Rhonda Wayner, Harmony Wayner and Betty Bonin

Location of Interview
Collection Name

Women in Alaska Fisheries

Description

This oral history project focuses on Native Alaska women engaged in Bristol Bay fisheries. Women play a major role   in maintaining set net permits and are critical to sustaining small-scale fisheries in Alaska and the communities who depend on them. Interviews were conducted with women  of various ages who have participated in commercial and/ or subsistence salmon fisheries.

Date of Interview
06-17-2017
Transcribers

Kim Sparks

Audio
Biographical Sketch

Betty Bonin (grandmother), Rhonda Wayner (mother) and Harmony Wayner (daughter) represent three generations of Alaska Native fisherwomen in Naknek, Alaska. In this interview, these ladies discuss their family heritage of having strong, female fishers in the family, the physical nature of fishing, and family roles in the fishery. Rhonda participated in a follow-up phone interview where she further discusses her history in the fishery, environmental changes she's witnessed, as well as family bonds that are created through fishing. This interview is part of the Alaska Native Fisherwomen of Bristol Bay oral history project, a partnership between NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center and Bristol Bay Native Association.

Capturing History and Forging the Future: Alaska Native Women in Fisheries. Anna Lavoie, Kim Sparks and Jean Lee (Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission), and NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC). 2017-2018. Support provided by Bristol Bay Native Association. Funding provided by the NOAA Preserve America Initiative and AFSC. Interviews are accessed on NOAA's Voices from the Fisheries website at www.voices.nmfs.noaa.gov.


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