All language subtitles for Life.Below.Zero.S14E03.Taking.Chances.720p.WEB-HD.x264-Pahe.ph

[dramatic music]

Let's, take care of
this net right here.

Okay.

Stretch it out, in the mud.

Can't believe how
hot it is today.

Today, I'm gonna try something
I've never tried before.

I'm gonna grab what's called
a fyke net or a hoop net.

And I'm gonna try and set it
in the eddy by our property,

in hopes of catching some
burbot and some grayling.

Let's go, you ready?

Normally this time of year,

the eddy would all
be covered with ice

and I wouldn't be
able to do this.

But over the last two
days, ice has moved out.

The weather has warmed up.

We're gonna try and
take advantage of that

and see if we can
catch something

to help feed us
in the wintertime.

Definitely got to
put a lifejacket on

'cause if you go in
this water right now,

it's not gonna be very pleasant.

Two things that may happen
if you go in the water.

It'll be definitely a
very unpleasant experience

and it might be your
last experience.

One of the biggest challenges
to doing anything on the river

is the amount of
risk involved in it.

It's pretty unpredictable.

You never really know
how safe it's gonna be.

And the potential for
good things happening

can be really good

and the potential for bad things
happening is even greater.

[dramatic music]

Hold the float side.

There you go.

As it goes down, just
kind of let that go out

but don't let go
of that rope, okay?

[Denise] Yeah. Yup.

[Andy] Okay, don't get
them all tangled up

and stuff, okay?

[Denise] Yup.

Just sit down on the
very bow of the boat.

Please.

Make sure that there's no nets

or anything around your feet.

It's a very difficult
eddy to fish with a net

because it's super powerful.

And trying to work from
a boat in this eddy

can be really challenging.

[Denise] Ugh. Ice is
coming right here.

[Andy] Don't worry about it.

Keep tension on this line.

There's a lot going on
with the weather today.

It's warm. It's windy.

It's gusty.

And the water, at the same
time as it's warm and windy,

is forming a lot of ice
coming from upriver.

All that ice flowing
down the river

and increasing by the
hour is a reminder

that it's important to
do this while we can.

This is it for our
chance to get fresh food

for the next many, many months.

[Andy] Actually, it's
good like that, Denise.

I see the end of
the hoop right here.

[Denise] Oh. Okay.

[Andy] So we're good.

Let me get this tied up
and then call it good.

Let it fish for the night.

[gentle electronic music]

[Iriqtaq] We grew up
following our parents.

My parents always took
us along with them.

So, I have that mentality
in my head that,

if I can't take my
kid, then don't go.

[gentle electronic music]

[Chip] He's a
handsome little boy.

[chuckles] So cute.

[Chip] Wow, you got
green eyes, kid.

My son's name is Sabastian Orion

Anuniakti Napaugaq Hailstone.

Orion Anuniakti is
Orion the hunter,

so he's my little hunter.

That baby's totally
got your chin.

What's the baby's name?

Huh? Sabastian?

Sabastian.

I'm the auntie of 13, so
I've had a lot of practise.

Plus I helped grow up
my younger sisters.

Now, I have a lot of
help with my own son.

[dramatic music]

You gonna go ride with your mom

and go set snares for rabbits?

[Wade] I get a rabbit for you.

[Agnes] Oh, you're gonna
go get rabbit for me?

[Wade] Yeah.

[Narrator] Mary's daughter
Rose and Ting's son Sabastian

are the latest additions to
the growing Hailstone family.

To provide her niece and nephew

with furs to keep
warm through winter,

Idi will head out to set
snares for rabbit pelts.

The task will also
pass on a native skill

to her young son Wade.

In our culture, usually when
the women have a new baby,

we try to make them
their own outfits.

The best material for
our kind of conditions

are the materials that
are locally resourced.

So we're just trying to get
some rabbit skins together

or sew up a few
things for baby Orion.

Oh.

Look! You see all the tracks?

[Wade] Yeah.

[Iriqtaq] Wow!

[Wade] Is that the rabbits?

[Iriqtaq] Yeah.

We'll get the
willows first, huh?

So as we keep going, we'll
be able to set traps.

