The twelve Alaska Native regions

Each card lists the region, its peoples, and a few traditional harvest resources, plus a simple regional favorite to try. Every family and community has its own way of making these.

• Arctic Slope Home region

  Iñupiat

  Traditional harvest: Bowhead whale, caribou, fish

  A regional favoriteCaribou soup

  Ingredients

  • Caribou meat with bones
  • Onion
  • Carrots and celery
  • Rice or macaroni
  • Salt and pepper

  Steps

  1. Cover caribou and bones with water and simmer about two hours with onion, salt, and pepper.
  2. Add carrots and celery and simmer another hour.
  3. Stir in rice or macaroni and cook until tender.

• NANA

  Iñupiat

  Traditional harvest: Caribou, sheefish, seal

  A regional favoriteAkutuq

  Ingredients

  • Caribou or moose fat
  • Seal oil
  • A little water or snow
  • Salmonberries, blueberries, or crowberries
  • Boiled, flaked sheefish (optional)

  Steps

  1. Melt the fat gently and let it cool until just soft.
  2. Whip the fat with seal oil until light and fluffy, adding water a little at a time.
  3. Fold in the berries, and flaked fish if using.
  4. Freeze and serve cold.

• Bering Straits

  Iñupiat, Yup'ik, St. Lawrence Island Yupik

  Traditional harvest: Walrus, seal, fish

  A regional favoriteBoiled fish with seal oil

  Ingredients

  • Whitefish, tomcod, or sheefish
  • Water
  • Salt
  • Seal oil for dipping
  • Onion and potatoes (optional)

  Steps

  1. Boil the fish in salted water until the meat lifts from the bone.
  2. Add onion and potatoes if you like and cook until tender.
  3. Serve warm with a small bowl of seal oil for dipping.

• Calista

  Yup'ik, Cup'ik

  Traditional harvest: Seal, salmon, waterfowl

  A regional favoriteDuck soup

  Ingredients

  • 1 to 2 ducks, cleaned and cut in pieces
  • Water
  • Onion
  • Rice or macaroni
  • Potatoes (optional)
  • Salt and pepper

  Steps

  1. Boil the duck pieces with onion for about 45 minutes.
  2. Add potatoes, rice, or macaroni.
  3. Simmer about 20 to 30 minutes until tender, then season to taste.

• Doyon

  Athabascan

  Traditional harvest: Moose, caribou, salmon

  A regional favoriteMoose soup

  Ingredients

  • Moose meat, with bones if you have them
  • Onions
  • Carrots and potatoes
  • Rice or macaroni
  • Salt and pepper

  Steps

  1. Simmer the moose in water for about an hour and a half.
  2. Add onions, carrots, and potatoes.
  3. Add rice or macaroni and cook until everything is tender.

• Ahtna

  Ahtna Athabascan

  Traditional harvest: Copper River salmon, moose, caribou

  A regional favoriteDried salmon strips

  Ingredients

  • Fresh Copper River sockeye
  • Salt (optional)
  • A drying rack in a shady, breezy spot
  • Light alder smoke (optional)

  Steps

  1. Fillet the salmon and cut it into strips, leaving the skin on.
  2. Hang the strips on racks out of direct sun to dry in the breeze.
  3. A light, cool smoke helps keep insects away; store once firm and dry.

• Cook Inlet Region

  Dena'ina Athabascan and many peoples who call the region home

  Traditional harvest: Berries, salmon, moose

  A regional favoriteLowbush cranberry sauce

  Ingredients

  • 2 cups lowbush cranberries
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar
  • Orange zest (optional)

  Steps

  1. Bring the water and sugar to a boil.
  2. Add the berries and simmer until they pop, about 10 minutes.
  3. Cool; serve with moose, salmon, or bannock.

• Chugach

  Alutiiq/Sugpiaq, Eyak, Dena'ina

  Traditional harvest: Seal, salmon, clams and shellfish

  A regional favoriteSteamed butter clams

  Ingredients

  • Fresh butter clams
  • Clean salt water
  • A little water for steaming
  • Melted butter
  • Lemon

  Steps

  1. Only harvest from beaches tested for shellfish poisoning (PSP).
  2. Let the clams sit in clean salt water to purge sand.
  3. Steam a few minutes, just until the shells open.
  4. Serve right away with melted butter and lemon.

• Koniag

  Alutiiq/Sugpiaq

  Traditional harvest: King and sockeye salmon, halibut, deer

  A regional favoriteSalmon perok (fish pie)

  Ingredients

  • Pie crust for top and bottom
  • Partially cooked rice
  • Fresh sockeye or king salmon
  • Sautéed onion and cabbage
  • Hard-boiled eggs and butter

  Steps

  1. Line a 9 by 13 inch pan with crust and a layer of rice.
  2. Layer salmon, vegetables, sliced egg, and pats of butter, then more rice.
  3. Top with crust and bake about one hour at 350°F. Serve warm.

• Bristol Bay

  Yup'ik, Dena'ina, Alutiiq/Sugpiaq

  Traditional harvest: Sockeye salmon, caribou, moose

  A regional favoriteSmoked sockeye strips

  Ingredients

  • Fresh sockeye salmon
  • Salt, for a brine
  • Alder or cottonwood for smoke
  • Brown sugar (optional)

  Steps

  1. Cut fillets into strips 1 to 2 inches wide.
  2. Soak in a salt brine, rinse, and hang until the surface is tacky.
  3. Cold-smoke over a small, steady fire until firm; keep it cool so the fish does not cook.

• Aleut

  Unangax̂

  Traditional harvest: Seabirds and eggs, halibut, seal

  A regional favoriteHalibut fish spread

  Ingredients

  • Cooked halibut, flaked
  • Cream cheese
  • Mayonnaise
  • Chopped onion and celery
  • Garlic, salt, and pepper

  Steps

  1. Mix the flaked halibut with cream cheese and a spoonful of mayonnaise.
  2. Stir in onion, celery, and seasonings.
  3. Chill and serve with crackers or on a sandwich.

• Sealaska

  Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian

  Traditional harvest: Salmon, herring eggs, deer

  A regional favoriteHerring eggs on kelp

  Ingredients

  • Herring eggs on kelp
  • Water
  • Seal oil or hooligan oil
  • Or soy sauce and butter

  Steps

  1. Rinse the eggs; soak a few hours if they were salted.
  2. Dip in boiling water once or twice, just until barely warmed.
  3. Serve with seal oil, hooligan oil, or soy sauce. Overcooking makes them rubbery.