All-Alaskan Meal

Today there was a "Tribal Gathering", meaning that once a year the health consortion (YKHC) that runs the health care in this area of Alaska invites tribal leaders from every small village to Bethel to discuss issues relating to health care in their villages. Come to find out, the service area of this small hospital I work in consists of 40 villages and about 27,500 mostly native Alaskans in a land-area the size of Oregon. Yeah, impressive.

So after orientation I headed over to the Cultural Center where this event was taken place and because it was open to the public, sat in on a few events this evening, mostly round-table discussions about health topics and also panels.

Then, this evening's main event was a Potluck. Now, different than a Potlach where apparently stuff is given away. Community members and people from the villages brought food, and here is what I ate, all in one plate!

-Seal Soup- seal meat, onion, potatoe and rice- I ate it, but only could handle a few bites!
-Ptarmigan Pot Pie- little white birds being shot this time of year all in a pot pie!
-Moose Stew- yum!
-Pickled Salmon- so raw it tasted like sushi!
-Air-Dried-in-the-traditional-way-then-smoked Salmon- YUM... I still smell like the smoke!
-Caribou Jerky- tough but oh so wild and good...
-and I wimped out but tried a small bite of Hooligan, a very oily little Smelt-like fish that my husband wants to catch buckets of this springtime... I did NOT like the Hooligan at all...

All mixed in with garlic bread, sweet potatoes, goulash, taters, salad and deserts upon deserts...

Yum. R.E.A.L. Alaskan food. I have not gotten sick yet, and hope I won't but it was well-worth trying everything I could tonight! Gotta love Bethel...