[Wade] Look, they're coming.

They're coming to us.

The rabbits are?

Yeah.

Oh, where?

Oh. They're coming.

Wade just turned
three years old,

so you could only keep
his attention for so long.

He's a very active child.

Watch out, Mom.

Watch out for your head, Mom.

When we find something
he's interested in,

it's entertaining
and fun to watch him

because he's so involved.

There you go. Some more.

Ooh, almost.

Help me, Mom.

I remember being a
being a little kid

and following my dad out,
checking traps and snares.

You know, even though
he's at a young age,

just watching and listening
to you, just being around you,

they pick up and learn a lot.

And you explain things
the best you can

and show him what's
safe and what isn't.

Okay, Wade, I think
we got enough willows.

You gonna pile them up for me?

[Wade grunting]

That way, they're
learning how to provide

and learning the cycle of
life and how things are done

and where our food comes from.

Thank you.

Okay, right there's fine.

You could dig in the backpack

and grab the snare wire, please.

[Wade] Okay.

[Iriqtaq] And the tool
that's in there with it.

[Wade] Here, Mom.

[Iriqtaq] Yup. I need that one.

And where's the tool?

I need the tool, too.

[Wade] This one?

[Iriqtaq] Yup. Thank you!

[Wade] Look, Mom.

The sun's going
down, and drop on us.

[Iriqtaq] The sun's
dropping on us?

Yeah.

[Iriqtaq] The sun's
trying to go down on us.

[Wade] Oh.

[Iriqtaq] I taught
my son something

and it just, it feels good.

It feels good to be
able to be that active

and be able to do
such things out here

and teach my son that
nothing is ever too hard

if you just set your mind to it.

We'll come back tomorrow
and check our snares, okay?

[Wade] Yup.

[gentle xylophone music]

[Sue] You can't be
afraid of the dark

when nature's lighting the way.

[dramatic music]

It looks like my
storm is way subsided.

I got a little bit
blindsided by a storm.

What happened is this
windstorm came out of nowhere.

It wasn't in my weather
forecast and it just roared.

Life is full of surprises

and I want to make
some no-tech versions

of things that will give
me an advance notice,

what kind of weather's
coming at me.

I need to make a weathervane,

a barometer and there's
something called

a Fitzroy storm glass.

What is a storm glass?

Lot of household chemicals
and some alcohol,

put it together, and
based on what's happening

with all these pressure systems,

it's gonna create a
crystalline atmosphere.

You can read those little
crystals and it'll tell you.

Are you gonna have a
nice clear sunny day?

Are you gonna have
some precipitation?

Are you gonna have snow?

Is it gonna be wind?

Is it gonna be high wind?

All right.

I need to dissolve five grammes
each of ammonium chloride

and potassium nitrate.

So, we zero that out.

I need five grammes.

Because your generators can
go out with regularity here,

you have to have a
lifestyle this far out

that doesn't have to
run on electricity.

You don't have to depend
on the weather reports

from somebody else.

If you're gonna shut it
down and be really remote,

you'd better be able to have
some off-the-grid systems

to read what's coming at you

and how are you gonna handle it.

You may not get a lot of notice,

but every minute you get
might save your home,

your life, your food supply.

Now, I'm just
gonna let this sit.

I've got my first jar, but
I wanna get a few of them

and set them around.

So, I'm gonna start
going back to work

and seeing what I
can come up with.

[Ricko] To be
successful out here,

we're dependent on game.

So we have to move
with the animals.

We got to follow them.

[dramatic music]

Marten boxes.

Right here.

[Narrator] With his
children away at school,

Ricko DeWilde has returned
to the family cabin

where he will spend time alone
in the Huslia wilderness.

He will now set
out to harvest furs

that can be sold or used
in Athabaskan ceremonies.

To set his trap line, he will
travel to unknown territory.

[snowmobile engine running]

In Alaska, when
it's dark and cold,

all the cold air sinks
down low into the valleys.

So a lot of the animals will
move up alongside of the hills

and up in the side
of the mountains

and the willow
and spruce straws.

That's where the marten
are most abundant.

And that's where I want to go.

Growing up out here, I always
looked at that mountain.

