few hundred are left to spawn in any given stream. In the Upper Kuskokwim Athabascan language, August is (lit. 'coho salmon month'). Whitefish, northern pike, Arctic grayling, inconnu (sheefish), suckers, burbot (lingcod, lush) and a few resident Dolly Varden trout are present but these are also widely dispersed and not present in every stream. According to the people in the Upper Kuskokwim region, Dolly Varden trout () used to be much more common in the past, spawning in the area where salmon also spawn. However, it seems that their number has decreased recently. The round whitefish (), lake whitefish or broad whitefish (, ), and humpback whitefish () are the most abundant group of fish north of the Alaska Range, inhabiting almost every type of river and freshwater habitat in this section of Alaska. Northern pike (, ) are harvested by people of Upper Kuskokwim region in summer, fall and during freeze-up. In Upper Kuskokwim region, Arctic grayling () are harvested in summer, fall and early winter, using rod and reel gear or nets. Sheefish () are harvested in the Upper Kuskokwim drainage mainly in summer months between June and August and less frequently in September and October. Burbot or lingcod () used to be harvested with nets in Upper Kuskokwim region. Traditionally, people set up a fish trap made out of spruce to catch Alaska blackfish (, ) beneath the ice in winter. Other fish species include the longnose sucker (). Beginning in late spring and continuing throughout the summer and early fall months, both adults and children gathered a variety of plants and vegetative materials. Fruit and berries such as blueberries (), salmonberries (), lowbush cranberries (), highbush cranberries (, ), raspberries (), crowberries (), kinnikinnick berries (), timberberries, and wild rose hips (, ), edible roots such as Hedysarum alpinum (Indian potato, Alaska carrot or wild carrot, ), and assorted plants were eaten fresh, preserved for later consumption, or used for medicinal purposes. Kinship The Upper Kuskokwim kinship is based on what is formally known as an Iroquois kinship and reflects the matrilineal clan system and the importance of cross cousin marriage. The Upper Kuskokwim social system characterized by unilineal descent and a division into three named, matrilineal, common descent or clan-like groups. These groups were: (lit. 'fish people'), (lit. 'middle kind' or 'people in the middle'), and (lit. 'caribou people'). Culture Religion Animism and shamanism Historically