The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 776: Sea Otters, Skunks, and Brain Matter | MeatEater Radio Live!
Oct 10, 2025
Heather Douville, a Southeast Alaska Tlingit hunter and cultural educator, shares her experiences in subsistence living and her new series, Our Way of Life. She dives into tanning hides and the importance of traditional skills. Guy Grunewald, a fur industry expert, reveals the surprising rise in skunk tail demand and explains the intricacies of fur preparation. They discuss recent market trends, pricing tiers, and even the unexpected use of skunk tails in Orthodox Jewish hats. Tips on hunting preparation and legal advice for transporting game flesh add a practical twist!
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Traditional Name And Language Correction
- Heather Douville introduces her traditional name Kutink and clan Shunkwady and corrects pronunciation kindly.
- She explains dog commands are in Tlingit and taught the MeatEater crew, showing cultural everyday life.
Bark Tanning And Clean Shots
- Practice bark tanning and use non-toxic tannins from trees for safer, compostable leather.
- Heather recommends shooting deer in the head to avoid hide damage when you plan to save the pelt.
First Deer Hunt Mistake
- Heather recounts her first deer hunt where she tried to shoot the buck in the body and missed, crying afterward.
- She learned not to shoot through brush and now tames hides carefully to avoid scoring them.
