All language subtitles for Life.Below.Zero.S15E10.Young.Guns.720p.WEB-HD.x264-Pahe.ph

[tense music]

Got my guns all sighted in,

ready to rock.

-[tense music]
-[dogs barking]

Gonna head up into
the high country.

Looking for some ptarmigan.

Ptarmigan season just opened up

but they're not
around here right now.

They're going to be
somewhere up high.

This is the trail
that takes me up

into the high country
to the South of me.

I'd like to get as deep out
into the country as I can

because I feel like
the more remote areas

are where you're going
to see more animals.

Right here it looks like
some pretty deep water.

You just never know what
you're going to get.

As far as trails go,

it looks smartest to
go around that to me.

It can get pretty rough
and boggy back here.

You look like you're getting
up into the high country

but it's still Tundra

and a lot of swamp that
you can get stuck in.

The trail is real soupy.

There's a lot of mud holes

and a lot of adverse
trail conditions.

It's rough out here.

It's tough.

[soft tense music]

I'm kinda in the
muck right here.

The rain really made
things soggy out here.

Other people have been
travelling on this trail

and chewed it all up.

There we go, there we go.

No, don't wanna spin.

We're gonna have to back up

and pick another route.

[engine revving]

Well, fuck me.

[tense music]

I tried to get out but it's a
little too slimy and sludgy.

I'm going to have
to winch myself out.

Luckily, I'm prepared for this.

I got stuck in a
place that I thought

I was going to
easily go through.

It looked like mud
that was gonna hold me

but it was some of
that really sludgy mud

and I've just sank
right to the bottom.

I have a system here to
be able to get unstuck

when you're out in
open country like this.

It's just a tow strap.

I'm going to put some
anchors into here,

get up to this dry ground.

I'm gonna to hammer this down.

I'm gonna to connect my winch.

Should give me enough
to pull myself out.

This kind of caught
me by surprise

that I got into a
false sense of security

thinking that the machine
would drive right through this.

Time to see if
that'll get me out.

[engine revving]

All right.

I can feel it pulling me out.

Just gonna take
it nice and slow.

[mechanical whirring]

Once I get up to this ground
here, I should be good.

[tense music]

Wow, thankful that I
had the right equipment.

It looks like I'm a to a spot
I'll be able to drive out.

Glad it wasn't worse.

[tense music]

A little bit of foresight and
preparation goes a long way

and you're the only person that
can save yourself out there.

So, I always go super prepared.

Next time I run into
something like this.

I'm gonna pick myself
a good route around it.

Don't want to be spending
no more time stuck.

One thing coming out here,

you want to be able to make sure

you can take care of yourself.

It's a long walk home.

[tense music]

[soft music]

It all works out.

We're all helping each other.

We're all a big family.

We all do what we
know we need to do.

[soft tense music]

Guard the camp.

Be a good dog.

Well, the flocks of
birds are getting larger.

I'm seeing more and more
geese together, now.

There's more wood down
here from the last floods.

Stuff I could pick up but I
don't see caribou out here.

This is like the third
summer with no caribou.

It's kinda a bummer.

[soft tense music]

Whoa, what do you know?

A seal.

Wow.

That's just a big wowser there.

My wife can hunt seals, I can't.

I should just go back to
camp and let the ladies know.

Since I don't see
anything else to hunt.

[Narrator] For the Hailstones,

hunting seal is a way of
life in Northwest Alaska.

As the animal has been valued

for its meat, oil,
and hide for centuries

but only natives are legally
allowed to participate.

So Chip must return to camp
and warn his wife, Agnes.

If the families to
seize the opportunity

for a key traditional hunt

I just came right back.

I seen a seal down
the channel here.

Thought maybe you'd want
to go hunting or something.

I didn't see no caribou.

Wow.

He looked pretty healthy, too.

Nice and fat.

It's better that you
take the small boat

because you're going to
want 'em in shallow water.

You're going to want to be
able to follow 'em in anything.

You can't really do that

-in this boat.
-You wanna go, Carol?

Yeah.

You need 22.

22.

My dad saw the seal.

I'm pretty happy he
came back to tell us.

My dad can't be a
part of the hunt

but it's something me and
my mom and my sisters do.

