Sam Schimmel demonstrates how to carve ivory in a modern way on Friday, July 6, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, near Soldotna, Alaska. Schimmel, who is originally from St. Lawerence Island, Alaska, said that cutting ivory traditionally required a sharpened baleen knife. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Sam Schimmel demonstrates how to carve ivory in a modern way on Friday, July 6, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, near Soldotna, Alaska. Schimmel, who is originally from St. Lawerence Island, Alaska, said that cutting ivory traditionally required a sharpened baleen knife. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge hosts cultural heritage workshops

Traditional beadwork, storytelling, fish processing and a tutorial on how to harvest local plants are just some of the cultural heritage workshops the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge will be hosting through the month of July.

“These are all really effective ways of connecting the visitor to the land,” Leah Eskelin, visitor services park ranger, said.

The programs will include guests from the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and skilled artisans from around the area.

“The Kenaitze Tribe are key partners that have a lot of connections to highlight what’s special about this land to generations,” Eskelin said.

July 17-21 is Fish Week and the events will be hands-on. Visitors will learn about fish, including their anatomy and biology and how to catch and clean them.

“We pretty much cover everything you can imagine about fish,” Eskelin said. “We’ve always done fish related programs but not like this.”

Eskelin said she hopes to increase awareness about food waste.

“There’s always this question about what we do with last years fish,” Eskelin said. “To not be wasteful, you can process it by canning and smoking it.”

Eskelin said that dog mushing heritage will also be a part of Fish Week.

“It’s intertwined,” Eskelin said. “Fish is a huge part of feeding those teams.”

The workshops are all free and kid-friendly, with the exception of the adult beadwork class, on July 13.

The next workshop is storytelling. Participants can listen to traditional stories from the area that have been passed down through generations. The workshop is at 2 p.m., Thursday, July 12.

The adult beading workshop will teach students how to craft a small project using traditional designs at 1 p.m., Friday, July 13.

For Fish Week, activities will be held throughout the day, and Eskelin said the schedule for the week is still in the works. Updates will be posted to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s Facebook page.

A guided traditional plant use walk will take place at 2 p.m., Friday, July 27.

A hands-on “Harvesting the Kenai” workshop will take place at 2 p.m., Saturday, July 28.

Reach Victoria Petersen at vpetersen@peninsulaclarion.com.

An ivory owl figurine made by Sam Schimmel is used as an example during his ivory carving demonstration at the first workshop of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s cultural heritage series on Friday, July 6, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

An ivory owl figurine made by Sam Schimmel is used as an example during his ivory carving demonstration at the first workshop of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s cultural heritage series on Friday, July 6, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

More in Life

Promotional image courtesy Amazon MGM Studios
Dwayne Johnson as Callum Drift, J. K. Simmons as Santa Claus, Chris Evans as Jack O’Malley and Lucy Liu as Zoe Harlow in “Red One.”
On the Screen: ‘Red One’ is light on holiday spirit

The goofy, superhero-flavored take on a Christmas flick, feels out of time

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
A gingerbread house constructed by Aurelia, 6, is displayed in the Kenai Chamber of Commerce’s 12th Annual Gingerbread House Contest at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday.
The house that sugar built

Kenai Chamber of Commerce hosts 12th Annual Gingerbread House Contest

Pistachios and pomegranates give these muffins a unique flavor and texture. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
A chef is born

Pistachio and pomegranate muffins celebrate five years growing and learning in the kitchen

Make-ahead stuffing helps take pressure off Thanksgiving cooking. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Holiday magic, pre-planned

Make-ahead stuffing helps take pressure off Thanksgiving cooking

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
Life in the Pedestrian Lane: Let’s give thanks…

Thanksgiving has come to mean “feast” in most people’s eyes.

File
Minister’s Message: What must I do to inherit?

There’s no way God can say “no” to us if we look and act all the right ways. Right?

Jane Fair (standing, wearing white hat) receives help with her life jacket from Ron Hauswald prior to the Fair and Hauswald families embarking on an August 1970 cruise with Phil Ames on Tustumena Lake. Although conditions were favorable at first, the group soon encountered a storm that forced them ashore. (Photo courtesy of the Fair Family Collection)
The 2 most deadly years — Part 1

To newcomers, residents and longtime users, this place can seem like a paradise. But make no mistake: Tustumena Lake is a place also fraught with peril.

tease
Off the shelf: Speculative novel holds promise of respite

“A Psalm for the Wild-Built” is part of the Homer Public Library’s 2024 Lit Lineup

The cast of Seward High School Theatre Collective’s “Clue” rehearse at Seward High School in Seward, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward’s ‘Clue’ brings comedy, commentary to stage

The show premiered last weekend, but will play three more times, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15-17

Most Read