tools we need.
We need to bring some of the stuff here to the tent up there,
so we can start building the platform for the cabin.
TERESA: We're building the family cabin.
We've thought about this for so many years,
to have a cabin to come back to,
where we could be warm, light the stove.
No more being cold out in the frozen tundra.
JOHN: 16 feet wide and 20 feet long.
That's how big the house is gonna be. Okay?
SONNA BOY: Yeah. PATRICK: Okay.
JOHN: Get that pushcart and let's go get the rest.
♪ ♪
(chainsaw buzzing)
SONNA BOY: This cabin, it's an all-year-round
safe haven for our family.
We can just open the door, turn on light,
and put fire in the stove.
It's just an instant fortress.
JOHN: Lift this and put it right there.
TERESA: I am so grateful for Patrick and Sonna Boy
for building it and putting it together.
I'm really blessed to have those two boys.
Coming along really well, and I'm happy.
I'm happy about it.
JOHN: Okay, put it on, on bottom.
Yeah.
PATRICK: I love helping John.
If it helps the family, then I'm all for it.
JOHN: One more time.
PATRICK: 16 feet.
JOHN: Yeah, 16, that's what we need.
TERESA: Having a cabin is becoming a reality.
Good that I can touch it.
JOEL: A hundred years ago,
subsistence was 100% way of life.
If you couldn't subside, then you didn't live.
♪ ♪
SARAH: Hey, Joel!
JOEL: Hey!
SARAH: Thanks for coming over.
JOEL: Oh, yeah.
So, Sarah Thiele is my summertime neighbor.
She's kind of like my adopted grandma,
is what I like to call her.
She's actually like my second or third cousin.
She's very knowledgeable about the land and the animals,
and that's kind of why we call her Cheda,
is 'cause she's like, you know, the grandma,
like, she knows everything.
She's kind of a big part of my life now,
and we're gonna go out and put our net in the water
and try to catch a couple salmon for dinner.
The salmon are just kind of trickling in right now.
SARAH: You got the lead line? JOEL: Yeah.
SARAH: Oh, crap-ola. The bear tore into my net.
Pulled it up on the beach last year.
JOEL: Oh, that was this net?
SARAH: I think so.
JOEL: Oh.
SARAH: Yeah, I think he did.
Yep.
JOEL: You could probably just tie it for now,
'cause we're only trying to get a couple fish anyways.
SARAH: Yeah, a quick repair, just get some twine.
My dad is half Danish and half Dena'Ina Indian,
or Dena'Ina.
My mother is full Dena'Ina Indian.
I was raised here till I was 10.
This is my home soil.
Okay, Joel, check that out, see what you think.
JOEL: Oh, yeah, that's strong!
SARAH: Okie-dokie. JOEL: Good.
SARAH: Grab that.
There we go.
JOEL: Ready to go.
The main reason that Pedro Bay exists
is because there's a huge salmon run.
It's a big deal here.
SARAH: Finally gonna set the net.
JOEL: Yeah.
SARAH: It's kind of rough.
JOEL: I know.
SARAH: We might have to go on the other side.
JOEL: Yeah, we could.
SARAH: Oh, look at this gust coming up, I don't like that.
JOEL: Okay, you want to go where it's calm?
SARAH: Yeah, because once we get it out,
it's gonna blow us all over the place.
JOEL: Yeah. SARAH: Let's go around there.
JOEL: Okay.
SARAH: I've never set a net on this side, though.
JOEL: The seasons and the weather really dictates
what you do day to day, and even hour to hour.
It's good to just kind of notice what's going on around you.
Excited to have some fish.
SARAH: Hope I don't get too many at once.
JOEL: Yeah, we just need enough fish for dinner.
SARAH: They're just starting to come in now,
but when they are here,
you have to really watch your net
or you might get way too many fish.
What do you think here, Joel?
See how deep it is right here?
JOEL: Yeah, that's pretty shallow.
SARAH: Okay, so you think this will work?
JOEL: Yeah. SARAH: Okay.
JOEL: If it's too deep, your whole net will just sink.
SARAH: Yeah, the anchor will pull it down.
Tie that to a rock or a tree.
We want a lot of lead line, Joel.
JOEL: Yeah.
SARAH: To actually have some net in the water.
JOEL: Yeah, I'll just tie it right here,
we'll have plenty of net.
I do enjoy helping Cheda out.
