Sister Act

Sisters Renia Kukowski and Cathy Drum grew up in Indian Valley Meats. Some of their most memorable family pictures are of Cathy wrapping meat and Renia packing. Running a family business in Indian, Alaska required an all hands on deck approach. “In the 70s, Mom and Dad embarked on a journey from Michigan to Alaska with their newborn baby, heading towards the land of opportunity,” says Kukowski. Their father Doug Drum was a trained meat cutter and knew that there was serious game meat in Alaska. When the business opened in 1976, they processed game and then moved into bulk items of smoked ham, bacon and turkey for people to take into remote backcountry.

“My husband remembers when he was young, that his father would come into Indian Valley Meats and purchase entire slabs of smoked bacon for them to take to Chicken Alaska where they would spend the summer gold prospecting,” states Kukowski. “That was a thing, back then. Entire families would go off into some isolated area for the summer and prospect or fish.”

Renia and Cathy’s father also worked with the owners of the reindeer herds on St. Pauls Island to help them obtain state inspection so that they could process and sell the meat to individuals. “My Dad knew how to butcher and grind meat for burgers. He had local friends that pitched in and helped him develop the recipes for reindeer polish sausages and the teriyaki sticks,” says Kukowski. “I remember there were a lot of burned batches.”

It was that sense of community that inspired Doug to work with native elders in meat processing. He developed a two-week course where individuals from the villages would come to the store and learn how they could provide for their people. According to Renia, they covered everything, including sharpening knives and packaging and selling the meat. “But it was more than just my Dad teaching. There was a real sharing of knowledge where he learned about things like processing a whale,” says Kukowski.

Family stands not only as the cornerstone of their existence but also their business, offering unwavering support and a sense of belonging. “Our mom Millie is 78, and she still works at the store three days a week. She would work every day if we let her,” says Kukowski. Today Indian Valley Meats processes over 175,000 pounds of bone-in game meat a year, not including all the other boneless meat such as hotdogs and sausage. While the family business has grown from the early days, the sisters still retain a sense of tradition and quality in all the meat they process. They also count all their customers as family. “It was humbling during the pandemic that people made it a priority to come out and support us. That sense of community where everyone pitches in and comes together is what makes Alaska unique.”

To order from Indian Valley Meats please visit: indianvalleymeats.com. Address: 200 Huot Circle, Indian, Alaska 99540