I always wanted to go up in
there and just search around.

It's just part of
growing up in the wild

is what's over there
at the next lake

or over that next mountain.

When I was a kid,

these mountains looked
like the Himalayas.

I mean, they're
majestic mountains that
we couldn't touch.

So, where I'm trying to go

is kind of like a
childhood dream.

I've tried a lot of times
to get up on the mountain

with a snow machine,
but I've never made it

because there's
just too much brush,

too much trees, too much
side hilling in that country,

and today I'm able to
climb up this mountain

through a trail I
cut over the summer.

I had to do a lot of
work scouting the area,

cutting in some new trails.

And now that it's winter,

I've got to take another shot

at getting up on top
of that mountain.

[suspenseful music]

Getting steep here.

Still moving forward.

This is the steep part.

There's a little bit
of rocks in this area.

Woo, I'm hitting some
sunshine up here.

It's a lot warmer up here too.

Seeing a bunch of animal tracks.

So far, so good.

Hard work pays off so far.

Oh.

Tipping over here.

Come on, baby!

Ugh.

Come on.

Come on.

Damn.

I'm gonna unhook my
toboggan, whoa, shit.

I can get up this
thing, I think.

I just got to have a little
less weight back here,

and this toboggan
is pulling me back.

But once I get a
trail in up here,

I'll be able to climb
right up, I think.

I'm so close to the top, though.

I'm not about to turn around.

Okay, let me try again.

[snow machine engine revving]

Come on, baby!

So close.

I can see the top.

I'm just getting my speed up.

[triumphant music]

Woo-hoo!

Yeah!

Beautiful, I made it to the top!

Amazing country.

I made it to the top, something
I always wanted to do.

Something all my
family wanted to do

is get to the top
of this mountain.

It's so overwhelming,

the joy for me to be able
to come up on top of here

and feel like I really
like, conquered something.

But I got to check myself.

I can't get it twisted,
this is deadly country

and a lot of people
lost their lives

in country like this out here,
so I have to stay humble.

I just broke trail
up this mountain.

So now I'm gonna hook it back
up now that I got a trail,

and I'm gonna go for the
top with the toboggan.

[dramatic music]

I'm seeing some
marten tracks up here.

Marten running thick
up in this area.

I've never set traps up here,

so I want to put a few out
up on the high country.

Just see how it pays off.

The marten are running
all through this area.

There's tracks right here.

What he's doing is
he's looking for mice.

And marten is just a
little furry animal.

Right now it's colder, it's
dark this time of the year.

That's when their fur
is the most prime,

because they have
to have good fur

in this cold, dark climate.

So this is when we trap them.

I'm just gonna put a
screw in this thing.

I have the luxury
of a power drill.

[power drill whirring]

The marten is gonna wanna go
through the front entrance

of this box and that's
where I'm gonna have

my conibear sit in there.

Growing up out here,
we had hand tools,

we had hand drills and all that.

We didn't have electric stuff,

because we didn't
always have a generator.

So life got a little easier,

but the game is still the same.

[gentle dramatic music]

[Denise] Challenge makes
me wanna drive harder,

and I have to be able to
know when I'm up against

something that is
more powerful than me.

And that is the river.

[gentle dramatic music]

[Andy] Uh-oh.

[Denise] Oh.

[Andy] Uh-oh.

[Denise] Oh, no.

Oh!

Andy.

[Andy] What a
difference a day makes.

You know, when the wind
stopped last night.

[Denise] Yeah.

[Andy] And I was
thinking, "Uh-oh.

That ice is gonna start
packing into the eddy here."

It's shocking to see
what happened overnight.

I know it, I hear it.

But to actually walk
over and see that

is impressive how
fast it changes here.

[Andy] It's gonna be a lot
of work to get this out.

[Denise] Ugh.

[Narrator] For Andy and Denise,

unusually late open
waters on the Yukon River

have presented a
rare opportunity

to catch fish this time of year.

But a sudden shift in
temperatures overnight

has created ice where
they set their fyke net,

and reaching it
will be dangerous.

The problem with this slush ice

is you get the boat out
there and it just packs in.

And you can't move it at all.

Wherever you see that white,
that's getting to be thick.