She's kind of getting up there in age and stuff,
so, you know, I don't mind going and helping her,
you know, pick fish and catching fish.
You know, I like helping out my elders.
SARAH: Okay, ready? JOEL: Yeah.
SARAH: I'll put it in reverse.
JOEL: Okay. SARAH: Okay, here we go.
Kind of let the net kind of drag out to get some tension in it.
Okay, go ahead and throw the anchor.
JOEL: That's definitely the dinner net.
Some people set the dinner table, we set the dinner net.
(Sarah laughs)
MARVIN: Still the same as when I was growing up,
and to see a lot of kids still here and family's very big.
I'm very happy for this place.
(saw buzzing)
♪ ♪
Got a plan to build a cross.
I'm gonna make a cross for my dad's grave
up there in the graveyard.
There's only a few graves that are still standing
from people that passed away,
and we're trying to at least get some markings
and have a place where your relatives are at.
Now I'm going to notch this board here.
(saw buzzing)
My dad, he taught me a lot of good things
that I'm finally putting to use.
And that is how we still gotta help each other out here.
He'd be pretty happy of how far I've come,
my parents would be, and me, too.
I say that is very big.
Not bad.
♪ ♪
Well, that should work.
Taking these little ridges out, since I got this knife.
I don't have a chisel.
Three pieces I'm putting on this cross.
Two on top, and then the third one is gonna be at an angle.
It's even better than a chisel.
This is the symbol of what we believe,
and which is the Russian Orthodox religion.
Russians migrated over here,
and there was a monk that lived on the island,
who was Saint Herman of Alaska,
and the younger generation probably know more about it
than I, but you know, I just go with what I was taught,
and seems to be working.
(chuckles)
There it is.
Final project.
I'm gonna paint it after this lumber dries up,
and I'll put it in there where the other frame is.
Every little bit like this to put towards the community,
I'm all for that.
DANIELLE: What we catch on this land, we give to the community.
We're providers and we're gonna continue to do so.
♪ ♪
CHRIS: The weather is perfect for seal hunting right now.
My dad retired of going boating.
Pretty much I'm the captain now, and being a captain
is bigger of a job than being just the front man.
You have to be worried about the weather conditions.
You have to watch the waves.
You have to be aware of the wind changing all the time.
You know, it feels different nowadays
without my dad on the boat,
and it's never gonna be the same now.
Everything is pretty much changing out there.
DANIELLE: This is a really great learning experience for me.
And it's a lot of fun, too.
There's a seal.
♪ ♪
DANIELLE: You think we lost him?
CHRIS: I don't know.
You know, the seal's moving, bobbing up in the wave.
CHRIS: Comes up for only half a second, disappears right away.
On top of that, you yourself is moving inside the boat.
So, it's that hard to shoot those seals.
DANIELLE: Ugh.
CHRIS: Yeah, they never came back up.
DANIELLE: It was right there!
We didn't get close enough to put a shot on it.
Sometimes we see them and we'll lose them.
♪ ♪
DANIELLE: Oh, there up ahead.
CHRIS: Make sure your scope is on six.
DANIELLE: It's on six.
CHRIS: Right there, right there in front of you.
Oh, (bleep). Right there!
(gunshot)
DANIELLE: Damn, I just missed that seal.
I think we lost him, huh?
CHRIS: Yeah, usually after the first shot
of shooting spotted seals, they run away already.
DANIELLE: It's hard for me to shoot
when we're bouncing up and down in the water.
DANIELLE: I'm still learning,
and my dad and my brother are willing to teach.
And the only way I'm gonna get better is if I keep doing it.
My mom, growing up, tried to make me
go berry-picking with her
and doing what they say is for the women.
And I just didn't want to.
I was just more into the hunting.
I prefer being in the Bering Sea than being on the land.
CHRIS: There's a lot of stuff we can do out boating.
We could ride along the coast and look for birds
and look for crab along the coast of the mountain.
This is the place where we get Hanasaki.
DANIELLE: Normally it's easy to spot them,
they're bright red in the water.
It's a little too wavy for catching Hanasaki crab.
We use these hooks to go down and grab them.
And it'd be really hard for us to catch them in the waves.
CHRIS: She's a little bit wavy, alright.
♪ ♪
That's a lot of birds right there.
DANIELLE: I can't even tell.
CHRIS: The ones with grey heads.
Wait for it to come real close.