I'm just going to grab 22.

'Cause that's what we need.

It looks like my
mom's already ready.

Around here in Alaska,
we catch a lot of seals.

You got the harpoons
and everything, yeah?

I got the harpoon,
I got the hook.

Seals are pretty heavy.

This time of the year
they start to get fat

for winter and fall time.

This is your time of the year
to go out and get your seals.

When they're fat like this.

Don't go without these.

-Thank you.
-Those animals can

-hunt you back.
-Yeah.

Good luck.

We gotta get there right now

before the seal gets
out of the river

and into the lagoons.

If we got out there in time

we'd be able to catch it
before it go to the shallows.

Ready?

Yep.

-Ready for action.
-Just keep your eyes open.

You'll see it swimming.

Yep.

Here we go.

Keep your rifle in your hand.

[soft tense music]

Your life can always
be improved upon.

How much work do you
want to put into it

and is it worth it?

I want to just check the soil

and see where we're at with it.

Watch, when I go down even
lower than where I tilled to.

Just nothing but sand and clay.

Well, I'm basically living
on an ancient sandbar here.

Which means that it's very
hard, compacted sand soil here.

There wasn't a lot of top soil.

See these little guys here?

They're not growing

because they're not
getting any nutrients.

'cause that soil is too acid.

The other downside
is that the soil

is very acidic and plants
don't like acidic soil.

We need to work on this.

Yeah, it's terrible.

Our main lifeline
is this garden.

We depend on our
garden to feed us

for eight months of solid
ice frozen winter here.

We're constantly tailoring ,

customising our soil
so that it will produce

what we need.

Let's start making all the
material that we need out

of the saw mill and the slash
piles to make the bio char.

All right.

[soft tense music]

Every time we cut a tree
down on the property

every time we clear a space

for a dog lot or anything
else, we have leftover wood.

We want to be able
to chip those up

to create what
they call bio char

and bio char is
basically any kind

of a bio product,
in our case, wood.

You basically cook it.

It releases all the gases that
are built up in that biomass.

And what you're left
with is pure charcoal.

Pure charcoal is
just pure carbon.

Pure carbon absorbs
just about everything

that it comes in contact with.

If you have a bad
stomach and it's acidic,

you eat a little
bit of charcoal.

It neutralises it,
it absorbs the acid.

It's a quick fix.

What I want to use it for is

I want to create
really good soil.

By adding that bio char to it,

it's going to absorb nutrients

and then it's going
to release it back

into the soil very slowly

and then the side
benefit of that

will be it will also
mix in with the sand

and keep the soil from
compacting really hard.

Hold up.

We don't need too
many more chips.

Let's start making bio char.

-Sounds good, let's do it.
-The cooker.

-We gotta make cooker.
-Yes.

[soft music]

Being humble is
everything out here.

'Cause if you don't
acknowledge your mistakes,

it's going to come
back to bite you.

[soft tense music]

I'm going to put this bag
right behind you, Skar.

This is yours, Sky.

It's got, it's got all the ammo

and then here's your
.410 right here.

Today, the kids and I
are going to take a canoe

and paddle back into the
flats and just look around,

hopefully get a shot at some
ducks or any small game.

Canoe feels real nice.

Should hit the lake
here pretty soon.

Right now, the water fowl
is more back in the flats,

out in the lake.

[soft tense music]

This is the lake.

[Kid] Have you been
back here before?

Yeah, I've been
back here before.

Okay see, we'll go over here.

We'll sneak around edge
and we'll look out.

I spy some ducks across here.

12 o'clock?

Yeah.

We don't want to go
too directly at them

because if we go
straight to them

they think you're
going right for them.

See how they're
eating like that?

That's the best thing
if they're eating.

Yeah, hold on.

Yeah, go ahead.

Okay, okay, okay hold on.

[soft tense music]

[tense music]

[gunshot]

-Oh, you got one.
-Let's go.

Awesome

Good job, Sky.

Thanks.

Skyler was in the gunner seat,

came up on some ducks and
he did a real good shot.

Got the first duck right away.

You got it right in the head.

Perfect shot.

Skyler's really starting
to use that gun properly

and make the shot
happen real quick.

So, I'm real proud of him.

