A story by Ian Finch
Directed, edited and filmed by Caroline Côté

Expedition team:
Ian Finch
Martin Trahan
Jay Kolsch
Caroline Côté

In late May 2016 we began a 3 months, 2000 miles canoe journey from the source of the Yukon River at Lake Bennett, Canada to its mouth at Emmonak at the Bering Sea, Alaska. Along the entirety of this wilderness expedition is the home of the Athapaskan first nation people who more than 10,000 years ago, crossing the Bering land bridge from Asia settled within Western Canada, Alaska and the Yukon River region. Until recent times these 1st nation communities have relied on the King and Chinook salmon as a way of subsistence living but due to environmental changes and the possibility of over fishing in the Bering Sea the larger salmon are struggling to find their way back, under their biological call to spawn, into the Yukon River and worlds longest Salmon run. The salmon represents a culture and identity to the native communities of Canada and the western Yukon and with their subsistence lifestyle at risk; the ancient culture is at risk with it. As we make our way to them, it is our aim to ground ourselves in their story and landscape as we go.

There are also cultural changes affecting the progression of native languages to the younger generation. In a world where there are 6000 languages, 2000 of them have fewer than 1000 fluent native speakers meaning with each generation, under the pull of modern influences, children are learning less and less about the thread and spirit which holds their culture together – the language. An important component of our journey will be to explore and highlight this significant cultural change but also learn about the resurgence and revitalisation in many of the communities.

The strength that binds these native cultures together is linked to the landscape, the animals, the ancestral knowledge and the spiritual beliefs. The journey from the Yukon’s source to the Bering Sea will be a journey of discovery into what being human means to the “people of the river”.

En mai 2016, Caroline Côté (Canada), Ian Finch (Angleterre), Jay Kolsch (États-Unis) et Martin Trahan (Canada) partiront à l’aventure lors d’une expédition de 3 mois en canot. Nous pagaierons les 3220 km entre la source du fleuve Yukon au Lac Bennett près de Whitehorse jusqu’à son embouchure dans la mer de Béring à Emmonak en Alaska.

Cette aventure nous mènera sur les terres des peuples des Premières Nations. Sur la route, nous rencontrerons la communauté Athabasca qui s’est installée sur les abords de la rivière il y a plus de 10 000 ans. Le saumon King et Chinook a toujours fait partie de leur alimentation de base comme moyen de subsistance. Récemment, dû aux changements climatiques et à la sur-pêche dans la mer de Béring, les saumons ont davantage de difficulté à revenir frayer dans le fleuve Yukon, et ce, malgré les restrictions mises en place par le gouvernement d’Alaska.

Le saumon représente une culture, un mode de vie et une identité pour certains peuples des Premières Nations dont celui des Yup’ik. L'équipe s'est donc donnée la mission de rapporter leur histoire à la maison en ce qui concerne les changements culturels et environnementaux que ceux-ci vivent dans leur quotidien tout en se questionnant au sujet de leur langage et comment celui-ci est affecté par la plus jeune génération.

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