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Lillian Olin

Lillian Olin was born in 1924 to Tassianna Big Jim Pitka from Kaltag and Richard Pitka from Nulato in a camp on the Dolby River, a tributary of the Koyukuk River north of Galena, Alaska. She almost died at childbirth, and had nine brothers and sisters. While she was growing up, Lillian and her family lived a subsistence lifestyle, which usually meant traveling to different camps for the different seasons. In 1937, Lillian met her husband, Fred Olin, and they were married in 1948. Together, they had three children. Lillian lived in Galena, Ruby, and Fairbanks. She worked at the Galena Air Force Base, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and in the 1990s was a bilingual teacher with the Galena School District. After she retired, Lillian still taught anyone who was willing to learn the Athabascan language and culture in her home in Galena, as well as traditional sewing techniques. Lillian Olin passed away in 2010 at age 85.

Date of Birth:

Nov 25, 1924

Date of Death:

Jan 13, 2010

Lillian Olin appears in the following new Jukebox projects:

Raven's Story

Interview Title	Abstract	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Date of Interview
Lillian Olin	Lillian Olin was interviewed in the fall of 2002 by Clinton Brown in Galena, Alaska for the Raven's Story radio series on KIYU-AM public radio station in Galena, Alaska. In this interview, Lillian talks about living a subsistence-based lifestyle of hunting, trapping, fishing and berrypicking, her observations of and experiences with wildlife, birds, and fish, the importance of respecting animals, and she shares traditional stories about beavers and wolves. She also talks about what life was like long ago, preparing foods like berries, fish oil and fish ice cream, uses of caribou and moose hides, harvesting of muskrat, geese, porcupine, and marten, and changes she has seen in wildlife and fish populations. She also mentions specific floods on the Yukon River in 1937, 1967 and 1970. The interview was edited and produced by Clinton Brown.	2004-01-07	Raven's Story	Sep 15, 2002

Interview Title

Abstract

Archive #: Oral History

Project

Date of Interview

Lillian Olin

Lillian Olin was interviewed in the fall of 2002 by Clinton Brown in Galena, Alaska for the Raven's Story radio series on KIYU-AM public radio station in Galena, Alaska. In this interview, Lillian talks about living a subsistence-based lifestyle of hunting, trapping, fishing and berrypicking, her observations of and experiences with wildlife, birds, and fish, the importance of respecting animals, and she shares traditional stories about beavers and wolves. She also talks about what life was like long ago, preparing foods like berries, fish oil and fish ice cream, uses of caribou and moose hides, harvesting of muskrat, geese, porcupine, and marten, and changes she has seen in wildlife and fish populations. She also mentions specific floods on the Yukon River in 1937, 1967 and 1970.

The interview was edited and produced by Clinton Brown.

2004-01-07

Raven's Story

Sep 15, 2002