Right there, go ahead.
(gunshot) Yeah.
(Chris grunts)
Right there, right side.
(gunshot) Mmm!
(laughs) You keep shooting high.
Gotta grab it on the left side.
Oh, there's one right there, two of 'em. (bleep)
DANIELLE: Where? CHRIS: Right there, the birds!
DANIELLE: Which ones?
CHRIS: It's on the left.
♪ ♪
Alright, my favorite.
Right there, left side, left side.
Don't aim at the body, aim at the head.
(gunshot)
Grab that bird.
DANIELLE: My brother, he's a really good hunter.
My dad taught him really well.
Hopefully I can learn more from him,
and today was really good experience with him.
CHRIS: We got a meal today!
DANIELLE: At least we caught something. (chuckles)
We get to not only come hunt for seals,
but we can fish and catch birds.
Our ocean and the land provide so much for us.
JOEL: Pretty much have to be self-reliant on everything.
If you can't fix it, it's just not gonna get fixed.
You're just gonna have broke stuff the rest of your life.
♪ ♪
SARAH: Let's try this spot
because I've had some luck up here before.
But this is a little treacherous with these rocks.
JOEL: Yeah, it's super slick.
SARAH: Be careful.
JOEL: Give it a couple hours, we'll check the net.
Hopefully there's fish in there.
So my Cheda, Sarah, or my adopted grandma,
she knows a lot about the plants and stuff here
and what they're used for,
and like the medicinal purposes and everything,
which I don't really know anything about.
We're gonna go try to do a little foraging.
It is a cool concept, and I am looking forward to learning
a little more from her.
SARAH: I want to show you these here.
This is too big.
The stinging nettle is too big.
JOEL: Oh, okay.
SARAH: You can't really eat that right now,
but see the smaller one here?
JOEL: Yeah.
SARAH: That's a perfect size.
That's what you want to find.
We'll go ahead and try and find enough for dinner.
It's loaded with iron and calcium
and all kinds of good stuff in it.
It's a whole 'nother world
out there in nature amongst the plants.
And I want to teach him about that.
'Cause he doesn't know a lot about greens
and what's growing in the woods.
I just saw some monkshood over there.
JOEL: Oh, really?
SARAH: Yeah, very poisonous.
JOEL: Oh!
SARAH: Yeah, and it looks like a hood.
That's why they call it monkshood.
JOEL: Oh.
SARAH: The hunters long ago would take the blossom...
JOEL: Uh-huh.
SARAH: ...cook it down, dip their tips in there,
when they're hunting bears, or maybe seals or whatever.
If they didn't get 'em with the spear, the poison would get 'em.
JOEL: My Cheda Sarah, she's like this cool bridge between,
you know, kind of the past and like now.
And she's got a lot to teach me
about the way they used to do stuff.
SARAH: I want to look for some of the wild rhubarb leaves.
JOEL: I don't know what the rhubarb looks like, but.
SARAH: Oh, okay.
You know, we need to get quite a bit more for dinner.
JOEL: Yeah.
You know, she is very good at explaining stuff,
and she wants to explain stuff to you,
and share her wealth of knowledge,
and, you know, I'm happy to pick it up.
SARAH: Oh, it's so beautiful.
I think I see some.
See that? That's a beauty.
JOEL: Oh, it's even got a red stem just like the rhubarb.
Look at that. SARAH: Yeah, yeah. Look at that.
When nature provides you with food...
JOEL: Uh-huh.
SARAH: I think you better pick it.
JOEL: Yeah.
SARAH: You know, and I'm always thanking creator
for providing for us.
JOEL: Yeah.
Think we got enough for dinner?
SARAH: Yeah, I think so.
I think we're good.
JOEL: Should we go check the net?
SARAH: Yeah, let's go do it.
MARVIN: Once you got a foundation
is where your structure is,
and if you don't have a good foundation,
just a matter of when it's gonna blow away.
♪ ♪
We have trail right here we used to walk.
I'm pretty sure this is where my dad's grave was.
This wood that looks very familiar.
It looks exactly like what my dad's cross was made of.
So, I'll just cut some grass around
and I'll be able to have more access to what I'm doing.
Put the frame, and the cross, and be marked for a long time.
I'm happy for that.
I'll feel at ease again.
♪ ♪
Very comforting to at least find the spot
where this box is gonna go.
