My Father's Smokehouse - Life at Fishcamp in Southeast Alaska

Filled with stories of family, food, and culture, and interwoven with personal recipes and photographs taken by the author, My Father's Smokehouse folds the reader into a beautiful island landscape.
"Prescott emphasizes the importance of learning the traditional values of where one lives, gratitude for what the land and sea provide, and the responsibility to share with community."
-Anchorage Daily News
"[Prescott's] book is filled with traditions, memories and stories surrounding Southeast Alaska life, including a family's perseverance, the wisdom of Sáaacute;mi and Tlingit cultures, and respect for elders and their knowledge of the culture. The smokehouse at the fish camp is named after her father."
?Wrangell Sentinel
The smokehouse at Mickey's Fishcamp holds more than fish. It is filled with traditions, memories, and stories of a thriving Southeast Alaskan life?of a family's perseverance, of the wisdom of Sámi and Tlingit cultures, and of respect for Elders and their knowledge of the natural world.
Mickey's Fishcamp is named after three generations of Prescott fishermen who commercially fished the waters of the Inside Passage, and is located near one of the oldest Tlingit settlements in Wrangell, Alaska. Here, next to the rainforest and sea, author Vivian Faith Prescott has found her place in the world. She is a student and teacher of the natural environment?harvesting spruce tips, berries, sea lettuce, and goose tongue and processing salmon, halibut, and hooligan?who combines traditional practices with modern knowledge.
Heartwarming and introspective, My Father's Smokehouse tells one woman's stories of Traditional Knowledge that is learned and passed on, from one generation to the next.

List of contents

Introduction: Sense of Time, Sense of Seasons: Sea and Forest Seasoning; Spruce Tip Juice & Salt

FIRST FISHCAMP CYCLE

Skunk Cabbage: A Harbinger of Spring: Roasted Salmon in Skunk Cabbage Leaves

Harvesting the Soon Bloom: Oven-Dried Popweed

Ceremony: Cute-Little-Raven's Herring Egg Salad

Eat Your Trees: Spruce Tip Iced Tea

My Father's Smokehouse: Fishcamp Salmon Spread; Dad's Salmon Spread

Lessons from the Devil's Club Lady: Black Bean Salad with Devil's Club Tips

The Underside of Leaves: Salmonberry Scones

A Family of Crabbers: Island Crab Cakes; Spruce Tip Mayonnaise; Wild Alaskan Berry Sauce

Art-Thinking at Mickey's Fishcamp: Salmonberry–Spruce Tip Artisan Butter

Being Mummo: Foraging for Goose Tongue: Wrangell Ranch Dressing

13 Ways of Looking at Dog Salmon: Fishcamp Ikura (Salmon Caviar)

Afloat: Spruce Tip–Labrador Tea–Salmonberry-Infused Water

Halibut Sustains Us: Halibut Crepes

Backyard Glaciers: Tote Ice

Tea for Community: Labrador Tea

Encounters with the Giant Pacific Octopus: Smoked Octopus Salad

Red Huckleberry: Food for Songbirds: Mickey's Huckleberry Dream Pie

Wrangell Winter Games: Shrimp Sandwiches

Winter Stories: Salmon Patties; Spruce Tip Tartar Sauce; Fireweed Dipping Sauce

SECOND FISHCAMP CYCLE

Field Guide to Finding Hope: Put an Egg on it and Dip it in Coffee

Gathering Red Seaweed: Dried Red Seaweed

A Bunch of Hooligans: Smoked Hooligan Fresh Spring Rolls

Carrying on Traditions: Spruce Tip Oatmeal; Spruce Tip Toast

The Art of Salmon: Fishcamp Salmon Tacos

The Treat Beneath Your Feet: Dried Sea Lettuce

Muskeg Love: Muskeg Muffins

Gifts from the Porcupine: Spruce Tip Chocolate Brownies

It's the Little Fish in Life: Rainbow Smelt: Fried Rainbow Smelt (How Dad Does It)

The Bunchberry Yoik: Mixed Alaskan Berry Hand Pies

Lungs of the Island: Usnea Tea

Highbush Cranberries and Traditional Values: Highbush Cranberry Jelly

Listening to the Forest: "Stop the Shouting and Listen to the Sunset"

