Dori Thompson pours hooligan into a heating tank on May 2, 2024, at the Lkoot Kwáan culture camp.  (Lex Treinen/Chilkat Valley News)
Dori Thompson pours hooligan into a heating tank on May 2, 2024, at the Lkoot Kwáan culture camp. (Lex Treinen/Chilkat Valley News)

A thick, pungent smell wafts up from a five-foot, wood-plank pit as workers slosh thousands of sausage-sized hooligan that have been sitting for about a week. 

For the dozen or more people gathered on the banks of the Chilkoot River, it’s a good smell. 

“They’re ripe,” said Marsha Hotch, a…