GLYNDARIL: Come on, John-John.
MARVIN: Well, there's the gang.
GLYNDARIL: Hey, Unc, how you doing?
MARVIN: Hey. How you guys doing? Think I found grandpa's grave.
MARCELLA: I remember that name tag.
MARVIN: Yeah, I remember it.
MARCELLA: Yeah, I remember that, too.
We were able to find my grandfather's grave,
which is kind of mixed emotions.
It's so damaged and so demolished.
GLYNDARIL: See all the grass we're gonna have to cut?
We're gonna do our part.
This is your family, this is your, your past.
You got to take care of it.
MARVIN: We just got to watch where we step
so we don't step into a coffin.
GLYNDARIL: Oh.
MARVIN: Sound good?
(weed whackers buzzing)
♪ ♪
I'm pretty sure this is the most attention
we've ever put into our grave,
and I'm very happy that it's starting someplace.
And to have Marcella and her family
as part of this is very big to see.
So, things are slowly coming together.
♪ ♪
I think I broke mine.
GLYNDARIL: Huh?
MARVIN: I, um, was cutting the grass with the weed whacker,
and it just, the stick stuff broke the band.
GLYNDARIL: Once you get back up in here,
all the bushes get thicker and stronger,
and it just takes more time.
MARVIN: There you go, we're back in 'em.
Back in business.
(weed whackers buzzing)
GLYNDARIL: Teaching my kids to embrace their future
by learning their past is a big thing for me.
This is their past and we got to preserve it.
♪ ♪
MARVIN: Well, at least I got a good spot.
It will be easier to have an easy spot to build off of,
and that's my dad, who is the foundation.
He was the backbone of our family.
MARCELLA: It was something that needed to have been done
long ago, but it's the fact that,
it's...somebody's trying to do something good now.
That's the only thing that counts.
MARVIN: It's gonna look a lot nicer.
And I'll feel good.
Thanks to Marcella and Glyn to help, and the kids.
TERESA: I love being out on the tundra.
I've been out on the tundra since I was a kid.
It's my way of life.
♪ ♪
JOHN: Just mark it on four feet.
Measure that one other one, too.
Today we are adding pieces of wood
to make the foundation stronger.
We're gonna nail down the plywood.
We try to tack in all of these supports,
so that when we put the plywood on, will make it more stable.
Plywood's gonna be nailed on these.
In my experience, the hardest part
is putting together the foundation,
because it has to be stable, even and solid.
This is the main part of the building.
When you're building a house,
you have to be ahead of yourself,
otherwise you're gonna make a mistake and waste material.
It makes you use your mind and your imagination,
and put it all together.
♪ ♪
TERESA: Gonna make my dough. Like to stretch it out.
Put however many holes in it, too.
Let it cook.
We refer to bread as mukaaq
if it's baked in the oven or fried like this.
Can't do two things at the same time,
so I have to either choose to be
the construction foreman out there
or be the baker in the tent.
So, I choose to do this.
Bread gets going, the grandkids show up,
and he's right on time, smiling at me.
SONNA BOY: Can I get one?
TERESA: Of course, you know you can get one.
Remember, first one you touch.
SONNA BOY: First one I touch.
TERESA: Yup.
SONNA BOY: Nice and warm.
TERESA: Nice and warm.
Not like a cold cracker, huh?
SONNA BOY: Mmm. TERESA: Mmm.
TERESA: Okay.
I'm happy you like it, Sonna Boy.
SONNA BOY: Really good.
TERESA: Mmm-mm-mm.
JOHN: It's a little bit off.
Make sure these are touching.
TERESA: It's gonna be such a relief
to have this cabin built here,
as we've held off a little too long.
JOEL: It's good to take what you need
and not just to take to take.
I don't need to kill stuff just to kill stuff.
♪ ♪
SARAH: Thanks, Joel, for helping me get the greens.
JOEL: Oh, yeah.
SARAH: I think it's time to go check the net.
JOEL: Okay. Yeah, I didn't see anything swimming around.
SARAH: Yeah.
JOEL: The winds calmed down, but it was blowing when we set it.
I'm sure something swam in there.
SARAH: I hope so. Hope we get a few.
Just a few, not a whole lot right now.
JOEL: Just need a couple for dinner.
SARAH: Yeah.
It's a cardinal rule, I think, anywhere
just to take what you need for your family.