Stink Currants and Landslides: Stink Currant Jelly

Winter Blues: Blueberry Water; Winter Blueberry Smoothie

Salmon Head Soup: Salmon Head Soup

The Practice of Gifting: Spruce Tip Sugar Cookies

Winter Kings: White King Salmon Chowder

What I've Learned from Living at Fishcamp: Mickey's Fishcamp Tips

About the author

Vivian Faith Prescott is a fifth generation Alaskan, born and raised in a multi-cultural family on the small island of Wrangell in Southeastern Alaska. She lives in Wrangell near the Red Alder Head Village site at her family's fishcamp, Mickey's Fishcamp. She holds an MFA from the University of Alaska and a Ph.D. in Cross Cultural Studies. Her poetry has appeared in The North American Review, Yellow Medicine Review, Prairie Schooner and Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Anthology (University of Georgia Press). Vivian married into a Tlingit family and has four grown children and she was adopted into their clan, the T'akdeintaan, Snail House, and given the Tlingit name Yéilk' Tlaa, Mother-of-Cute-Little-Raven. Vivian is the founding member of Blue Canoe Writers in Sitka and Flying Island Writers and Artists in Wrangell with an emphasis on mentoring Indigenous writers. She's a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and received the Jason Wenger Award for Literary Excellence, in addition to a Rasmuson Fellowship (2015). She's a two-time semi-finalist for the Joy Harjo Poetry Award and a semi-finalist for the Colorado Prize for Poetry. She is the author of two poetry chapbooks, Slick (White Knuckle Press) and Sludge (Flutter Press), plus a full length collection, The Hide of My Tongue, and one short story collection, The Dead Go to Seattle (Boreal Books/Red Hen Press, 2017).

Summary

Filled with stories of family, food, and culture, and interwoven with personal recipes and photographs taken by the author, My Father's Smokehouse folds the reader into a beautiful island landscape.
"Prescott emphasizes the importance of learning the traditional values of where one lives, gratitude for what the land and sea provide, and the responsibility to share with community."
—Anchorage Daily News
"[Prescott’s] book is filled with traditions, memories and stories surrounding Southeast Alaska life, including a family’s perseverance, the wisdom of Sámi and Tlingit cultures, and respect for elders and their knowledge of the culture. The smokehouse at the fish camp is named after her father."
—Wrangell Sentinel
The smokehouse at Mickey's Fishcamp holds more than fish. It is filled with traditions, memories, and stories of a thriving Southeast Alaskan life—of a family's perseverance, of the wisdom of Sámi and Tlingit cultures, and of respect for Elders and their knowledge of the natural world.
Mickey's Fishcamp is named after three generations of Prescott fishermen who commercially fished the waters of the Inside Passage, and is located near one of the oldest Tlingit settlements in Wrangell, Alaska. Here, next to the rainforest and sea, author Vivian Faith Prescott has found her place in the world. She is a student and teacher of the natural environment—harvesting spruce tips, berries, sea lettuce, and goose tongue and processing salmon, halibut, and hooligan—who combines traditional practices with modern knowledge.
Heartwarming and introspective, My Father's Smokehouse tells one woman's stories of Traditional Knowledge that is learned and passed on, from one generation to the next.

Foreword

AWARDS: PNBA, nonfiction/memoir book awards (SONWA Book Awards), Gourmand and other food awards, awards for Indigenous writers/books
EVENTS: virtual/in-person indie bookstore and library events, focusing on Alaska
REVIEWS: outreach for review, interview, and excerpt coverage in regional Alaskan media, food media, and national trades
ONLINE: full social media campaign and outreach to food bloggers/social accounts
PROMOTION: DRC via Edelweiss and hard copy ARC available; outreach via author’s network: Facebook (Planet Alaska, 21k followers), Instagram (Planet Alaska, 1.9k followers) to drive presales

TRADESHOWS: galleys and giveaways at ALA, PNBA, Alaska Library Association Conference

Product details

• Authors: Vivian Faith Prescott
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 05.04.2022
• EAN: 9781513128610
• ISBN: 978-1-5131-2861-0
• Illustrations: black-and-white illustrations
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > General, dictionaries; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs, Memoirs, COOKING / Regional & Ethnic / American / Western States, General cookery & recipes