Harvesting a seal is about honor, respect, and opportunity. Its not everyday that one gets to participate and observe such a thing. Its an opportunity to take advantage of. This is what our ancestors did, it is what we did.
Like everything in the Tlingit culture we show respect. We respect the seal like it was a human being. It sacrificed it's life for us, so we handled it with care. To symbolize life water would be put into the seals mouth. It's head would be pointed to the East towards the sunset. Like David Katzeek said, "As the sun rises life comes and life goes". We do this to honor the seals life, and what it is giving to our people.
Tlingits used seal for the meat and fat. The fat was turned into oil, that served many purposes. Oil can be used for dried fish, and to preserve smoked salmon, also it was used on food the same way we use butter today. Seals contributed a lot to our people and the food we survived off of. -Kierstyn Cadiente and Samantha Morris
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