Yes, I got it.

Where'd I shoot it, in the head?

Yeah, good shot.

Thanks.

That's right.

You gotta say thank you.

Skarlett, you
wanna try to shoot?

Yeah.

[soft tense music]

Whoa, look at all
those ducks out there.

Geese.

There's geese and
everything in that bunch.

Geese are smarter. they
won't stick around.

Want to try that 14?

-Okay.
-Right.

We can unbuckle your
life jacket to shoot.

Just put it to the
side, like, yeah.

I've taught the kids
a lot on gun safety.

They know where to
not point the gun

in any unsafe direction

and also treat it
like it's loaded

and keep your off the trigger.

It's heavy.

Yeah, that's good.

That way it won't kick too hard.

Skarlett hasn't
shotten a duck yet.

So, she's in the gunner seat now

and this is her first
time using the .410

and maybe it'll be
her time to shine.

You see those ducks straight
ahead of us splashing around?

Yeah.

Hold on, I'll tell you when.

Do you see them?

Yeah.

[soft tense music]

Go ahead.

[gunshot]

You almost got it. Skar.

Skarlett was having a hard
time placing the shot.

Just got to coach her
through these moments

so she's not afraid
of the recoil.

We'll keep paddling,
hopefully see some more.

[soft tense music]

[Carol] I'm still
carrying tradition

that's been around for
thousands of years.

It's just pretty cool.

[tense music]

Just gotta keep your eyes open.

It's gotta be around
here someplace.

Carol and I decided to get
into the boat for a seal hunt

after Chip came
back and informed us

that there was a
seal getting close

to the mouth of our river.

Sometimes it's a long process

and it's a really hard hunt

but it's an important
food source for us.

When you're on a seal hunt,
you'll feel in the zone.

Like everything gets
quiet and you have

to really pay attention to
where that seal might be.

Usually, you could kind of
tell when you see their bubbles

or they make little V's in the
water when they're swimming.

Oh look, there it is, Mom.

[tense music]

[gunshot]

[Agnes] A little too high.

One more time.

One good shot, it's
not afraid yet.

Too low.

This is the first
time I go seal hunting

with my mom in a boat.

Usually I catch 'em
when it's spring time

and the ice is going out.

We usually just drive up

and shoot them while
they're on the ice.

But being in the water is
a whole different story.

11 o'clock still.

Keep still.

[gunshots]

Low, low.

The boats moving and
it's kind of hard

'cause you can't
see in the water

where the seal is and
you have to wait for them

to keep popping up.

Right as soon as
it come up for air.

Right there at one o'clock.

Go, Carol,

before it gets too much air.

Frick.

You really have to
just pay attention.

You have to be ready to shoot.

It's kind of like a
battle with the seal.

And there it is.

It's going to try to get away.

Carol, I'm gonna turn, okay?

It's getting away.

You could actually almost
gone and harpoon it, Carol.

Right in front of you, Carol.

It's going to come up.

Oh, I see it.

Go ahead.

Sure shot, Carol, right there.

[gunshot]

Yeah, Mom, go, go, go.

Harpoon, just hit it.

It broke.

Just grab your other harpoon.

Don't get excited.

It's kind of a challenge
'cause when you shoot 'em

you have to harpoon 'em,

make sure they don't
sink to the bottom.

That's kind of pretty hard

'cause I haven't ever
harpooned before.

It's right under you.

-Oh frick.
-You missed.

Dang.

It's like hitting around things.

So, when you don't
hit it straight on

it either bumps to the
right or to the left.

Mom, it's right there.

Perfect, I need to
shoot it one more time.

Just need to get
in the head once.

[tense music]

I got it.

Yep, now hook it,
sweetheart, hook it.

Hook it before it sinks.

Yup.

Just hook it, give me the hook.

You gotta hit it real hard.

Oh my god, it's sinking.

Don't lose it.

Don't lose it.

Sink it in.

I tried to hook it, but my
hook didn't get in its skin.

So then they just ended
up watching it a sink.

You just gotta look it will be,

it's real shallow.

You can probably
see it someplace

if you just see bubbles.

We have to keep looking for it.

'Cause out here, you don't want

to just kill something
and leave it there.

You just have to try
your best to look for it.

