Mush
Racism / Social Change
Saving his world, by learning from others.
In Alaska’s North Slope, professional dog musher Lauro Eklund and team set out to hunt the migrating porcupine caribou for winter sustenance.
Written By: Andrew D Flanagan
Category: Culture • History • People
Type: Photostories
Impact: Racism / Social Inequity / Culture Change
Native Land / Region: Wonnorua
Narration: Andrew D Flanagan
Role: Writer
Native Land / Region: Name Name
Sankofa
Racism / Social Change
Saving his world, by learning from others.
Embrace the Power of Words. Unite with Nature. Retrieve forward. Sankofa.
Category: Culture • History • People
Type: Special
Awards: Award Winning,
Impact: Racism / Social Inequity / Culture Change
Native Land / Region: Name Name
Narration: Andrew D Flanagan
Role: Writer
Native Land / Region: Name Name
As spring approaches, professional dog mushed Lauro Eklund preps his team to head into the bleak and beautiful lands of the North Slope in search of Caribou. As a subsistence hunter, this Alaskan knows that if he can bag one, it will provide him with enough meat to last into the early fall. Driving close to ten hours up the Dalton Highway, he and his girlfriend unload twenty of his dogs, a few sleds, and enough supplies and gear to last him for a week in the backcountry.
After twelve miles, they are surrounded by nothing but open country to the north and the towering slopes of the Alaskan Range to the south. On the doorstep of the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve, the two set up camp just inside Itkillik Valley, where they can easily get ice to melt for water, and some shelter is offered for the dogs.
As the sun rises the next morning, the dogs are wining with anticipation at heading out into the snow-covered tundra. Eklund loads up his sled with supplies and heads out with a string of eight dogs; he will rotate them out each day to give the younger dogs a chance to work with the older, more mature ones. He heads up the flank of the nearby mountains to gain a spot to look for the Porcupine Caribou herd on their annual migration north. In the distance, he spots them through his binoculars.
He field preps the bull and says a silent prayer over it, thanking it for its sacrifice. Then he heads back to bring his sled up to transport it back to his camp. Once there, he fully butchers it and stores it to take out at the end of the week when he is finished hunting. Now that he has his Caribou, he will spend the rest of the week looking for other meat to help him survive another summer season in the Alaskan bush.
He field preps the bull and says a silent prayer over it, thanking it for its sacrifice. Then he heads back to bring his sled up to transport it back to his camp. Once there, he fully butchers it and stores it to take out at the end of the week when he is finished hunting. Now that he has his Caribou, he will spend the rest of the week looking for other meat to help him survive another summer season in the Alaskan bush.
Writer:
Andrew D Flanagan
Photographer:
Andrew D Flanagan
Native Land / Region:
Wonnorua / Australia
Impact:
Preservation / Conservation
Type: Photostory
Category:
Conservation
People
Read Time:
2min
Rating:
Suitable for all ages.
Languages:
English
Published:
2022
Wonnorua
Wonnorua
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Recommended
- The Land Still Breathes Our Stories: Weaving Sovereignty from Turtle Island, Kakadu, and the Arctic Ice
- excerpt
- Ambience sounds of nature, from outback australia to the jungles of the amazon.
