Pam Smith’s Eyak Name, Kushtaka Beliefs, and Reflections on Chugach Migration

Creators and Contributors Berlin Ethnological Museum (Contributor)
Chugach Alaska Corporation (Contributor)
Chugach Heritage Foundation (Contributor)
Chugachmiut (Contributor)
John F.C. Johnson (Contributor)
Pamela Smith (Contributor)

Summary Pam Smith recalls the story of receiving an Eyak name from Sophie Brodkin after Brodkin’s cancer diagnosis. When Smith asked for a name, Brodkin told her to return in three days. Upon returning, Smith received the name but was not given its meaning—Brodkin said it was enough to receive it. Smith shared the name widely in the community, though she did not know what it meant. Later, while speaking with Elders in Yakutat, Nellie Lord recognized the name as not Eyak but meaningful nonetheless—translated as "a woman who carries an important message from afar." Smith reflects on the significance of receiving the name from an Eyak woman and her continued curiosity about her Tlingit name.
Smith also shares spiritual teachings from her grandmother, particularly warnings about speaking of the kushtakaw. Her grandmother stressed that negative energy and attention could invite the being into a conversation or one’s life. Smith describes a personal experience at Kushtakaw Lake, where she felt so unsettled she could not sleep, tying it to her grandmother’s caution.
John Johnson adds to the conversation by recounting traditional migration stories of the Chugach people and an oral interpretation of the name “Chugach, Chugach” as meaning “hurry, hurry.”