Real deep over here.

Drag your hook, if you could,

if you can't see.

You don't shoot stuff and
not take care of your kill.

You have to try your
best to get it out.

You just hook for it down
the bottom of the river.

It takes a whole 24 hours
sometimes looking for it

but try to retrieve anything
and everything you catch.

It's gotta be on the
side of the channel.

If it's rolling out.

It's pretty much a challenge.

You have to go down
the river and zigzags

drag your hook at the bottom
until you feel something.

But then you also have the
tide and the current coming in.

We didn't really know
if it was blowing

up with the tide or going
out with the current.

[soft tense music]

What's that right there?

You find it?

Oh, I got it.

Look, he's right here.

Get it, tie it
before it go under.

It's fricking heavy.

Man, that was hard to find.

Oh God, I'm so
glad you found it.

We ended up feeling it at
the bottom of the river

and we got our seal.

So, now we're pretty happy.

That was a good hunt.

That was exciting.

Give it a heave and pull it up.

One, two, three, go.

Right there.

Right, I'll get
the boat right out.

-Okay.
-Should I grab water?

Yeah.

After we catch the animal

we give it a drink
of fresh water.

Thank you mister Seal.

That's what our
grandparents did,

my mom did, my dad did.

It's kind of like
an honour thing

but it's also good luck
for the next next hunt.

This is Carolyn's first seal

that she caught
swimming in the river.

Really blessed to have the seal.

I'm curious to
see how fat it is.

[soft music]

Wow, look.

That's like an
inch of fat, Carol.

That's beautiful.

[Carol] And it has
a lot of oil, huh?

Yeah, it's perfect, Carolyn.

I'm so proud of you.

Thank you.

We had a pretty good chance

and we took that opportunity
for good seal hunt

and now we have
some pretty good oil

to look forward to this winter.

We have a pretty good
skin to work with

and of course we'll be eating
a lot of good iron rich meat.

-Ready?
-Yeah.

Just keep it open.

The seal Carol and I caught
is like two to 300 pounds.

So it was kind of heavy.

When we got it, it was
like 50 pounds less.

We're just gonna throw it in
the boat and head back home

and we'll have to start
the rest of the process.

I'm thankful I could
actually go out

and go on a hunt like that.

Not many people could do that
except for people in our tribe

or us natives.

So, I'm pretty
thankful I'm native.

Wow, what an awesome,
awesome day, Carol.

Yeah, yeah that was a good hunt.

[soft tense music]

In this lifestyle,
skills are security

and if you don't
have the skills,

you're not very secure in
procuring what you need.

[twangy country music]

This'll be the outer drum

for the bio char maker.

[Narrator] To decrease
the acidity in his soil

and enhance his ability to
grow needed food in the garden.

Andy has devised a plan
to produce bio char.

A charcoal like substance

made from burning
organic material.

But first, he must
build a gasifier,

a crucial device
for the process.

First thing I'm going
to do is just go through

and punch holes in it
about every four inches.

Looks like a good job
to sit down on the job.

I'm always trying
to find out new

and innovative ways
of doing things

and so when I
learned a little bit

about what bio char
can do for gardening

and for increasing production.

it was not only
really intriguing.

It was a challenge.

So, the next thing I want to do

is I want to cut around
this barrel here.

A bit of a learning
lesson this year

with the COVID issues
that are going on.

The outside world, it's
not always out there

to take care of your needs.

So, another reason
why we are trying

to be even more independent

is because the outside world
is becoming less dependable.

Okay.

That's what I'm going
to pack full of chips

and this is what's
going to contain

what will end up
being the bio char.

Now, the next step I gotta
do is start putting my holes

into my burn barrel

and that's going to
be kind of the oven

that I'm going to put this into.

I'm halfway there

We start with a barrel
within a barrel.

The idea is we cook all the
wood that's in the inner barrel

and then because this
has no oxygen in it,

it's going to make bio char

instead of just
burning up into ash.

[soft tense music]

I think I am done with
my gasifier stove.

If we started tonight,
we can just let it burn

through the evening.

We'll come out in the
morning and see what we got.

It'll be kind of
a happy surprise

with a cup of coffee, maybe.

