We gather black seaweed (Porphyra spp.) during very low tides. In order to gather it we need to go right before low tide because it grows on the surface of rocks underwater. The Tlingit name for black seaweed is Laakh’áask. We eat black seaweed like a snack or we mix it with rice, or put in with soups or stews or boiled fish. It is very delicious and it’s very healthy for you. Often times, it is distributed amongst crowds at native gatherings. In our culture, black seaweed is very valuable and when you receive it as a gift it is a huge honor. Our family usually gathers and dries 25 gallons or more of black seaweed each year. We love sharing it at the school ceremonies and at other cultural events.
After we gather it and clean it, we dry it. Sometimes we leave it outside on screens if it is sunny, but most of the time we dry seaweed in our entry way by the woodstove. After it is half dried, we grind it in a meat grinder and dry it again until it is completely dry.
“When my friends ask me when the best time to pick black seaweed is, I tell them, ‘the week after I do!'”
Owen james
Harvesting Red Ribbon Seaweed, Palmaria hecatensis
My father also loves red ribbon seaweed, or kh’áach’ which grows in the same place as black seaweed but earlier in the spring. Dad dries this out as well and dips it in seal grease to eat.