Written By
Adapted from a conversation with guests Ted Hart from the Chilkoot lndian Association and Meredith Pochardt from Haines, Alaska.
What鈥檚 in a name?
The American Fisheries Society has settled on Eulachon, but there are others:
The local name I hear a lot is ooligan. It鈥檚 like o-o-l-i-g-a-n. And oolichon. Many people say hooligan, and the traditional name for them is saak, s-a-a-k. That鈥檚 the Tlingit name.
Candlefish. Once dried, they鈥檙e so oily, you can literally light them on fire.
Salvation fish.
Harbingers of spring and fresh hope
Their timing is really important in springtime. You can picture if you鈥檙e surviving off the land, thousands of years ago, pretty much all your winter food would be depleted by spring. And then all of a sudden you get this huge wave of nutrient-rich fish. One spoonful, it鈥檚 enough for an elder for the day. That鈥檚 how many nutrients are in it.
Wildlife too. There鈥檚 huge kind of fanfare 鈥 all the seabirds, the seals, the sea lions. They follow this migration of hooligan. This fish鈥檚 spawning migration is dubbed the 鈥grease wave鈥 鈥 the marine mammals follow it as the spawning progresses northward. And for sea lions, this huge nutrient-rich, potent meal is really key timing for them, because then they鈥檒l go and give birth to their pups. And the females won鈥檛 eat while they鈥檙e lactating. Hooligan provide their last big source of energy right before they give birth. It鈥檚 a really key timing window.
A long time ago, people would start to gather again this time of year. And where they would gather would center around catching hooligans. It was said that people needed to put their old squabbles and hard feelings aside that time of year.
It gets really windy on the Chilkat River when the hooligans come. There are big gusts of silt that blow around. And there鈥檚 a story of all the people鈥娾斺妕hey gathered around, and they tied their blankets together. And they all worked with each other to shelter each other.
Bringing people together
These tiny fish have a huge presence. One of their most valuable offerings is the hooligan oil. They can be rendered down in great numbers. You boil them in old canoes, and then you can just skim all of that oil, just right off the top of the water. You can get huge amounts of oil. Because of that oil, there were huge trade networks that ran from the coast all the way into the interior. It was basically a currency a long time ago.
Gold didn鈥檛 have a whole lot of uses around here. I heard people using it for the tips of bullets. That hooligan oil鈥斺奿t鈥檚 truly liquid gold.
Hooligan oil was traded between coastal and inland First Nations all along the Pacific coast, from California to Alaska. These routes, inspired by the oil from these fish, were known as grease trails.
There are stories of when there was a big potlatch, with a lot of visitors coming, that people with a lot of wealth would pour hooligan oil on their fires. There鈥檇 be all this black smoke coming out of their houses. That was a sign of wealth.
How do you catch them?
Mostly with dip nets. You put your net out there and then just use the the current of the river to dip down. And you鈥檙e supposed to go 鈥p-o-o-o-o-o-o-鈥. And that鈥檚 a sign of respect for the hooligans. They鈥檙e said to be a happy fish. You show your respect, and that you鈥檙e happy they鈥檙e there.
Most of the time, you can鈥檛 even see that they鈥檙e in there. You can just kind of go by all the clues鈥攖he birds being one of them.
There鈥檚 obviously like a ton of excitement when they first show up, and everyone wants to get down to the river and fish. It鈥檚 really good to give them a day or so when they first start going up鈥攖he scouts go up first. If you let them get established, you鈥檙e guaranteed a nice, big long run. It鈥檚 easy to get excited. There鈥檚 fish everywhere, they鈥檙e easy to catch. And it鈥檚 just good to take step back when they鈥檙e first showing up. Let them get established really well.
They get a bluish tint to certain different rivers, they鈥檒l kind of have a different hue to them. Here, we鈥檙e pretty fortunate we get two runs. One of our elders鈥擜untie Sally, she could look at a hooligan from either the Chilkat or Chilkoot River side. And she can distinguish just by looking at them.
How are they eaten?
They have their own unique flavor. You definitely can taste that they have a super high oil content.
You can dust them in flour and put them in a really hot oven, and turn them once they get super crispy.
My cousins used to call them 鈥crispy fish.鈥
They have a very high quality oil, it鈥檚 like olive oil. I really like the texture of it. It鈥檚 a little bit of an acquired taste. There are different grades. The old timers used to make it really strong. They say the stronger it is, the more medicines are in there鈥攖he more potent it is. Some of my friends make it and it鈥檚 just really light and mild in flavor.
Basically, you gather enough hooligan to fill a great big pit. It鈥檚 like eight by 10 feet. You line it with grass and organic material and fill it with many, many gallons of hooligan. And then you let them let them ripen for, say, 4 to 10 days. They say once their eyes turn a little red, then they鈥檙e ready.
Then you transfer them into a giant boiling pot and cook them. It takes a long time. You kind of break them, using an old paddle鈥娾斺妔tir it up, and they break apart. And then you start pouring cold water in there on top. All of these bubbles of oil just start coming to the surface. In one cook, you can get five gallons of oil. The more you ripen it, the more oil you get.
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