Respect Mother Earth On Your Hunt

Gold has arrived. Here in the north of Ontario we see vast streams of gold shimmering across the landscape as autumn is here and the the leaves are turning. There are also flashes of red and brown as though a huge blanket has descended onto Mother Earth from the heavens. This is my favourite time of the year as it is not too hot or too cold and the wilderness beckons us to wander and wonder at the sights and scents of fall.

It was an extremely hot summer, there were terrible forest fires and many alerts of dangerous storms and even tornadoes here in northern Ontario. Climate change is reminding us of the damage we have done to the environment with the rise of global warming and we are on notice. However, we are ruled by the addiction to money and that probably means that our governments and corporations will keep moving with development causing global warming.

This time of the year reminds me of the many hunting trips I was involved in as a boy growing up on the land in my home community of Attawapiskat. When I ventured out to southern towns and cities for school and work I found that there was also a huge fall hunting movement. I witnessed many hunters preparing for the hunt and packing up their guns, ammunition, supplies, boats and ATVs for trips out to hunt camps all through the north. Most of the non-First Nation hunters were envious of the Indigenous hunting rights and complained about being restricted to what they could harvest. Strangely enough many non Natives wanted these Indigenous hunting rights so bad that they began to organize and lobby the provincial and federal government. Even more strange these governments provided the Metis groups in northern Ontario many of the rights that First Nations had been promised in treaties more than a hundred years ago.

The idea of Metis in northern Ontario has been very controversial but it has been determined by a report this past summer put out by the Wabun Tribal Council in northeastern Ontario that there is no documented evidence of a Metis presence in their territory. A similar report was put out by the Saugeen Ojibway Nation and both documents were supported by the wider Chiefs of Ontario which represents all Ontario First Nations.

All this does not dismiss the historic, documented and recognized Metis Nations in parts of western Canada.

Those that could not convince governments they could be Metis became best friends with many First Nation people to invite them out on hunting trips so that just maybe they could get away with harvesting wildlife without going through the rules. In my dad’s time, it was a common occurrence to have wealthy hunters from the south venture to the wilderness of far northern Ontario to hunt almost whatever they pleased and if they were questioned, everyone would point to their First Nation guide as their excuse and permit to hunt beyond their restrictions.

What has all this meant for Mother Earth’s creatures? It has meant a decline of moose, goose, duck and many other species of wildlife. The other thing that these annual hunt trips feature far too often is the party mode with alcohol and at times drugs while out on the land with guns. Understanding that there are many hunters wandering the forest with alcohol handy and carrying guns is concerning to say the least.

My people up the James Bay coast continue to head out in the fall to their traditional lands to harvest moose, caribou and migratory birds. Far up north in the remote First Nation areas hunters and gathers travel out on their freighter canoes to traditional camps for the hunt.

I wish all those on their hunt a safe and rewarding adventure. I hope this is a time of bonding, good stories and recollections around camp fires. I pray that people stay safe and take care of each other out on the land where hunting happens in remote or semi remote areas. More than anything I ask that the hunters take time to really experience Mother Earth and all the beauty she has to offer us. I urge our hunters to respect the forest and the creatures as they roam on the land to harvest.

Our creatures on the land have no voice but I would ask you to give them one by being thoughtful about your hunt. Take only what you need and do not over hunt or take advantage of killing an animal just because you can do it. We need to respect the land and all the creatures and if we want to continue with this traditional hunt experience and pass it down to new generations we have to make sure that we don’t end up causing the extinction of many animal and bird species. We need to be respectful to Mother Earth.

www.underthenorthernsky.com