If you are not out there when the time is right
to catch your fish, to pick your plants,
you miss out.
JOEL: I don't see any corks sunk on the net.
SARAH: You know, too bad we didn't put that net out
a little further.
That would have put it out here more in the deep water
where the salmon are.
JOEL: Well, it's hard to catch them
when it's calm like this 'cause they can see the...
SARAH: Oh, yeah.
JOEL: The net.
The main reason Pedro Bay is here
is because there was a huge salmon run.
And if there wasn't, I don't even know
if there would be a village here.
We have moose and stuff, too,
but you know, there's not a whole lot of moose around
'cause there's so many bears.
You kind of drop whatever you're doing in the summertime
to put up fish, because it is so important.
I'll untie the net.
SARAH: Okay.
JOEL: From the beach, and then I'll just start feeding it
back into the boat, and we'll pick the net up.
SARAH: Okay. I think I'll shut it off, Joel.
JOEL: Yeah, you're good.
SARAH: Growing up, we, we had to row.
My mother rowed the boat,
because there was no, she had no engine.
So, people would row across the lake when they were after fish.
It'd take them a while to get there, but they'd get there.
♪ ♪
So, you're gonna want to pull the net,
maybe even over the bow? I don't know.
JOEL: Yeah.
♪ ♪
Oh, we caught a rock. (Sarah chuckles)
Oh, there's a fish in there.
SARAH: Oh, wow, look at that.
Oh, my god!
That's quite a lot.
JOEL: Nice.
♪ ♪
So we got four total, looks like.
That's good.
SARAH: Good job, Joel.
JOEL: Yeah.
SARAH: That net worked okay.
JOEL: No, that was perfect, four fish.
SARAH: Yeah, this is the beginning of the season.
Okay. Let's head back to my place, Joel, and...
JOEL: Clean these guys up.
SARAH: Start cleaning those fish and get set up for dinner.
JOEL: Sounds good.
We don't want to be overfishing or catching too many fish.
And so that's part of being traditional
is just taking what you need.
SARAH: Oh, look at those fish.
JOEL: They look good. SARAH: They look so good.
JOEL: Perfect salmon.
SARAH: Wow!
(motor starts)
That's the dinner net after all.
JOEL: Yeah, the dinner net.
SARAH: It's our new dinner net.
(both laugh)
♪ ♪
JOEL: What a haul.
You ready for a fish?
SARAH: Yup.
Oh, you're gonna head and gut for me.
JOEL: Okay.
Collars on?
SARAH: Yes, please.
JOEL: I'm not a big fan of the collars.
SARAH: What?
That's where the main fat is, is in the collar.
(gasps) There's eggs. Mm.
JOEL: Yeah.
SARAH: We're gonna keep the eggs.
Oh, yum, eggs.
JOEL: Grass works surprisingly well.
SARAH: Grass, it's not slippery.
The fish kind of stick right to the grass.
JOEL: Yeah, it's impressive how well it keeps them
from sliding around.
SARAH: My mother was an expert at that.
Now that, that's beautiful.
JOEL: Pretty good. SARAH: Yeah.
♪ ♪
JOEL: My Cheda Sarah, she lived back when they had no power
and they had no running water, and they had, I mean, nothing.
They were like 100% off the land.
They were fishing and hunting,
and gathering plants and animals to eat.
That was the normal way of life.
Learning from someone that's lived it
is different than learning it
from somebody that's just telling you from a book.
It makes it, you know, a cooler experience.
I am looking forward to learning a little more from her.
SARAH: There is nothing like catching your first salmon,
and to share it with somebody is just like icing on a cake.
Okay, we're gonna cook these on the beach.
We'll build the fire and get it down to the coals.
How does that sound?
JOEL: That sounds good, I'll get a fire going, then.
We can start cooking.
SARAH: Yeah, it'll be great.
TERESA: Everything is so fresh and so new at camp.
You can think of things better out here.
And it's refreshing.
♪ ♪
PATRICK: Alright, Sonna Boy, let's go give it a go, ah?
We'll go get some plywoods across there.
JOHN: Sonna Boy!
♪ ♪
JOHN: Yeah, there you go.
Never been done like that before.
TERESA: First for everything.
JOHN: But...straight across!
Whoa, that's gonna save a lot of time.
TERESA: And energy.
JOHN: Yeah, there you go.
After we build the foundation,
plywood will be the floor of the cabin.
