THE CHANGING PEOPLE
The Changing People film was made to support the fledgling Yukon Delta Fish Marketing Co-op, which I had helped fishermen to organize in the Lower Yukon River village of Emmonak. The co-op was started by eight Emmonak fishermen who wanted to challenge the salmon fishing established order in the Lower Yukon River. The main fishing operations came from Seattle for king salmon season. The main company also owned the only store in the Lower Yukon. When I asked the fishermen how much they were paid per pound for their fish, they laughed. They said they never saw a scale. The Seattle fishing companies bought by the fish at a ridiculously low price. The fishing season was short so it was hard to get through the winter without building up a lot of credit debt from the Seattle company store. When the Seattle company rep approached local fishermen, they preyed on the ones that owed the most money to the company store. When I had the first meetings with the Emmonak fishermen, the word started to get around about the co-op and the fishermen who joined early on were faced with losing their credit at the Seattle company store. As a result, most of the fishermen in the Lower Yukon were taking a wait-and-see attitude before making the move to join the co-op. The Changing People film challenged Seattle control of the fishery by offering a village owned alternative that Lower Yukon fishermen could join to become truly independent fishermen.