[soft tense music]

If you want to get out
and survive and eat,

you gotta move, you
gotta be nomadic

and you ain't gonna get nothing

sitting here thinking about it.

[tense music]

Keeping my eyes wide open
for sign of any kind of game.

I've been riding around
through this tundra

for about 15 miles.

I haven't seen anything.

No moose, no caribou,

no ptarmigan, no porcupine

and I really just
can't handle sitting

in that machine anymore,

out in country this pretty.

See this lake here?

It looks like a real good lake.

It looks like it's a stream fed

and a it's a good size lake.

I'm gonna go and see if
I can't catch a fish.

I haven't run into
any ptarmigan.

So, you know, if one
thing ain't working

I'm going to try another.

This looks like a
good spot right here.

Got this rock to fish off of.

All rock bottom, no
swamp grass getting

in the way of my cast.

I like the looks of this spot.

Get my poles together here.

Those look like otters to me,

swimming around,
playing out there.

They eat fish.

So, that might be a good sign.

Oh yeah, I got something.

All right, man.

That's a good size fish.

No way.

Wow, I've only cast a few times.

Oh, that's a big
grayling, holy crap.

That is a huge fish.

Oh wow, Oh man.

That's the grayling
I always dreamed

of catching right there.

We ain't got nothing like
that on the Brushkana.

Wow.

That is the most
absolute amazing grayling

I've ever caught in my life.

That's a steak right there

and man, I feel like
I'm so rewarded.

This is the fish in
my dreams actually.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.

I just lost my fish.

My heart's broken.

Fish slipped out of my hand
and it just snapped this line.

I know this is
decent line for that,

but I, next time I get one,

I'm gonna run for the shore.

That was the nicest
fish I ever caught

in my life out here.

I mean, I've been fishing
all summer in the Brushkana

and nothing even close to that,

that, I never even
got to measure it.

It's kind of heartbreaking.

That was just pure exhilaration.

I'm going to keep fishing.

I'm not leaving
here without a fish.

[soft tense music]

This is an incredible
spot to fish.

If I could catch a
fish on my third cast

the fishing's gonna be hot here.

I think I got something.

Yup, I got another fish.

I don't want to
get too excited now

until I got this fish landed.

Holy crap.

I am going to get this fish.

Oh boy.

This is a nice fish again.

That is an amazing grayling.

Wow.

I can't even explain
how catching a fish

like this makes me feel.

They just ain't fish
like this all over.

I was a little bit bummed out
because I ain't seen no birds.

This beats getting any ptarmigan

for me to catch a
fish this amazing.

When fishing this good, there
ain't no way I'm walking away.

I travelled a long
ways to get here.

I'm going to keep fishing

and see how many fish
I can bring back.

I'm allowed to take
two lake trout,

as well I can get five grayling.

Got one.

Putting up a nice fight.

Wow.

Easy buddy.

Easy, Whoa, now come on.

That's a trout.

All right.

I caught a trout, it looks like.

Man, this place is an
amazing fishing spot.

That is so great.

Something with some variety.

Look at that trout.

Ah, this is a beautiful fish.

It might be some rough
country to travel through

but I'll gladly travel up
here for fishing like this.

This is what I'm trying to
get my degree in right now.

Some people are going to school.

This is my school.

The more I come out here,
the more I'm gonna learn.

I think I got a bite.

Yeah, that's a trout.

Got another trout.

Looks like those
otters were right.

Good spot to fish.

I'm a lucky guy to have
this as my backyard.

Knowing this spot
for the future,

I'll be coming up here a lot.

Instead of catching a
couple of fish down there

on the Brushkana,
they're 12 inches,

I'm coming up here to this Lake

and I'm able to put
pounds of fish up.

It's another nice grayling.

Okay, I got a good catch here.

Time to clean these
fish up and head home.

Oh that orange flesh that
this has is just so good.

The biggest fish that
I caught, he got away.

He's still somewhere out here.

I'll be back.

I'll get him.

But what I got is
two beautiful trout,

grayling that I got are big.

I'm coming away with
a lot of knowledge

and I'm coming away with
a lot of pounds of meat.

Days don't get no
better than this.

I'm gonna have a feast tonight.

Attitudes are always contagious.

