Community Corner – Skagway students write – Bannock Bliss: A Taste of Tradition

By Lola Long

On Thursday, Oct. 24, my grandma, Gladys Moran, came to Skagway School for a special presentation. I greeted her at the front door, and I was almost dragging her down the hallway to my fourth-grade classroom. She was carrying her electric frying pan and ingredients to make a Native American food called bannock, kind of like a flatbread. Gladys premixed the batter using 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp salt, 3 tbsp sugar and 1 ½ tsp baking powder. The fourth and fifth grade classes and I were so excited and had so many questions about how it would taste!

While she heated oil in the pan and fried up the batter, she told stories of her childhood and the time she spent with her Grandpa camping and eating bannock. She grew up in Tagish, Canada, and she later moved to Skagway, Alaska. Gladys cherished the time spent with her grandparents. Today, she enjoys the time she gets to spend with her grandchildren, so when I asked her if she could make bannock for my class, she happily agreed.

When the bannock was hot and ready, she opened up a little pocket and put raspberry freezer jam inside which was made by mashing up raspberries from her garden, adding sugar, and putting it in the freezer to enjoy later. She also makes a rhubarb chutney, hot sauce, and fireweed honey to use throughout the year and to share with her family and community. The students LOVED the bannock and enjoyed hearing my grandma’s stories.