♪ ♪
That's much better.
TERESA: I am very grateful for John and the boys
to have put in so much time on the foundation,
making sure that it's solid and well made
before the full winter sets in.
JOHN: We need two more plywood right there, and that'll be it.
TERESA: If it's built solid now, it will last for a long time.
SONNA BOY: When I come back to fish camp
and the cabin is fully intact,
it's gonna remind me of all the hard work that we put in.
JOHN: Alright.
It looks a lot better than before when we had nothing.
Hey, look, Sonna Boy, you got a shotgun?
TERESA: You better be ready, old boy.
♪ ♪
(geese honking)
(gunshot)
TERESA: Go get it, old boy!
PATRICK: Nice, eh.
SONNA BOY: Getting some birds for my family
is just comforting.
TERESA: Good job, Sonna Boy!
SONNA BOY: They have a lot more trust in me to get them food.
PATRICK: Good shot, Sonna Boy!
TERESA: We need to get more of these for the winter.
Yes.
We're going to have some goose soup tonight.
And eat the feathers and all tonight.
PATRICK: That looks good.
SONNA BOY: Man, it's been a while since we ate bird soup.
JOHN: Mm-hmm.
SONNA BOY: Fresh bird soup.
JOHN: It's really good for the body
when we have fresh food from the land.
TERESA: I'm so grateful that the foundation is in place
for rest of the house to go up.
JOHN: Yeah.
TERESA: The foundation's done.
JOHN: Celebration.
TERESA: Wonderful way to end the day, having this dinner.
Mmm.
I dream of having this cabin a long time ago,
and it's finally a reality this year.
To me, it's just beautiful.
MARVIN: It's gonna look so much nicer with this,
once I put it up and, you know,
this is gonna be so easy to spot.
And the kids will know where the relatives are.
♪ ♪
My dad's name was Miney Agnot.
And, you know, he was supposed to have a surgery,
and he just drank a little too long,
and his body was too weak.
He had a heart attack.
My dad used to work in the church.
He'd come up before the church opened up
and light up all the candles.
Eventually, he let me start taking over
doing the candles with him,
and after he died, I just slowly drifted away from that, and...
I do miss my dad very much.
He was straightforward, and his words carried a lot of meaning.
And I still practice 'em to this day.
♪ ♪
Like I said, I done my part, anyway, I feel better.
Might not be much, but to me, it means quite a bit.
♪ ♪
DANIELLE: So why don't we pluck them?
CHRIS: Because we don't pluck seabirds.
We only pluck inland birds.
DANIELLE: But why?
CHRIS: Cut down the back.
And try to tear it all at once.
It'll just naturally tear off.
DANIELLE: Do you just take the whole thing off?
CHRIS: Yeah.
DANIELLE: Even the head part?
CHRIS: Mm-hmm. Everything soft on this bird is edible.
♪ ♪
(grunts) There you go, you got the whole head that came off.
Gotta pull the skin off the chest
and then you got to cut the tail off.
♪ ♪
DANIELLE: First time I watch it.
CHRIS: Me and my sister, everything we did today
was the first thing she did ever.
First time she shot at cormorants
and first time she shot at live seals off the boat.
Hopefully, she'll learn from what she has done today.
DANIELLE: It's our tradition to share what we catch.
And what we catch on our land,
we share to our elders, to the community.
Usually it's first come, first served.
So, if there's somebody at the beach, we give to them.
CHRIS: It's always important to give other people food
that come see the boat,
'cause not only my family is the one that wants to eat.
DANIELLE: It's always a good trip going out with my brother.
He's willing to teach me, and he has patience with me,
and I'll be a better hunter as long as I keep practicing.
I am happy to be home, carrying on that tradition.
MARVIN: Very good, Marce.
Oh, I miss this kind of food.
Reminds me of my mom or dad growing up.
Community's a big thing for me,
because we still need each other's help out here.
You hungry?
Yeah, me, too, it's so good.
I want to help somebody in front of me,
because that's how my dad taught me.
You know, he taught me to keep helping
because one day, you may need help.
JOEL: Being loyal to people,
and, you know, friends and family is a key
to living out in the bush, especially by yourself.
SARAH: No. (laughs)
JOHN: Yup.
That's why we help each other.
TERESA: Yup.
JOHN: We have to love one another
and care for one another
and have peace, peace with one another.
Captioned by Side Door Media Services