And you know, it's gonna be
like this thick of slush.

Okay.

Slush ice is dangerous.

I've had some bad
experiences with it.

It's basically like
floating wet cement.

When you get into it,
you can't push off of it.

There's nothing hard
to push against.

And once it grabs you,

it holds you and it's
really hard to get out of.

I might be able to actually

just push the boat through this.

I won't know until we get out

and see how thick that slush is.

But if I...

If you have ahold of line
from the bow of my boat,

worst comes to worst you
can tie it to the Jeep

and pull me out of the slush.

Oh, boy.

Okay? That's just a safety.

[Denise] Okay.

[Andy] Let's try and get
this line across first.

[Denise] So this will be

one of our fairy-line
stakes, right?

Yeah.

We're doing a lot of adapting
over the last couple of days,

and that's just a
part of our life here.

You just wake up
and you got to adapt

to whatever the weather
is bringing you.

Whatever game is available,

whatever opportunities
you have for harvesting.

We've got our safety set up.

Denise will have the
end of a long rope

in case I get stuck in the slush

to pull me out with the Jeep.

And, if I can make
it to the buoy,

then I can ferry
back and get Denise,

and then we can work
on this together.

Okay, Denise.

Just kind of follow me out.

Once I clear the point,

I'm gonna try to pivot
into the ball, okay?

[Denise] Okay.

[dramatic music]

Okay.

Here we go.

Enough slack.

Clear that.

Oh, crap.

Oh, my God.

Oh, I don't have much left.

It's gonna be close!

Andy!

Andy!

Whoa!

[Andy] We made it!

Victory.

[Denise] Just enough!

[Andy] I planned it that way,

just to give your
heartbeat a little bit.

[laughs] Well, it's
successful, then!

The river, it seems to
always keep me in check,

because the
consequences are real

and a mistake could be fatal.

[Andy] Let me see
if I can pull myself

back through this slush.

If I can, then you can come
out in the boat with me,

and then we'll deal with trying
to get this net up, okay?

[Denise] Okay.

Can I help?

I don't know if I can pull
myself against this slush.

[Denise] That is like
pulling through cement.

Oh, be careful.

Looks like you're pulling
yourself right overboard.

Man...

that is a tough pull.

The next goal is get the
net up out of the water

and see if we got
any fish in it.

What I love about living on
this river, it's powerful.

It's intriguing.

It's never the same.

Every single day, it's
a little bit different.

And the fact that it
does what it wants to do,

and you adapt to it.

It doesn't ever adapt to you.

So, it's kind of like
starting every day fresh

and I like that.

I'll grab the hook and see
if we can hook the line.

[Denise] Hang on.

Got to push it down.

-Yeah.
-Underneath.

There you go.

That's it.

[Denise] Okay, grab it.

[Andy] I got it.

I have been really
looking forward

to getting fresh burbot.

It would be terrible
to put all this work,

all this effort into it,
and then lose the fish.

Oh, do you think
there's something in it?

Oh, man.

I sure hope so.

Do you see anything?

I don't see anything.

[Andy] I'm not seeing
anything in there.

[Denise] Oh, come on.

[Andy] I'm not seeing
anything in there.

Oh, man.

[Andy] Well, we
got skunked, girl.

No.

Yup.

Not a thing in there.

Argh.

Well.

[Andy] That really sucks.

That's disappointing as hell.

I thought for sure we'd
have some fish in there.

[Denise] What do
you think, Andy?

We can fish it another night.

It's just, we're
taking chances on

making life hard on
ourselves for a few fish

or maybe no fish.

I'm gonna let you make the call.

If you wanna fish
it another night,

then we'll fish it another day.

But if we're done, we're done.

I wanna fish another night.

You know I do. It's
risky, I know that.

You don't ever want to accept
defeat is what you want.

There's something about
pulling up that empty net that,

uh--

Kind of makes you, I know.

It makes me feel like
the challenge is on.

The harder the challenge,
the harder I drive.

That's who I am, that's
how I've always run.

And I have to be realistic here.

I'm in a new environment.

I don't have the experience.

The environment is unforgiving
if I make the wrong choices.

