Ella Charley

Sister and brother, Ella Mae Charley and George Setuk were interviewed on May 5, 1998 by William Schneider and Don Callaway in Levelock, Alaska. In this interview, Ella and George talk about their subsistence lifestyle, and the changes they have observed in methods of transportation, in the environment and wildlife populations, and cultural attitudes toward hunting, trapping and fishing and living off the land. George discusses recovering from a childhood back injury and being out on the trapline in the winter with a dogteam and wroking as a commerical fisherman in Bristol Bay in the summertime. Ella talks about various seasonal subsistence activities and how they traveled to find the resources they needed. They also both talk about how their subsistence lifestyle has changed and been impacted by the establishment of Katmai National Park and an increase in sport fishermen and hunters coming to the area. They also discuss changes they are concerned about in the community, the Native culture and traditional practices.