Description
The Dolly Varden: Salvelinus malma
These are western trout ranging from Northwest Alaska to Northern California and are our only native char. These fish can get as long as three feet and weigh twenty pounds. They are great sport fish, putting up a good fight. They live in fresh and salt water but cold water is important for their health especially when spawning. The dramatic color and crimson spots come with the hormonal change that occurs during spawning. Unlike other trout Dolly Varden may live to reproduce a second and sometimes (though rarely) a third time. Pictured within the trout in the foreground are:
The Tlingit:
“Tlingit” means the “people”. It is also written “G-tinkit”, “T-linkit” and “Thinket” and is pronounced “Clink-it”. They occupy an area along the Pacific coast from Mount St. Elias to the Nass River, including Sitka and the other islands of the Alexander Archipelago. The people lived in villages such as the one I have painted here. Dugout canoes like the one in the foreground were often built by a group of village men. This task was supervised by a master carver who was held in great esteem (sometimes he was also the chief) by the tribe. This head carver or another also oversaw the carving of the village totems. The fish totem designs in the left trout are of my own design inspired by nature as would those of the Tlingit have been.