So, I have to always
try to stand back

and look at it and make
the best decision I can.

[Andy] Well, I'll
drop it back down

and hit it again
tomorrow morning early.

Tomorrow's it, I don't
care what happens.

[Denise] Okay.

Last chance.

We'll see what overnight
brings this time.

[Sue] Power goes out.

Engines fail.

You better have a backup to
your backup to your backup.

[suspenseful music]

Been working on my
no-tech weather stations.

And you can see, these are
the little storm glasses.

And if you look,

you can see you've got
some particles suspended.

When you have the suspended
particles you've got overcast,

possibly even fog,

and you may get precipitation.

And outside, I've got
cloud cover, some ice fog.

So, it works.

Now we're gonna be getting into
the air pressure barometer.

And the theory
behind the barometer,

it's gonna measure
the air pressure.

[power drill whirring]

The barometer,

it's not gonna be able
to tell me exact science.

What it's gonna be
able to tell me is,

pull up your bootstraps,

it's gonna get rough,

or you're gonna get something,

but you can keep working
and finishing your chores,

just get your job done and
then get in and tuck yourself.

Winter storms are so severe.

If I'm doing something outside
and not paying attention,

that's when loss
of life happens.

I have to make sure that
there are no air leaks.

I'm gonna also glue
a little ruler here.

Super system comes in,

and that fluid just
really screams up.

I'll note the millibars.

And that's what I
want to catalogue.

Oh, wow, it's already raising.

We're getting a pretty
low system in already.

When I first put it together,

I mean it was just barely
above the meniscus.

But, it's climbing right up.

Wow.

And I mean outside, I
definitely have a storm system.

Wow, my little nuggets
are working right away.

It doesn't run out of batteries.

If the internet goes down,

I can still pick it
up and look at it.

And that's what I need out here.

That's what helps me.

[Iriqtaq] Once all
the work is done,

it never felt like
hard work at all

because you had a great day.

You accomplished something.

[gentle dramatic music]

You ready?

[Wade] Uh-hmm.

I think we're gonna
check our snares

and see if we find anything.

In our culture, the ladies
went and checked the snares

that were close by,

but they also took
their kids with them.

It's the same thing
my parents did to me

and my sisters and brothers.

And I'm doing the
same thing to my son.

He's got to be used
to the cold weather,

being out every day.

Checking snares is a
great way to do it.

Oh, man, look.

That one's empty.

Huh?

[Iriqtaq] Look,
that one's empty.

You see the snare right there?

[Wade] Huh? No.

[Iriqtaq] There's no
bunny rabbit in there.

[Wade] Mom, I want to
go on your shoulders.

[Iriqtaq] Our local animals
that we're always hunting

and trapping which usually
for the skins or for the meat.

I have my son.

My sisters have their
two new-born babies.

We're constantly trying to
get new skins, new material.

Constantly making new
things for the kids.

Ah, shucks.

[Wade] Huh?

[Iriqtaq] Our trap is empty.

[Wade] Trap is empty?

Yup.

[Wade] Aw.

Lots of tracks though, huh?

[Wade] Uh-hmm.

Cool.

The last trap.

Look, you see it?

[Wade] Yeah.

[Iriqtaq] It's empty.

[Wade] Oh.

[Iriqtaq] Come on,
let's start walking back

to the snow machine.

[Wade] Yeah.

[Iriqtaq] Hopefully we have
better luck tomorrow, huh?

[Wade] Yeah.

[Iriqtaq] Ready?

[Wade] Yeah.

[snow machine engine running]

[suspenseful music]

[Iriqtaq] Ooh.

[Wade] Mom, you run over tree.

That's why.

[Iriqtaq] I know.

No, don't push!

Don't push.

No, watch out.

[snow machine engine running]

Argh!

I can't believe I
got stuck right here!

The fun of riding
through the willows!

You gonna push a little bit?

Come on.

Okay.

Hold on.

[snow machine engine revving]

[Wade] Go, Mommy.

[snow machine engine revving]

[Iriqtaq] Argh!

Little bit more, babe.

You're gonna pull the
ski while I drive?

[Wade] Yeah.

[Iriqtaq] Okay.

Ready?

Ooh.

