01x29 - King Run/The Native Youth Olympics

[bunniefuu]

Hey, everyone-- it's me, Molly!

♪ Molly of Denali ♪

Let's go!

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

(laughing): Whooo!

♪ By plane or sled or snowshoe ♪

♪ She is ready to explore ♪

♪ From Kaktovik down to Juneau ♪

♪ Always wanting to learn more ♪

Yeah!

♪ Together with her best friend Tooey ♪

♪ Always by her side ♪

And Trini!

♪ Discovering the outdoors ♪

♪ On adventures day and night ♪

♪ Come along with Molly ♪

♪ Molly ♪

♪ Through fields of fireweed ♪

♪ Come along with Molly ♪

♪ Molly ♪

♪ From tundra to the sea ♪

Mahsi'choo-- let's go!

♪ Molly of Denali ♪

Yeah! ♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

♪ Come on ♪ ♪ Let's go! ♪

♪ Molly of Denali ♪

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

MOLLY: "King Run."

Hey, everyone, it's me, Molly.

We've been waiting forever,

and now it's finally here!

Salmon season! (phone camera chirps)

MOLLY: We're going fishing for Luk Choo.

That's king salmon in Gwich'in, one of our Native languages.

It's the biggest and yummiest of all salmon! (phone camera chirps)

And it's a big honor for families

to catch the first one of the year.

When we do, fingers crossed,

we'll have a big celebration!

Look, we're almost there!

MOLLY: Fish camp!

Doesn't it look great?

Our family has fished here for hundreds of years.

(phone camera chirps)

MOLLY: That's where we sleep.

And that's the drying hut.

And these are the drying racks.

Here's the cache where we store the fish.

And that's where we smoke the fish.

(Tooey panting)

Phew!

And that's the most important thing of all:

the fish wheel,

which catches the fish!

It's pretty so-fish-ticated.

But after a long winter,

it needs a little repair.

See you next time!

(phone camera chirps)

Hmm.

Hmm.

BOTH: Hmm.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

That's a lot of hmm-ing.

KENJI (sighs): All in all, could be worse.

Agreed-- the winter's been kind.

Just the fish baskets are damaged.

Wait, you can't catch fish with broken baskets.

That's bad, right?

(chuckles): Nah.

We can patch these up.

You two want to help me?

Yes, totally!

Is it hard? How long does it take?

What tools do you need? What do you do first?

Wow, that was, like, four questions

and you didn't even take a breath.

The more you ask, the more you learn.

First, we'll need spruce poles to fit on the frame.

Now we strip the bark.

Remember, always point the Kn*fe away from you.

Like this?

Just like that.

Once you've made a cut,

peel off a strip with your hands.

Wow, cool!

Now we soak the spruce poles.

How do you know how long to soak them?

We check to see if they're pliable.

What do you mean, pliable?

GRANDPA NAT: Go ahead,

take one and try bending it now.

Wow, it's super-bendy.

Super-bendy! (laughs)

Well, that's a good description of "pliable."

Now they're ready to use.

♪ ♪

(wood creaks)

♪ ♪

(murmuring)

(moans)

(murmurs)

♪ ♪

(creaking)

(cheering)

(laughs) Mm-hmm.

Love the sound of that wheel turning.

(moans)

♪ ♪

Aww, look at this cute otter!

(pants and moans)

(moans)

(Suki barks, otter squeaks)

(Suki moans)

(laughs)

Aww, poor Suki.

(exhales deeply): Peace and quiet.

Native time. (chuckles)

A good day.

We got a lot of work done.

What if the king salmon don't come?

The fish will give themselves to us when they're ready.

Like now!

(fish splashes)

The first Luk Choo!

♪ ♪

(murmuring)

Aww, Suki girl, it's just an otter.

(sighs): Yeah, someone's having salmon for dinner,

and it's not us.

(Tooey snoring softly)

GRANDPA NAT: I see Tooey gave up

waiting for more Luk Choo.

