Hunting relieves stress of chief’s daily duties

Fort Albany Chief Andrew Solomon and Kashechewan Chief Jonathan Solomon recently shot a beaver while out hunting on the traditional lands near their communities on the James Bay coast.
“We smoked it and divided it in half,” Andrew said. “When I go out on the land I feel a real sense of belonging out there.”
Andrew said he doesn’t have any worries while out on the land, other than being safe and careful.
“You know that help is not near, so you have to be really careful in what you do,” he said. “You’ve got to respect the land too.”
Andrew said travelling on the muskeg can be dangerous, depending on the season.
“If you’re going to go far on the muskeg, you have to make sure it is dry,” he said. “You have to make sure in the winter time that it is frozen solid, and in the spring time you have to make sure it is not all thawed.”
Although Andrew enjoys relaxing while out on the land hunting and fishing, he makes sure he brings back all his garbage for disposal in the community.
“Whenever I can, I take off because that is where I get all my stress release,” Andrew said. “From hunting waterfowl, fishing, big-game hunting.”
Andrew shot one moose this fall while hunting near his community as well as numerous ducks, geese and fish on other outings.
“People were saying ‘Holy cow, how lucky is that,’” he said about his moose. “A lot of them go very far up the river.”
Andrew usually fishes for walleye, his favourite, and northern pike near the community whenever he has an opportunity.
“I enjoy fishing,” Andrew said. “I go close by; I can’t go very far because I only have a limited time to go somewhere and I have to get back to the community.”
Andrew usually fries up his fish and moose, but he prefers his geese and ducks smoked and boiled.
His largest harvest on the land was many years ago when he shot 50 geese over two days.
“When I was in my early 20s, I always limited myself to 50 geese,” Andrew said, explaining he plucked all the feathers, wrapped the geese in plastic and zipped them up in plastic bags before storing them in the freezer. “So when it comes to eating them, they are really fresh, almost like you got them that day. They were probably gone within two months.”
Andrew tries to follow his parent’s teachings on only harvesting what he needs.