Good job, son.

Okay, gonna pull up real quick.

Woo.

Ah.

Thank you!

Awesome job, son.

[Wade] Uh-hmm.

I'm glad you're
with me to help me.

[Wade] Yeah.

My parents always took
us along with them.

I remember my sister
being in my mom's parky.

Like, quite a bit
of a new-born baby,

and we're chasing
down a bear, you know?

I try my best not to
forget things like that,

because it gives me the mindset

that I'm able to take my son out

and do those kind of adventures.

Real hard.

One, two, three.

[snow machine engine running]

Woo!

For us to take him out snaring

and have him have the
interest in the cycle of life,

and going out in the cold

and being able to
do things like this,

it makes all happy

because he is a real
boy in the Arctic.

He's a little Inupiaq.

[upbeat music]

[Sue] I'm not afraid to try
things I haven't done before.

What makes you
think you can do it?

What makes you think I can't?

[gentle dramatic music]

Try and get ready to make
a little weathervane here.

I got a lot of ideas
floating around in my brain

on how I wanna do it.

[Narrator] In Kavik, Sue
Aikens is making devices

that will warn her
of the weather,

but don't rely on technology.

With power outages
and generator failures

a constant threat in
the volatile tundra,

these tools could
be the difference
between life and death.

I'm always into
repurposing and reusing.

I do have, this stock from a gun

that I had to change out.

I also had, I broke a handle
of a broom a while back.

And my thought is,

gun's not very good if
it doesn't have a barrel.

And where that sucker
points is shooting dead nuts

at where your weather
system's coming in from.

That's where your wind is.

That's kind of cool.

The weathervane is for wind.

So when I was deciding to
do my no-technology gig,

I went, "Oh, yeah.

That's gonna tell me where
the wind's coming from."

There's a storm a-brewing,
and you better get going home.

The wind direction is
extremely important,

for my knowledge, for the
survival of camp and myself.

I get hundred-mile-an-hour
windstorms.

Why does direction
matter so much?

Out of the south, it's gonna
carry moisture and bring snow.

Snow matters.

That's gonna tell me drifting.

It's gonna bury
things that are here.

It's gonna bury me inside.

If it comes out of the north,

it's gonna be bringing
super cold weather with it.

It's coming straight
off the Arctic Ocean,

barreling in here.

That means a lot to me.

I wanna take this copper.

I want to start to form it
into the shape of the gun.

Why is everything
copper, metallic?

'Cause this finished product

is going to be 20, 22
feet up in the air.

I'm thinking I'm gonna
be able to see that,

and that's the dull side.

I can take my headlamp,

I can take a flashlight.

Even low indirect light,

which at best is
what I'm gonna get,

will radiate and shine back.

[laughs] This is one of
the more unique things

I've ever tried to put
together, that's for sure.

But, this really is
starting to take shape

and look like what
it's intended to be.

Pretty cool.

[Ricko] Living out here,
you got to be humble.

It's like a balance

of everything providing
for you out here.

And if you disrespect
that balance,

it comes back to
you in a bad way.

[soft music]

[Narrator] Ricko has
travelled to an area

that he has never been
before during the winter.

After setting traps for marten

in hopes of harvesting
valuable furs,

he's now taking a moment
pay his respects to the land

and to his Athabaskan roots.

Ooh, a owl over there.

That's usually a sign that
you're in a good spot.

Got a little firewood here.

The elders always tell us, when
you're in an area like this,

when you first get there,

try to burn food and say antla.

It's like a way
of giving respect.

This is like old, old land here.

It belongs to our ancestors

and we believe there're
spirits in these lands,

so I've got to
respect that area.

Burn food, say antla.

Just, it's our way
of giving respect

to the people that
went before us

and to also say I'm only
here for a little while

and then I'll leave it
again, back to where it was.

[fire crackling]

Antla.

A bit of cooked meat.

Antla.

We like to do candy too,

something sweet for
people that are gone.

Anaa basee.

Eena, eetah.

Sauza.

Antla.

It's just a native prayer

that was passed on
generation-to-generation.

That's how the
natives say, thank you

and give our respect
to the people

that have gone before us.

