YETIs Explore Alaska Biota
YETI youth participant Annushka Tubbs’ rendering of a yarrow plant. Photo by Colleen Merrick.
Annushka Tubbs - YETI Youth
On June 20th and 21, the Youth Employment Training Initiative (YETI) with the Copper River Native Association (CRNA) worked with the youth workers from Tazlina to participate in a biota class hosted by Prince William Sound College (PWSC). There, students earned dual college and high school credits by learning about native medicinal plants and cutting fish.
It was hosted at the college building at the Glennallen School and at the Tazlina Community Hall.
At the college, students used journals to write about their findings and used watercolor. We played games and did a hike in the nearby area.
At the community hall, students learned about mercury and other metals in fish, cut fish, and took samples to be tested. Students also learned the Ahtna names for many parts of fish.
We learned about many kinds of native plants and their medical uses. Examples include high bush and low bush cranberries and how they are used for foods and how useful their antioxidants are. Other examples are yarrow and how they are used to keep mosquitoes away.
Quote from Annushka Tubbs: “I could see so much energy and engagement from other students! Lots of useful information that I have used since then; and fun trivia to use on friends”.
The instructors taught us about Minamata Disease, a disease caused by severe levels of mercury in seafood. Mercury is naturally found in fish but in Minamata, Japan in 1956, Chisso Corporation released toxic levels of mercury into the water. The fish absorbed it and all the wildlife and people who ate the contaminated fish suffered from Minamata Disease. It can cause numbness, muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, damage to hearing and speech, ataxia, and in extreme cases, insanity, paralysis, coma, or death.
Toxicologists and The Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission (AITRC) have tested the fish in our watershed and have found that our fish is safe to eat. Due to the fear of possible harm in eating and using our land’s resources, they have worked tirelessly to ensure and protect the confidence in our communities' food.
While at the Tazlina Community Hall, students learned the anatomy of the fish, in English and in Ahtna. For example, the gills of a salmon are called “k’ests’e’” in Ahtna.
Everyone who attended the classes would like to thank the many people who made these classes possible including Kristin Link for showing us how to properly draw each plant for scientific use, Starr Knighten for helping us cut and collect fish, as well as cooking the salmon. Thanks to Dr. David Hooper for teaching us about the plants, Katie Bobowski for helping to make the outreach possible, Kelsey Stanbro for helping us with fish cutting along with ATRIC. We would also like to thank the other people who helped with the classes including a toxicologist teaching at the classes and others helping.
The Youth Employment and Training Initiative (YETI) program is run by the Copper River Native Association (CRNA). Participants are Copper Basin youth ages 14-18 who are employed for the summer to work with various regional organizations and agencies. YETIs are learning career skills, gaining mentors, and helping their communities. Tsin’aen, YETIs!