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Ted Melgenak

Ted Melgenak is a Suqpiag (Alutiiq) elder from South Naknek, Alaska. He was born in 1937, and Pelagia Melgenak (whom he calls "Old Lady Gramma") and her husband, One-Arm Nick Melgenak, adopted him as a toddler after his mother died and raised him as their youngest child. Pelagia and Nick taught Teddy how to live a traditional subsistence lifestyle, which included learning how to hunt, fish, trap and harvest and use plants. Teddy worked for the National Park Service at Katmai National Park where he had a chance to revisit his childhood summer home and recall his early encounters with bears and fish.

Ted Melgenak appears in the following new Jukebox projects:

Katmai National Park

South Naknek Place Name Map

South Naknek Slideshow

Interview Title	Abstract	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Date of Interview
Ted Melgenak	Ted Melgenak was interviewed on March 22, 1998 by Pat Partnow in her hotel room in King Salmon, Alaska. As Ted talked, he studied a map of the area, locating sites where he trapped, hunted, fished, and gathered plant resources through the years. Because of Teddy's years spent with elders, he was also able to remember stories they told about Old Savonoski before the 1912 volcanic eruption of Mt. Katmai, and traditional songs and stories. In this interview, Teddy also talks about his subsistence activities in the area, learning from his parents Pelagia and Nick Melgenak, fishing and preparing fish, collecting plants and using them for traditional medicine, and how things have changed since the establishment of Katmai National Park.	98-22-04	Katmai National Park	Mar 22, 1998