The day before yesterday I officially walked across the longest bridge on the Alaska Highway and into Teslin. The 446.95 m or 1,466.4 foot long cantilever bridge spans the narrows of the 120km long lake. Ive been treated very well here and I like this place. Teslin is home to the Tlingit First Nation. The name Teslin comes from a Tlingit word Teslintoo. Meaning Long Water The communitys livelihood still revolves around traditional hunting, trapping and fishing. Teslin is made up of two moieties; Wolf and Crow. Under the moiety of Wolf there are two clans; Eagle (Dakhlawedi) and Wolf (Yanyedi). The Crow moiety have three clans; Ravens Children (Kukhhittan or Crow), Frog (Ishkitan) and Split tail Beaver (Deshitan). Under their matrilineal kinship system, children are considered born into the mothers clan, and descent is traced through her line. Yesterday I sat with a gentleman at the Nisutlin Trading Post and chatted over a cup of coffee who can remember the road being built in 1942. He is 80 years old and has lived here his whole life. His grandfather came over from Scotland and settled the area in the 1800s. He himself still lives off the land telling me he grew over 750lbs of potatoes this year and had turnips the size of cantaloupe. Teslin is quite a unique place considering the total population is only about 450 people. One notable member is George Johnston (1884–1972) He was a trapper photographer, and founder of Teslin Taxi. He brought the first car to Teslin, it was a 1928 Chevrolet. He built a 3 to 5 mi (4.8 to 8.0 km) road for his Teslin taxi since the Alaska Highway had not been built yet. In winter, he put chains on the car, painted it white, and drove it on frozen Teslin Lake. The Chevy has been restored and is now on permanent display at the George Johnston Museum in Teslin. Rumour has it that he would use the car while trapping as well as hunt Wolves with it but this is hearsay so Im not sure. Last night thanks to an executive decision by my new friend Kate, Mike Hodgson came and got me once again where this time I stayed with a friend of Kates Emily. Mike is a retired social worker who has really embraced my journey wholeheartedly. I think hes my new best friend as Ive spent more time with him the last 5 days than I have my own family in the last few years. Emily is a kindergarten teacher who was preparing for today as its picture day. She tells me Halloween is a tough day to teach as the kids have trouble focusing due to the candy crush they are about to embark on. Thanks Emily for the spot to crash, spaghetti, breakfast and the conversation. Well Im feeling painfully fatigued today. Ive made it to Johnsons Crossing but Im really struggling. Ill just have to soldier on I suppose...
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 21:02:36 +0000
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