I'm not tired yet.

The fish are gonna come any minute now.

Better we stop the fish wheel

and start up again in the morning

after a good night's sleep.

(Molly breathing evenly)

(both snoring softly)

(chuckles)

Sleep tight, Shgguya.

Oyasumi, little wolf.

(wind howling)

(wood creaking)

(crashes, water splashes)

Huh?

(yawns)

(Molly yawns)

Tooey? You up?

Wasn't it crazy last night?

All that wind.

(yawns)

I didn't hear a thing.

Did I miss anything else?

Only a giant river monster swallowing the fish wheel.

What?

(laughs): Kidding.

♪ ♪

(panting)

(both gasp)

It's, it's gone!

You said you were kidding. I was!

How could the fish wheel just disappear?

Well, well, well, we have a mystery on our hands.

Let's hope Kenji and I see some sign

of that big old fish wheel down river.

You and Tooey look along the riverbank.

Here, take this walkie talkie.

Give a shout if you see anything.

We're on it.

Just don't go too close to the bank!

Sure, Grandpa.

How could something so big just disappear?

Maybe aliens beamed it up into their spaceship.

(sings eerily)

(mirthlessly): Ha, ha.

It's not funny.

Without a fish wheel,

we might not have king salmon for another whole year!

(gasps): We have to find that wheel!

(moaning and sniffing)

Suki?

Wait!

Suki!

Come back!

TOOEY: We're supposed to be looking for the fish wheel!

♪ ♪

(panting)

She had to go through the mud, didn't she?

Mud's no problem-- come on!

♪ ♪

(Tooey yelps)

Gotcha!

(exhales): Now where?

Suki!

Where are you? (Suki barking in distance)

(gasps): This way!

(barking)

Good old Suki found the fish wheel!

More like she found an otter who found the fish wheel.

(squeaks and chirps)

But how did the fish wheel get all the way down here?

MOLLY: Maybe this tree fell in the wind storm last night.

I thought I heard a crash.

Oh, yeah.

And then it slammed into the fish wheel,

knocked it into the river, and it floated down here.

Shchada'a.

Come in, Shchada'a.

GRANDPA NAT: Go for Shchada'a!

We've got good news and bad news.

We'll have to cut away the tree first.

That'll take some time.

Hmm, this is worse than I thought.

What if the Luk Choo are all gone

before we can get the fish wheel

back to camp and fix it? Hmm.

(gasps): Come on, Tooey.

I have an idea!

Grandpa, we'll meet you back at fish camp.

We're gonna need a bunch of spruce poles,

six feet tall.

We'll need at least a dozen.

Then we have to peel them.

Oh, and remember,

Grandpa said we have to soak them till they're...

Super-bendy!

(both laughing)

♪ ♪

(outboard motor running)

We'll need to fix the frame first,

then think about the fish baskets.

That'll take another day.

Can't help that.

MOLLY: Maybe we can.

We've been soaking these.

Pliable, see?

Somebody listened closely, and asked good questions.

Nice job, kids.

You cut our work in half!

♪ ♪

MOLLY: Yes!

Mahsi'choo, Luk Choo!

Thank you!

♪ ♪

Mmm, mmm, looks delicious.

Enaa baasee', Molly.

Happy to help.

Nothing like the first Luk Choo of the season.

And we couldn't have done it without the help of...

Suki!

(moans)

TOOEY (laughs): What about us?

Oh, you two helped a little, too.

(laughs)

♪ ♪

Ch'aroo'aa!

Dig in!

BOTH: Mmm.

(all exclaiming)

DAD: Oh, that's so good. Yummy!

Waitin' all year. (chuckles)

Hey, everyone!

Molly here to answer your questions about life in Alaska.

Paul in Arkansas asks, "What is fish camp like?"

My friends can show you.

ALL: Hi, Molly.

Today we're getting fish from the fish wheel.

GIRL: Salmon is really important

to our Alaska Native culture and diet.

