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Rose Hedlund

Rose Hedlund was a Dena'ina Athabascan elder born in Chekok, Alaska in 1917 to Eleana Balluta and Jack Kinney. She grew up living a subsistence lifestyle based upon hunting, fishing and trapping, and at age thirteen drove an eleven dog team, trained her own leaders, and designed her own harnesses. She married Nels Hedlund and together they raised a family based on their Native traditions and living off the land, and lived in Chekok, Pedro Bay, and Iliamna. Given her long history of trapping, Rose had an expert knowledge of the land, travel routes, and tradtional placenames. The Hedlunds had sled dogs who were well adapted for the trapline and subsistence lifestyle, now known as "The Hedlund Husky," which they bred and sold, many of whom went on to become champion racing dogs. Rose was always willing to share her knowledge of Dena'ina traditions, history, and stories. Rose passed away in 2004.

Date of Birth:

Apr 2, 1917

Date of Death:

Aug 17, 2004

Rose Hedlund appears in the following new Jukebox projects:

Lake Clark National Park

Interview Title	Abstract	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Date of Interview
Nels and Rose Hedlund, Part 1	Nels and Rose Hedlund talk with Priscilla Russell and Andrew Balluta on July 27,1985 in Chekok, Alaska. In this first part of a two part interview, the Hedlunds locate places on a map, and talk about their uses, their Dena'ina names, and what these names mean. They discuss the history of trade and warfare between the Dena'ina and the Yup'ik in the region, and Nels describes the route traveled by Yup'ik people migrating into the Iliamna area from the Kuskokwim River. They also discuss their own subsistence and trapping activities.	98-27-11_PT.1	Lake Clark National Park	Jul 27, 1985
Nels and Rose Hedlund, Part 2	This is the continuation of an interview with Rose and Nels Hedlund on July 27, 1985 by Priscilla Russell and Andrew Balluta in Chekok, Alaska. In this second part of a two part interview, Rose talks about basket making, sewing, and tells a story about Ptarmigan Women and Spruce Hen Women to show how important it is for a woman to be a good seamstress. She also discusses camping, trapping and Dena'ina place names. Nels periodically chimes in from the background with additional place name information.	98-27-11_PT.2	Lake Clark National Park	Jul 27, 1985