Hunt History

For thousands of years, coastal peoples of the Pacific Northwest timed their lives to the eulachon runs. Nets woven of cedar bark, dip nets, and long-handled baskets were used to scoop the fish from river shallows. The fat-rich bodies were rendered into a golden oil that became a dietary staple and trade good—the famous “grease trails” carried it hundreds of kilometers inland, connecting coastal and interior Indigenous nations. Eulachon hunting was as much a cultural event as an economic necessity, marking the first return of abundance after winter’s scarcity.

Archaeological Evidence of Human Predation:

Nass River, British Columbia (3,000 years ago): Eulachon bones found in shell middens show long-term seasonal harvests and oil rendering.

Yakutat Bay, Alaska (2,000 years ago): Fish remains in coastal hearths associated with stone net sinkers suggest early spring fisheries.

Fraser River, British Columbia (1,200 years ago): Layers of compressed eulachon bones indicate repeated communal processing events during annual spawning runs.

Residue analysis:
In many Pacific Northwest coastal sites, archaeologists have found greasy, oxidized lipid residues inside stone or wooden-lined pits—sometimes associated with eulachon bones. Chemical analysis shows a high concentration of marine-derived fatty acids, notably omega-3–rich oils consistent with fish lipids rather than terrestrial mammals. Some of these residues were recovered from ancient “boiling pits” or stone-boil depressions dated between roughly 3,000 and 800 years ago along the Nass and Skeena Rivers.

Artifact associations:
At several sites, clusters of fire-cracked rock, charred cobbles, and pit features correspond to known ethnographic descriptions of oil rendering. Stones were heated, then dropped into baskets or wooden boxes filled with water and fish, effectively “boiling” the mixture to release oil, which would rise to the surface for skimming. The tools and pit configurations match later documented grease-making methods used into the 19th century.

Ethnographic continuity:
Ethnohistorical records from the Tlingit, Haida, Nisga’a, Tsimshian, and Kwakwaka’wakw describe eulachon rendering in vivid detail. Large caches of fish were allowed to ferment slightly, then heated in water to separate the oil, which was stored in bentwood boxes or kelp bladders. These accounts come from the earliest European observers (like Alexander Mackenzie and George Vancouver) but clearly describe an ancient, well-established practice.

Trade and linguistic evidence:
The existence of the “Grease Trails”—Indigenous trade routes running from the coast to interior nations—correlates perfectly with the distribution of eulachon remains and rendering sites. The very name “grease trail” reflects the product’s economic and symbolic importance. Oral traditions and linguistic records preserve this continuity, suggesting the trade predates colonial contact by millennia.