Esther Ilutsik is the Director for Yup’ik Studies for the Southwest Region Schools in Dillingham, Alaska. She learned to set net fish as a child and commercial fished throughout her life at her family’s fish camp in Ekuk. In this interview Esther recounts her experiences of fishing with her mother and the social and environmental changes she has observed in Ekuk.

Joanne Nelson has been a resident of Dillingham, Alaska, since 1952. She wrote Guide to the Birds of Southwest Alaska and has taught courses on home canning and smoking salmon through the Marine Advisory Program.  In this interview Joanne recounts her memories of moving from Idaho to Alaska as a young woman to work in a hand-pack cannery on Nushagak Bay. She also shares some of her knowledge of local medicinal plants and talks about her family’s experiences practicing subsistence.

Annette Caruso is a retired fisherwoman who has participated in both the drift and set net commercial fishery. In this interview Annette talks about environmental changes she’s witnessed, including tundra fires, increased bear activity and increased tundra cotton. She also discusses her personal history in the area, including how her grandparents and mother grew up, as well as how she got started drift netting with her father.

Lindsay Layland is a commercial fisher based in Dillingham, Alaska, and also works as the Deputy Director at United Tribes of Bristol Bay (UTBB).

Apayu is an artist based out of Aleknagik, Alaska, who grew up subsistence fishing. Apayu recounts her memories of fishing with her father as a child and her return to subsistence fishing after college. Apayu addresses complex questions, such as the meaning of a subsistence lifestyle and what it means to her to be Yup’ik.

JudyJo Matson and Carla Harris are a feisty mother/daughter duo; JudyJo commercially set nets while her mother Carla primarily fishes for subsistence. JudyJo begins the interview by talking about her experiences commercial fishing as a woman. She talks about her commercial site at Graveyard Point in the Kvichak River, as well what drives her to fish. JudyJo also addresses environmental changes and her childhood fishing experiences.

Wassiliisa (Deedee) lives in Dillingham, Alaska and is the Chief Administrative Officer at Bristol Bay Native Association, where she has worked for over forty years. In this interview Deedee describes how she grew up fishing with her father, who was a commercial fisherman, and how she values family engagement in the fishery.

Gayla Hoseth is Director of the Natural Resources Program at Bristol Bay Native Association and currently serves as the Second Chief to the Curying Tribal Council. She spent summers during her childhood putting up fish with her grandmother in Bristol Bay. In this interview Gayla talks about learning to set net fish for salmon with her grandmother and carrying on these practices with her sisters and younger generations of her family. She also discusses the importance of fighting to protect and maintain the traditional Native way of life.

Anne Shankle grew up in Michigan, and moved to Naknek Alaska in 1996 while building her own house from scrap parts leftover from seafood processors. She subsists off the land, and lives off the grid with her dog sled team. Ann has extensive knowledge of medicinal and native plants, and discusses how she has subsisted in Naknek, which includes harvesting berries, plants and herbs from the tundra.

Alannah Hurley is the Executive Director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay in Alaska. She is a Yupik fisherwoman of salmon for subsistence and commercial purposes. She discusses her heritage and how she learned to fish as a child, and historical socio-cultural processes of the Bristol Bay region. She also discusses her experience and knowledge of climate change and the challenges Yupik people face in regard to climate change and their struggle to maintain their identity, culture, and relationship with the environment.