And, just for luck, too,

it's like you don't
wanna have bad luck.

This is tough country.

Just right out
here, when I was 13,

me and my late dad, we
found my brother Alan.

He had an accident, he died
in that trapping cabin.

Just like, maybe, two or
three miles down this valley.

We went to get
him for Christmas.

It was December, 1988.

We had a bunch of
good food for him

because I knew he'd be so
happy to eat good food,

and then we came
up on the cabin.

I seen his snowshoe tracks
where he tried to come home.

He shot his wrist and
he shot his pinky off.

And way out here, just a
little accident like that,

it cost him his life and I've
seen death at a young age

and in those eyes, you can
just tell when they're gone.

I cried so hard coming home

and I got home and I had to
tell, me and my late dad,

we had to tell the
rest of the siblings.

And everybody's
crying, you know.

And I had that food for him
and my ma, I said, "Mom.

What do I do with this?"
you know, and Mom was like,

"Burn that food and say antla."

And 'cause I had that
food I was gonna give him

and that broke my
heart, you know,

to have to give it
to him that way.

[Ricko sobbing]

But...

it's, um...

Some death, you never
really get over,

or you can't speak about
it or you'll break down.

That's how I feel
about my brother Alan.

That I can't say enough
to how much I loved him.

It changed my life, to lose him.

By getting on that
mountain and burning food

and paying my respect
and looking over the land

that I lost something
in my life in,

maybe helps me
get over something

that's been bothering
me in my life.

It's not a lonely feeling
anymore, being out here.

I'm bringing life back
into this country.

[dramatic music]

Ho!

Like I got lucky on this one.

Big marten.

I just had this out today,

and I already got
a marten in it.

This is a real
pretty marten here.

Dark fur like this.

What I'm trying to do
right now is get enough fur

so I can give some away at
my late sister's potlatch.

So, I'm real happy to have
luck out here to have this

and real good country here.

As they say, "Anaa basee.

Denah, hatoe, sooghe.

Means like "Thank you for
what you give me to the land

or the creator."

It's a blessing to have this.

I very much respect
for this animal.

[gentle piano music]

It's a good feeling
for me to catch marten

on the way back
from setting traps.

It reassures me that
I did something right.

I paid my respect,
honoured the ancestors,

I put my traps out, and
I have luck coming home,

so I must have did
everything right

and I'm getting
blessings from the land.

There's a deep purpose in life

and it's connected
with love and honour

and tradition and culture.

And for me to be able to
harvest an animal is an honour.

The animal's actually
gifted itself to me.

[dramatic music]

[Andy] You plan, you
think about things,

but sometimes, a very subtle
thing that you do wrong

can be the difference
between success and failure.

[soft music]

[Denise] Oh.

[Andy] That looks like
it froze pretty hard.

[Denise] Oh, boy.

[Andy] Yeah, we're not gonna
push any of that slush now.

[Denise] Oh, no.

Shoot.

I'm kind of thinking
maybe what we ought to do

is just go get a canoe.

'Cause that'll slide like
a dogsled on this ice.

Oh, this whole burbot
fishing expedition,

which is what it turned into,

was a big experiment, actually.

It was something I
haven't done before

and certainly haven't done
at this time of the year.

And weather plays a big
role this time of year

in changing conditions

and Denise and I had
to do a lot of adapting

to whatever the
conditions threw at us.

It sure is complicated fishing.

[Denise laughing]

I never worked so hard to
catch no fish in my life.

It's gonna be the best
fish you ever ate.

Ah, no kidding.

Okay.

Let's go.

My heart's been set on getting
this last fish of the year.

We definitely pushed
this to the limit,

and we pushed a little
bit past the limit.

Today is absolutely the last
day for fyke net fishing.

Okay.

What do we got here?

[Andy] We don't care
anything about these.

Just grab the hoop and keep
the hoop out of the water.

[Denise] Okay.

I just don't wanna

-get the wrong end.
-It's gonna be full of ice

you just have to
hold it there, okay?

Don't worry about

-doing anything else.
-Okay.

I'm just gonna get
everything freed up.

Okay, let me see if I can
get the ball free now.

[Denise] Okay.