It's always best to be happy

because we have
to do it anyways.

You can always do it
happy, sad, or mad.

[soft tense music]

Two, three, go.

[grunting]

Here you go.

Perfect.

No, puppy.

We were out there boating
today and caught this seal.

Every fall, we usually
catch little ones like this.

We have three different
things to deal with

when we catch a seal.

Drying the meat, taking
the blubber, and the skin.

It's going to take
a whole day process.

We'll slowly take it apart

Man this meat and stuff
got so much iron in it.

Always heat us up in winter.

Yeah.

I'm thankful for the seal

'cause right now we have
black meat for winter.

We have seal blubber,
which turns into seal oil

and then I have the
skin I could be making

into some hats or
mittens or mukluks.

So, I'm pretty happy
who got the seal.

I'm pretty thankful for it.

Man, that was hard,
especially with moving boat

and the seal wanna keep moving.

You did real good, though.

You really tried with your
harpoons and your hook.

One, two, three, go.

You wanna work on the blubber

and I'll take the meat apart?

Sounds good.

I'm just going to separate
the skin and blubber

and then I'll be cutting
this into little blocks

Seal hunting is a big
part of our culture.

Hearing stories of our
ancestors and all our elders.

They had many ways
of cutting up seals

and many ways of using the skin

and using all parts of the body.

It's pretty cool just knowing
my ancestors did this, too

and it's really good
to be able to know

that I'm doing this tradition.

[soft music]

Last piece.

Right on, Carol.

Let's go ahead and bring it
under the rack and hang it up.

It's just real awesome
to work with Carolyn

and let her keep learning her
traditional lifestyle skills.

I'm real happy
she's able to shoot

and harpoon and help process it.

So, that's a real
important step for her

and I feel like if she
were to lead a seal hunt

she'd be able to do
a pretty good job.

Wow, that's a lot of
meat for one seal.

[Carolyn] Yeah.

[Agnes] We'll just let those
hang for a bit and dry.

[soft tense music]

The land out here provides,
but it's very unforgiving.

It's easy to have
an accident out here

if you're not careful.

[soft tense music]

Do you think there's
ducks back here?

Yeah.

Is there a lake back here?

There's lakes off the side.

This is just the long slough.

Nuna slough.

Nu-nuna slough.

Ricko and his children,
Skyler and Skarlett,

are hunting for waterfowl
along the Huslia waterways.

It is a key resource
that's available

before the birds migrate
South for the winter

and it's a vital lesson
for the kids to know how,

when, and where to search
for food in the wild.

What I'm trying
to do is bring me

and the kids off the main river

and enter the dead
water back here

where there's a lot of
grass and still water

and that's where all the
ducks are hanging out.

There's something up ahead.

Get that shotgun ready.

There's something in
the water up there.

Are you nervous?

No.

Oh, okay.

Okay, you wanna try?

Oh, yeah.

Okay, you ready?

[tense music]

Okay.

[gunshot]

Oh, you got one.

You got one.

Put another shell in.

Okay, I don't know
how to do that.

Get that.

I don't know how, Dad.

Oh, it's getting away.

-Dad.
-Okay hold on.

It's gonna try and
get in the grass.

Pull that one hammer down.

All right, here I'll trade you.

Thank you.

Get that shell, get that shell.

Okay.

Now shoot it?

Not yet.

I'll tell you when.

[tense music]

Not yet, we have
to get close to it.

[tense music]

I shoot it?

Okay, you ready?

Yeah.

[gunshot]

Oh, you got it a little.

Get that shell.

[Skar] He's getting away.

[Ricko] Where is
she hitting, Sky?

It's kinda on the left.

Here, I'm with, okay, hold on.

It's a wild duck chase.

Let me, let me paddle up to it.

Okay.

Oh, it's going to dive.

Sky, watch for it, okay?

Okay.

Over there?

It's probably going to
come up on the right.

It's swimming with
its head down.

It'll get away like that.

Where'd it go?

Oh right there, right there,
right there, right there.

Do you see it right
along the edge?

His head is down
low in the water.

Watch him, watch him, watch him.

I don't see it.

-Oh, I see it.
-Okay see his head's

right along the shore.

Okay, you see him?

-Uh huh.
-Okay, go ahead.