BOY: Our auntie taught us how the fish wheel works.

WOMAN: That wheel, it goes round and round

and the fish goes into the pocket.

BOY: I had some questions.

Why does it have to face that direction?

Because the fish swim upstream.

And the net faces that direction

because the fish will swim right into the net.

Why do you put it in this spot?

WOMAN: Water has to be fast enough and deep enough

for the wheel to spin.

♪ ♪

BOY: We helped put the fish in the bucket.

♪ ♪

This came from the fish wheel.

♪ ♪

GIRL: Now we have our fish all ready,

and we're gonna learn how to cut it.

BOY: How do I know where to put my Kn*fe?

WOMAN: Just feel along with your Kn*fe and you can feel that bone

as you're going underneath it.

♪ ♪

BOY: This is the smokehouse where we hang our fish.

♪ ♪

GIRL: Why do we hang the fish?

WOMAN: So that it can dry,

and then the smoke gives it flavor.

♪ ♪

GIRL: Smoking the fish preserves it, so we can eat it all year round.

♪ ♪

ALL: Bye, Molly!

MOLLY: Mahsi'choo!

Thanks for asking, and see you next time!

MOLLY: "Native Youth Olympics."

Anything else?

A stack of life jackets.

Oh.

Those go next to the yo-yos.

Right, because you always want

to have a yo-yo when you're on a boat.

Not sure I'll ever understand your organizing system, Molls.

MOLLY: Dad, it makes total sense.

(exhales, box hits floor) Oops.

Hey.

What are these?

Oh, those are my medals from the Native Youth Olympics.

You were in the Native Youth Olympics?

Mm-hmm.

And you won medals?

Yes.

(gasps)

(computer camera chirps)

Big, big news.

I just found out my dad competed in the Native Youth Olympics!

And he won all these medals.

I never knew Qyah even had a team.

But they did when my dad was a kid.

I can show you.

My dad has some old photos.

This is the Native Youth Olympics.

We call it the N.Y.O. Games for short.

Kids come from all over Alaska

to compete in these cool events,

like this.

This is my dad back when he was a kid,

doing the Alaskan high kick.

My dad won a bunch of medals, but he never won the gold.

No one in Qyah ever did.

But that's all about to change,

because Qyah needs to have a team again,

only this time I'm bringing home the gold!

(Grandpa Nat clears throat)

You know, Shgguya,

N.Y.O. isn't about winning medals.

It's about helping your teammates

be the best athletes they can be.

Oh, yeah, I'll do that, too.

While I'm winning the gold.

And I know just who can coach us.

I'd love to!

Think you could get a team together?

(door opens, bell rings)

Here's my first teammate now.

Come on, let's find the rest of the team.

What?

Team?

I came in for kibble.

♪ ♪

(softly): Wanna be in N.Y.O.?

♪ ♪

(yelps)

♪ ♪

MOLLY: N.Y.O. needs you.

♪ ♪

Now for the equipment.

♪ ♪

Thanks for the N.Y.O. gear, Grandpa Nat.

(chuckles): I always hoped we'd have a team again.

Let me know when practice starts!

I'll bring snacks!

♪ ♪

(bird cawing)

(yelping)

Gotcha.

Phew!

Thanks, Molly.

I thought I was gonna fall...

(hits ground)

Tooey! Are you okay?

(yelping)

(grunts, hits ground)

(rustling)

How do you do that?

Do what?

Come on, we gotta get to practice.

(both grunt and fall)

(whistle blows)

DAD: We're starting with the two-foot high kick

because it'll give you an idea

of how challenging N.Y.O. can be.

Here's how it's done.

(grunts)

(exhales)

(kids exclaiming)

Who's up first?

♪ ♪

(chuckles): Mm-mm.

♪ ♪

(all cheering)

(cheering)

How'd you do that?

I did gymnastics in Texas.

We did a lot of jumping.

Perfect!

Because this is how high

you'll need to jump in the competition.

