“Alaska? Wow!” they’ll exclaim when they find out that I live outside Anchorage, Alaska. “You came all the way from Alaska to be here?!” It is the usual response in a world that feels so disconnected. Alaska is “out there.” It rarely makes it on the national weather maps. Then their eyes cloud over as their mind drifts to the romantic adventure evoked by the name “Alaska”. They dream about the “Last Frontier.” Perhaps they are climbing Denali, the Great One, cruising through Prince William Sound or mushing dogs along the frozen Yukon River. Their eyes might light up with visions of vast expanses of wilderness, the freedom from the daily grind and the responsibilities and pressures of city living. For me, it is about the sun glinting off the smooth glass surface of the water and then the slight disturbance of a back and tail fin sending ripples to the shoreline. It is about the salmon. The salmon are returning!
Salmon are the symbol of determination, strength and leadership as they swim nearly a thousand miles upstream over many obstacles to spawn and then give their lives to feed the entire stream ecology from where they came. Their presence in the stream is an indication of the health of the entire system. In Celtic and Jewish tradition they are a symbol of knowledge and thus eating fish is a way for humans to gain wisdom. In Alaska, salmon are still an important food to be stored for the winter and thus it symbolizes preparedness, planning, and commitment for the future as well as the ability to make it through the long hard winter.
The eggs hatch over winter and their childhood is maybe 1 or 2 years spent in their home stream and estuaries before heading out into the vast ocean, an environment in which their bodies must adapt to survive. It’s dark out there and the possibilities are boundless. Here they gather life experiences that prepare them to make the journey back to their home streams, a journey that for some covers 2000 miles in only 60 days. There is a collective consciousness in the salmon as they return in vast numbers and fill the rivers. Now, as they leave the ocean and transition once again into a new environment that seems to be designed against them: swimming opposite to the current; waterfalls and other obstacles that must be avoided; bears, eagles, and humans trying to catch them; the chemical nature of the water seems to poison their bodies and cause incredible changes; and taking their last meal from the ocean, they rely on their reserves to make it to the spawning grounds.
Who gets caught before they reach the spawning grounds and what kind of intelligence is shown by those that take part in the journey is up to interpretation. But they each play their part in supporting the entire system. I do not believe they are competing against one another to spawn, or against the rocks or the bears that wish to feed. I choose to believe that there is an overall cooperative spirit in this ecosystem. The salmon have learned that there are many choices along this journey. Facing into the stream is easier than placing yourself sideways. Finding an eddy of calm water behind a big rock is a place to rest. Bursting forth with great energy to cross rocky shoals will get you to the next deep hole where you can gather with others, lining up like geese in flight to renew your strength for the rest of the journey. There are many hazards and they could give up at any point along the way, but they keep going. And after many weeks of difficult travel there is still more to do. Salmon do not retire to the golf courses. They spawn and give the rest of themselves in death to feed the entire stream ecology. Their commitment is to the next generation, forever feeding others.
The sense of cooperation that is integral to the success of this conference can too easily be overlooked. But without it, there could not be a conference. Strength, determination, leadership and self-sacrifice to the community are represented at T.E.A.M. We may feel as if we are in the dark ocean and it is difficult to see and know each other’s presence but we are all in the stream. This conference is a deep hole in our home stream where the water is clear. At T.E.A.M., I feel the cooperative effort from so many individuals, willing to help others. I love that everyone is approachable and respects the teachings of others and there does not feel like any hierarchy or power struggles among members. There is attention to ceremony that brings us together at the beginning, through the middle and helps us to separate and move on to our work in the stream. I love the generational diversity at this conference, the involvement from youth to elder, the importance given to indigenous people’s ways of knowing, and the spirit of knowing that a small group of dedicated individuals can make a difference. It takes us all, working together to get up the stream. Here we gather our strength and determination to be positive leaders to the community, to humbly offer our gifts to feed others.
This conference was filled with smiles. Everywhere I walked I felt a joyful feeling within me. Every person I met shared a smile and a genuine interest in sharing themselves. When I felt like juggling, I grabbed my bag with homemade balls and noticed a young girl juggling scarves in the corner of the gym. I put down my bag and asked her to teach me. Together we shared the joy of learning and playfulness and I saw that with each effort on her part to teach me how to juggle, she improved her own skills. She stood taller and gained confidence in herself. We juggled 3 scarves together, side-by-side. A young woman came by and asked if we could teach her. I said, “Tonisha will teach you. She is a great teacher. She just taught me how to juggle.” As Tonisha began to teach, she stopped and turning to me said very politely, “Bob, you should take a break right now. I am going to be awhile.” I smiled to myself as I walked away knowing that another teacher had been born and even more importantly, an affirmation in the power of youth to be a teacher to an old salmon like myself.
Of all of the conferences that I have attended over my 40 years, I can truly say that the heartland region is true to its name. I was born in Elgin Hospital and spent less than two years in Barrington, IL. I attended T.E.A.M. in 1999 and was truly moved by the sense of community I felt, before moving to Alaska. But, like the salmon, I can smell my home stream. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, the flip of a tail fin, or, if you’re from Alaska, a good tail wind helps. I hope to see you in the river again.
---Bob Henkel is the property manager
for the Girl Scouts Susitna Council’s Camp Togowoods in Knik, Alaska and
a Master of Science in Outdoor and Environmental Education student at Alaska
Pacific University.