[tense music]

Stay still.

Oh, I think you got him.

You got him good.

Okay.

[Sky] She got him.

[Ricko] Good job, Skar.

Anaa Basee

Anaa Basee, duckie.

Your first duck, Skar

It's a big day, man.

That was exciting.

[cheers]

Good job on keeping the eye out.

First duck.

It's bigger than mine.

I get nervous, like
I'm a kid again,

when you guys are shooting.

Even I got nervous.

[laughing]

Yeah, when that duck
was getting away

it felt like the world
was falling apart on me.

[laughing]

I normally don't
get that excited

but I know it's Skars first duck

and that'd be very disappointing
if she got that duck

and it was getting away
and then I let it get away.

I would have felt
like I failed, too.

Good job, Skar.

You're a little badass.

It's time to eat.

Let's go find a
place to make a fire.

I know a cool spot.

That's good.

Okay.

[soft tense music]

This one's done.

This one's done.

Here, knock yourself out, kid.

Here, you can try it.

I need a lot more.

You want more?

[Sky] This tastes good.

Doesn't the food tastes
better when you get?

Work for it.

I was real excited and
I think I was probably

the most excited I've ever been

to actually be part
of hunting a duck

and that's just because
I knew how much it meant

for Skarlett to get a duck

and it was exciting and
I'm real proud of Skarlett.

That's a big day
for me as a father.

Oh, look what I got.

-A wishbone?
-Yup.

The wishbone.

Ready to make a wish?

Wait, did you
think of one first?

[grunting]

It's still too fresh.

Oh, you won.

I wishing that you guys
become super good hunters

so that when I'm real old,

you guys can hunt for me.

I can just lay back and get fat.

-Huh?
-[Ricko laughing]

It's a mistake heavy
environment here

and the consequences are huge.

[soft tense music]

[dog howling]

All right.

Topaz has a lot to
say about this plan.

This is a big experiment.

I want to see how
practical it is for me

to make the bio char
and get the benefits

of being able to put
it into the garden.

So, that's basically the
goal of what I'm trying

to do right now

and it's yet to be determined.

You need to load this up.

We'll screw the lid shut,

we'll set it into this.

We're gonna line all
the way around the gap

between this barrel
and this barrel

with as much wood as we
can possibly put in there.

With gardening, key factor soil.

You are only as
good as your soil.

Balancing the pH is crucial

and the bio char is a means
that we can control that.

Let's just get it on either side

and kind of get it
centred up in here.

Our garden is
something we depend on.

It gets us through the winter.

Everything it produces is what

we're gonna have for the winter.

It's all about
planned strategies

to make this garden efficient
and provide what we need.

Let's keep adding birch bark.

Just let it do its
thing for a little bit.

We'll let that burn down
when I can get the lid on it.

[Denise] There we go.

Let's see how it works

and we'll just let it
cook for the night.

See what we've got
in the morning.

[soft tense music]

Any predictions?

A lot of bio char.

Nothing's hot.

Hold onto the barrel,

I'll pull this out.

Okay.

Well, what do you think?

I'm hoping it will be good.

The only thing I'm worried about

is if this leaks a
little bit of air

it might've just
burnt it all up.

That would be bad.

Oh, let's see.

Okay, you ready?

Yeah, I'm ready.

Open it up and see
what's going on.

Ta ta ta, yeah that's good.

That's real good stuff.

Oh, it's still putting
out a little heat.

[Denise] It is.

There's some unburnt,
uncharcoaled stuff down there.

-Is there?
-Yup

Not 100% but it's,

I mean that one is.

It's pretty good, though.

-Wow.
-Dump it out.

[soft tense music]

I am really impressed
with the gasifier.

We have very good
results from it.

We will definitely be
tweaking it a little bit

but the results that we have
now are very impressive.

This bio char will really
help for years to come.

It will keep enriching the
soils, enriching our harvest

and increasing our production.

[twangy music]

Oh, I've never planted bio char.

[laughing]

I'm gonna try and
do is just kind

of put the stuff in 'em,

maybe crumble it up
a little bit, huh?

There's a tonne
of work that goes

into making this garden
grow and support us.

But that support is
well worth every ounce

of effort that we put into it.

