Access Note: You MUST access this location using Small Boat Launch Road! Do not attempt any short-cuts, as they will put you in hazardous locations as you trespass active high-use railroad facilities, heavy freight facilities, and water passages. There is no public transportation to the site, and the restrooms are not open in the wintertime. The road is the only access, and it’s well-maintained (although bumpy at times!)
This virtual brings you to an overlook at Anchorage’s Small Boat Launch facility, at the west end of Small Boat Launch Road, where you will encounter a bronze statue of an elderly woman holding dried fish. Included in the art installation is a traditional fish drying rack and a fish trap. What you see as you visit this location known as Tak’ak, is a testimonial to the Dena’ina Athabascan people, who were an early indigenous population of the Knik Arm area. The simple description belies the extensive history and culture represented by this sculpture, down to the very details of boots and clothing worn by this woman, which demonstrate how Dena’ina people clothed themselves using the resources of the land and waters where they lived.
The sculpture is by local artist Joel Isaak, himself a member of the Dena’ina people, who is a graduate of University of Alaska fine arts program and holds a master of fine arts in sculpture. Joel spent more than a year working on the project, delving into the fine details he would craft even as he purposed to create a site where the sculpture would stand in balance to the copper statue of Captain Cook located on the city’s bluff to the southeast. Funded by the United States Maritime Administration as part of expansion work at the nearby Port of Anchorage, this project is the outcome of a promise to fund art honoring the Native Village of Eklutna. As you read the interpretive panels, you’ll soon grasp why Eklutna is represented here, on part of the lands owned by their people. Adding to the intriguing story of this site is the knowledge that Joel Isaak is a distant relative of ‘Grandma Olga’ – the very woman this sculpture honors.
There is a geocaching Adventure Lab (created by local geocacher Valerieseaker), which begins here and takes you to five locations across Anchorage as part of an effort to acknowledge the traditional lands of the Dena’ina people and their stewardship of the land. I strongly urge you to complete this adventure lab to help you gain understanding about the Dena’ina, and how their lives were changed forever as others came to live here in the aftermath of Captain Cook. Take time to read the interpretive panels at this site. If you desire to know more about the Dena’ina, visit this website: Eklutna Inc.
In order to log your visit here, please include a photograph in your log from your visit (with either yourself or a personal item in the photo) which doesn’t include any of the interpretive panels, but which does confirm you were at this site. This honors the heritage found here. Suggestions include scenic shots, photos of beluga whales trying to harvest salmon, or modern-day fisherman trying their hand at salmon harvest too. Additionally, please message the cache owner with your answers (from the interpretive panels) to these questions:
1) what is a tanik’edi?
2) what is the name of the parents of the three daughters who owned this fish camp site?
3) where is Grandma Olga originally from?
4) what was the Dena’ina name for Ship Creek?
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.