This is a little
different than pulling

the salmon nets in the summer.

What happened?

[Andy] Floating now.

This end of the boat is
in the water floating.

[Denise] Eeh, okay.

[Andy] You know,
what might be easiest

is for me to just pull
that anchor out right now.

'Cause we're gonna
pull the net anyway,

and then we don't have to
fight the weight of the anchor.

I'm gonna lean as far
this way as we can.

Let's get the boat
more in the water

and get as low as you can

-in the boat, Denise.
-I will.

[Andy] Okay.

[Denise] Yeah.

[Andy] All right.

I just want all the
leverage I can get

to help me hold this.

Me versus the burbot,
and I'm taking this one.

Whew.

Careful.

One, two, three, go.

Ugh.

That'll make it easier.

-Okay.
-All right.

[Denise] Can I look?

We're both here.

We're both above water.

[Andy] It's the moment of truth,

-do we have any fish or not?
-Ho-ho!

[Denise] Oh, come on!

-Oh, we got a burbot.
-Oh, we got one!

-Yay!
-Okay! Okay!

-Just take a moment.
-Yay!

[Denise] Take a second here.

There is a burbot in the net.

Wow.

He's a good size.

[Andy] It's not a giant one
but it could be a good eater.

[Denise] Nice.

[Andy] One, two, three.

Ugh.

All right,

-burbot in the boat.
-Nice.

-Yes.
-All right!

-Oh!
-Dinner.

I am really, really glad
that we rolled that dice

and took the risk.

We worked really hard
for this one burbot.

But there was something
that was driving us

for a fish in the net
and this one burbot

is like the grand prize and
worth every minute of it.

[Andy] Let's go back
to shore with our fish!

[Denise] Okay!

-Yay!
-Fish in the boat!

[Denise] Burbot on
board, burbot on board!

The big takeaway for me is,

it is a viable way to fish

but probably better done a
little early in the season

when you're not
fighting all of the ice.

But I wanna learn new
skills all the time,

because you never know
what's gonna happen.

And so, knowing the
different seasons

and what you can
do in those seasons

to get food for yourself,
that's just security.

And that's what it's all about.

Security and
independence for me.

Ames, you want a piece?

That's hot.

-You like that, huh?
-Look it.

Good stuff, huh, Ames?

Hmm.

Tasty burbot.

That's delicious.

[Andy] Was it worth
all that work?

[Denise] Absolutely.

[Sue] I don't want to
have to depend on a system

that may not work.

I want to rely on Mother Nature.

Mother Nature
doesn't get it wrong.

Mother Nature just is.

[gentle dramatic music]

Hurry, Sue.

Hurry.

Daylight's a-burning.

Looks pretty good, actually.

Whew.

Here we have the weathervane.

Little dab will
do me over there.

Little dab will
do me over there.

Here we go.

It is cold outside,

but I want to get it up.

I'm anxious to get my no-tech
weather station running

and seeing if it's gonna work.

I can definitely feel a
little breeze coming through,

it's gonna make it a little
bit difficult actually

to get the weathervane up.

It's making it a little
difficult on my hands.

Why, as I get older,

in the middle of the
digital generations,

am I wanting to go
back to dumbing down?

Because I can't help but think,

the interweb goes down,

this is gonna be
valuable information.

Woo.

Man, that wind is
making it brutal.

My glue is already
starting to freeze.

Come on.

Ah.

You turn on your T.V. and
you see some weatherman.

You're counting on electronics

and a person that's paid to
read even more electronics.

Many times, it's incorrect.

'Cause a computer can
only take a bunch of facts

and figures and conjections
and make a good guess.

This is taking the conditions
that actually exist in nature

and just says,
"Here's the facts.

Read 'em yourself."

Looking good.

All right.

You're doing good, Susie-cusie.

This is gonna work like a charm.

Look at that.

Awesome.

It works.

Woo!

Another project under the belt.

I got my Fitzroy storm glass.

Got my barometer made.

Finally, a way to tell what
kind of weather's coming in,

how severe is it gonna be

and what direction is
it gonna be coming from.

Something that's gonna give
me a natural, educated guess.

Well done, Susie.

Good job.

[soft electronic music]