Keep making it.

More we make, the
more we can put in

the more we put in, the
better the garden gets

[Denise] And the
more we can eat.

Healthy garden healthy us.

[soft tense music]

[Carol] Probably the first
people that were out here

were doing the same thing as us.

It's pretty cool.

Make sure we have sharp ulus

and we take the pieces

and just break
them down smaller.

So, it can render faster.

After you take the blubber
apart from the skin,

you have to take the big chunks

and cut it to smaller slices.

What we're doing is
helping break down the fat.

It'll turn to an oil
and we use that oil

to dip our dried meats
and our frozen fish.

In the end, we're
going to end up

with probably eight
gallons of oil

and that's a lot of oil
to start off your winter.

It's already starting to render.

You can see where
you're starting to
get some oil in there.

[Carol] That does look good.

I'm really proud of myself

for making sure
my daughter's able

to do these seal hunts.

It's very important that she
able to provide her own foods.

Especially if she
marries a non-native.

My favourite part of
cutting up the seal

is cutting up the blubber.

It's kind of just
fun and you get

to hang around just
whoever you're working with

and just talk and
have fun cutting

and at the end, just see
who has the biggest bucket.

[Agnes] Wow.

That's a lot of blubber.

Yep.

[Agnes] We'll start
working on the skin now.

[Carol] Yeah.

Anywhere around here

-or straight.
-Just here?

Go.

There are so many things
to do with seal skins.

There's seal skins that turn

into a lot of rope
during the spring time.

In the fall time, usually
the skins are made

for pants or clothing.

Those two, you gotta stretch it

way back till it's tight.

My Mom, she seemed
pretty proud of me

'cause that's like the first
time me hunting in the boat

and I already know
kind of what to do

and she's a really good partner

and knowing that I actually
do know how to process it.

If I really had to on
my own, I'd be able to.

So, I'm pretty
proud of myself, too

and thankful for my mom
teaches me how to do this stuff

and it's pretty good to know

I've got parents that are
gonna keep showing me the way

of my culture and my ancestors.

It's not touching the ground?

Now, we just leave it like
that for a couple of days.

The air will go under
and over and it'll dry.

Awesome, Carol.

No one else in the world I'd
rather go hunting seal with.

Good teamwork.

[soft tense music]

Nothing makes you
closer to the land

than living off of it.

This is the reward
of the journey.

Pick out which fish
I want to cook.

This is a special occasion
catching these beautiful trout.

Hey, I'm going to
take the biggest one.

I'm going to bake
this whole fish up

and then I'm going
to take these three

and put them in the smoker

and preserve them
for the winter.

This fish is just incredible.

I mean, you can't buy
something in the store

that tastes this good.

This is right out of the lake

from the field to the table.

It just doesn't get any fresher.

It doesn't get any
better than that.

Nice thing about this fish
is I didn't even expect

to go out and catch any fish.

Thought I was out
looking for ptarmigan.

You know, one thing
didn't work out.

I'm not the type to give up.

I found where the best fish
that I've found so far are

and I didn't even plan on that.

So that was a pleasant surprise.

Going out and
getting my own food

is not only healthy for my body.

It's good for my mind

and it's just
exciting to open up

so many new doors this summer.

While my fish cooks inside,

I've got a smoker that I
built earlier this summer.

The smoker allows me
to be able to preserve

whenever I have a lot
of fish like this.

This is a lot of fish for
me to try to eat right now.

I'll be able to smoke them,
jar them, vacuum seal them,

freeze them, and be able
to enjoy my catch later on.

I put love into getting my food.

I put love into
preparing my food

and I just love
great food like this.

It nourishes my body,
makes me strong.

It helps me to live
the lifestyle I live.

Oh, it smells so good.

Wow, wow, wow.

Nothing like fresh fish
that you caught yourself.

So good.

That was a long, hard trip
across some pretty rough ground.

Got stuck.

Got going.

Didn't find no birds.

But at the end of that rainbow

I ended up finding
a beautiful lake,

catching these amazing trout,

coming home with pounds
and pounds of fish

and one of the best meals
I've had in a long time.

I know that big monster fish
is just out there waiting

for me and I can't wait

till I can get back
up there and get him.