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My father has always taken me out fishing in the summer because that’s when the fish first start going up the streams. I remember one day he took me out to the Spasski Bear Viewing Area to fish. It was so much fun. The way you get down to the stream is somewhat hard, because you need to plan the timing correctly, otherwise you would be walking in tall grass one minute and the next you would be in a a pool of knee high water. That day, we caught a lot of fish and as we were cleaning it, dad got up and walked over a hill sort of thing to use the restroom. A few seconds later, I heard “Leah! Get the gun!” I turn around to see a huge male bear standing on its hind legs (that’s their defensive stance) ready to charge him. I reached for my 22 hummer and shot at the ground by the bear’s feet. He wasn’t harmed, by the way. The bear jumped back and ran away across towards the other side of the stream. He trotted into the woods. Later after 30 minutes, dad and I were just about finished with all of the fish so we started to pack up. We were still by the edge of the stream cleaning our hands when a Mama bear and her two cubs came out of the woods. “Not again!” exclaimed Dad and he jumped up and grabbed his pistol that was hanging on its holster under his coat. By this point the mother was in a full charge towards us from across the stream. Dad shot in the air and she took a step back looking at us as if we were crazy. She turned around and started walking along the bank as her cubs played on a small stump. We thought she would leave us alone so we grabbed our fish that were hanging on a stick and our bags and started walking away. Sure enough, she wasn’t going to leave us alone. She turned back around and started charging us again. This time I grabbed my gun and shot at the water in front of her. She jumped up again, and I’m sure she gave me a side glare, and walked back to her place on the bank. As a parting gift, I left three fish for them because that’s why she was charging us, she wanted our fish. I set them on a flat piece of wood and we turned around and left. We then thanked the mother for not giving us too much trouble and left. I’m sure her and her kids loved the fish, and I know our family did too, because that night we ate a very nice fish meal.”
Dad taught me to shoot a gun when I was six years old.
“It has been a delight to see Owen take Leah under his wing and teach her how to live off the land. I do not know of any other teenaged girls who know how to shoot and field dress a deer or a seal, harvest and dry seaweed, or, among the greatest of all mysteries to me, find and harvest octopuses at low tide using nothing more than a stick. He did this while also teaching about her culture, respect for others, and how to drum, sing and dance. He is the consummate community member, culture bearer, artist, and most of all, loving father.”
Wayne Howell, Gustavus, Alaska
