Joe Hotch: Fishing, Tlingit Way of Life

In the early days there was no education in our area it was mostly knowledge of survival. We had to listen to everyone, not only the local people, everyone that came around had something to offer whether they knew it or not. It was important to have knowledge of some type for survival and that’s where we learned our way of life. Today, it is called subsistence. It was not subsistence in the old days; it was our way of life. Even today, it is still our way of life. We still depend on fish for our survival.

My name is Joe Hotch. My Tlingit name is Goox Daaka Shoo. I was born May 17, 1930 in Haines. I belong to the Kaagwaantaan Tribe, Brown Bear Clan. In the old days we had one Chief in the community, espe...

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