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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2019)
THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2019 // 19 Close to Home: Exploring coastal, cultural parallels in Sitka, Alaska By DAVID CAMPICHE FOR COAST WEEKEND Other than the Klok, Klok, Klok of the wily ravens, Sitka, Alaska, res- onates with the heartbeat of our own River City, that lovely outpost we call Astoria. In the early morning, the sharp protests of the black raptors blanket this histori- cal city in the opposite way that snow fl urries cover the spruce forests that inhabit the Alaskan archipelago. A fi ne mist settles on the quiet streets of Old Town and then ebbs as regularly as ocean tides. Today, the sun breaks through and tall mountain- ous peaks with thick ever- green timber illuminate the viridian landscape. And like Astoria and its river-front environs or Ilwaco with salmon fl eet fi shing, salmon is king. Indeed, the fi nned ones are nearly as thick as ever- green trees in the forests that surround Baranof Island. Before my chef job began, I fi shed a day with Herb Tennell aboard the Micah, one of several com- fortable 32 foot sea boats owned and operated by Out- bound Alaska Charters. I fi shed alongside a Vir- ginia couple. On a wooden dock just off Katlian Street, we unloaded a hoard of rockfi sh, three dazzling Chi- nook salmon, three halibut (we had to release two 42- and 44-inch beauties), and, fi nally, a nearly six foot dag- ger-mouthed ling cod that could make an infant wail. Above, a huge mature eagle circled in glorious, graceful loops, its long, broad wings and piercing cry cutting through the sky like a Damascus blade. Though a thousand miles away, this ocean is our same Pacifi c. It doesn’t suffer as fre- quently the rough weather challenges like those of the Columbia River Bar, that seven-mile wide torrent of tide clashing like two knock- down prize fi ghters when big water meets big water, which seems constant. Sitka, or the Native der- ivation Sheet’ka (or a later incarnation as the Rus- sian enclave known as New Archangel), is the 900-year home of the proud Tlingit. Like the high, piercing cry of the eagle, the spirit of these Native Alaskans sug- gests an ancient and spiri- tual presence over the island the Russians named Baranof Island. Nearly four decades ago, Ivan Doig wrote a brilliant novel titled “The Sea Run- ners.” The story begins in Sitka, then under Rus- sian rule, but ended in Wil- lapa Bay near the time of the fi rst pioneers, that being Espy and Clarke after their life-saving encounter with Chinook chief Nahcati in 1841. Doig brought us an adventure of four indentured servants who escaped their masters in a stolen Haifa canoe and then pressed against unrelenting odds down the Northwest Coast to Willapa Bay. I hope to stay in Sitka for several months and explore links between these two communities and all the gifts, historical legends, and the sublime landscapes that make both cities unique settlements. Along the way, we will ride in our spirit canoes, remembering distant ances- tors, First Nation Peoples, pioneers, fi shermen and, lastly, a legacy that makes us who we are as Northwest individuals, and as an amal- gamation of human forces paddling in the same boat. As the Siouan people say, “Meta cuye oyasin.” We are one family. David Campiche Three limits of Chinook, halibut and Yellow Eye. David Campiche Sitka or Sheet’ka Harbor. David Campiche A totem in Sitka National Heritage Park. Art Cards Stationary Jewelry Ceramics David Campiche Sitka Bay at Indian River. CULLABY LAKE June 22 nd and 23 rd , 2019 • 10am - 6pm Lake will be closed to the public. SPECTATORS WELCOME! 1133 Commercial Street Astoria, OR 97103 503.468.0308 Presented by: Columbia Outboard Racing Association Sanctioned by: American Power Boat Association Questions?: Contact cora.raceboats@gmail.com
