- Pat Peterson: I think it was 1984.
I can't remember exactly.
We just came over here
because the treaties were reaffirmed,
and it opened the waters
to come down to the Keweenaw Bay area.
I run Peterson's Fish Market
and 4 Suns Fish & Chips take-out.
I oversee everything, but I can do everything.
I can prep, I can filet.
I can make nets, I can mend nets.
I can do book work.
We're from the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
When we got here, there was lots of prejudice around here.
They did not want us down here fishing.
They thought these fishing grounds belonged
just exclusively to them.
The cable man would come into the homes to hook up the cable
and he'd say, "You guys don't belong here.
"You'd better go back to Wisconsin."
In school, they were telling the younger kids
that those Wisconsin Indians don't belong here
and that they should go back home.
They have no right to be here.
In school, even.
They don't understand about treaty fishing
you know, what we gave up
for our rights to continue doing this today.
All the land they're on was ours.
In exchange for shoving us off our land,
putting us on these reservations,
we get to hunt and fish and gather rice
as long as the sun rises and sets.
Well, that's forever.
All the boys started working on the fish boats
when they were about 12.
It's a family tradition for the Petersons.
Our oldest son, Chris, he runs our fish boat.
- Chris Peterson: Actually, I like to call myself
the head of acquisitions.
Whitefish is our prime target.
Any trout we get is incidental.
It's always a hunt, east, west
north, south, in shallow or out deeper.
You know, it's always a constant hunt.
I've been lucky enough to be able to to find some
really good patches of fish.
You know, you have to read
what the nets are telling you.
Let's get as much fish as we can,
reset our gear,
get back to the shop.
And hopefully they're not completely out of fish.
We have a lot of people that depend on a lot of fish.
I know that if I don't catch enough, everybody suffers.
Not just the extended family, but all the employees.
I'm real proud that we provide so many jobs for the area.
You know, when people are getting laid off left and right,
we're still adding jobs.
- Pat: This December, it'll be 20 years
that we've been in operation.
So it's just been growing.
You know, lots of long hours,
lots of hard work.
All the people that were against us
are now customers.
The cable man came in one day and I said, "We made it."
Here he comes, buying our fish.
[laughing]
[slow electric guitar outro]