(gulps): Oh, boy.

♪ ♪

Hey, Molly-Doodle, what's wrong?

I guess I thought

because you were good at the high kick,

I'd be good at it, too.

I had to practice a lot.

I mean a lot, a lot.

Our first competition is still two months away.

Plus, there are a lot of other events

besides the two-foot high kick.

So I might find something I'm good at?

For sure.

But if not,

you've got lots of time

to practice and get better, right?

MOLLY: Right!

Stick pull.

Use the strength of your legs

and hang on tight.

♪ ♪

(blows whistle)

(grunting)

(yelps and grunts)

Guess I'll have to practice that, too.

DAD: In Bent-Wrist Carry,

you see how far you can go

without falling off.

(blows whistle)

MOLLY (grunts): Not very far.

That's another one I'll have to practice.

♪ ♪

(grunts)

Time to raise the ball again!

(Tooey yelping)

(grunts)

Tooey held on another ten feet!

Good job, Tooey!

(grunts)

GRANDPA NAT: You're not giving up, are you?

That doesn't sound like you.

Why not?

Everybody's getting better at stuff except me.

I started the team

because I wanted to win a gold medal for Qyah.

Well, for my dad, because...

Because he didn't win one.

Our first competition is tomorrow

and I won't win anything.

Come by the house in the morning.

I have a book about the history of N.Y.O.

It might help you.

Okay.

GRANDPA NAT: "A long time ago,

"our ancestors had to depend on each other to survive.

We..."

Have I put you to sleep already?

(laughs): No.

I'm picturing what you're reading in my head.

My teacher says

we'll understand books better if we do that.

(chuckles): Okay.

Picture away.

"Our ancestors had to depend on each other to survive.

"Each of the N.Y.O. games came about

"as a way to improve a hunter's strength, skill, and knowledge

"so they could gather more food to help their people survive.

(ice cracking) "The Kneel Jump helped hunters develop quick reflexes

"for jumping from a kneeling position

"and away from breaking ice.

"The Scissor Jump helped hunters

"move from ice floe to ice floe,

and back to land."

♪ ♪

So you see, that's why the Games aren't about who wins.

They're about helping each other.

Our survival depended on it.

When you help your teammates,

you help yourself, too.

Mahsi'choo, Grandpa,

for teaching me about the Games.

I promise I'll help my teammates

however I can.

(exhales): There you are!

We have to hurry!

Everybody's leaving for the Games!

Bye, Shchada'a!

I'll see you there!

♪ ♪

(yelping)

MOLLY (laughs): Come on, Tooey.

We're gonna be late!

But I...

(exhales): Okay.

♪ ♪

Contestants for the two-foot high kick,

please take your places.

Okay, Trini, you're up.

Whoa.

This is a lot of people.

Trini, don't worry about them.

You got this!

♪ ♪

(inhales, grunts)

(crowd and team cheering)

All right!

♪ ♪

My hands are so sweaty,

I don't think I'll be able to hold onto the stick.

Thanks, Molly.

♪ ♪

(straining)

Yeah!

Way to go!

(gasps)

(lace snaps) Oh, no!

Oh, no!

♪ ♪

Whoops! Pardon me.

Excuse me!

Shoelace emergency!

Whole-A!

♪ ♪

DAD: Molly!

You walked across the greased pole!

Is that an N.Y.O. event?

Yeah-- we didn't have a pole at our practices

'cause no one in Qyah could ever do that one!

(gasps): You mean...

I found my event!

You found your event!

♪ ♪

Hurry, the greased pole event is about to start!

And the gold medal for Greased-Pole Walking goes to...

Molly Mabray!

♪ ♪

(crowd cheering)

(all cheering)

♪ ♪

For you, and for Qyah.

No, Molly, it's yours.

You earned it, for all of us.

GRANDPA NAT: Gold for Qyah!

(all cheering)

Yeah! Woo-hoo!

♪ ♪