Ciisi nekeghalts´et

Widely used today on the Yukon and Copper Rivers, the fishwheel was introduced in Alaska near the turn of the 20th century after being prominent in the Pacific Northwest, particularly on the Columbia River. Ahtna Athabaskan elders date its arrival on the Copper River to 1910. Although invented by non-Natives, Ahtna people adapted the fishwheel to local conditions and became very skilled in its use, and by the 1920s it had largely replaced the older dipnet and fish trap methods. Today both Native and non-Native Alaskans operate fishwheels along the Copper River. This fishwheel was built by Ahtna elder Johnny Goodlataw, with younger helpers, at his culture camp in Tazlina village. He harvested spruce for its construction, choosing fire-hardened spruce logs for the floats. Although modern tools and materials such as metal screws were used, he also taught older methods such as tying the baskets with spruce roots, helping younger Ahtna generations learn fishwheel building through both traditional and newer techniques. Powered by the force of the Copper River, the current pushes against the paddles and turns baskets around a central axle; spruce baskets scoop salmon swimming upstream and empty them into a spruce fish box, while a peg-and-hole system raises and lowers the wheel with the water level, log floats support the structure, and the basket's angled bottom helps the salmon slide into the holding box.

Silver Springs, Alaska · United States