Posted on by First We Eat

Suzanne’s Blog: First Hunt Culture Camp

Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation introduce youth to caribou hunting under the guidance of experienced Elders and hunters at First Hunt Culture Camp. Photos by Ashley Bower-Bramadat. From FirstWeEat.ca, the Food Security North of 60 website supporting First We Eat, a documentary by Yukon filmmaker Suzanne Crocker about eating only locally-grown foods in in Dawson City, Yukon, in Canada's North, for one year.
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation introduce youth to caribou hunting under the guidance of experienced Elders and hunters at First Hunt Culture Camp. Photos by Ashley Bower-Bramadat. From FirstWeEat.ca, the Food Security North of 60 website supporting First We Eat, a documentary by Yukon filmmaker Suzanne Crocker about eating only locally-grown foods in in Dawson City, Yukon, in Canada's North, for one year.
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation introduce youth to caribou hunting under the guidance of experienced Elders and hunters at First Hunt Culture Camp. Photos by Ashley Bower-Bramadat. From FirstWeEat.ca, the Food Security North of 60 website supporting First We Eat, a documentary by Yukon filmmaker Suzanne Crocker about eating only locally-grown foods in in Dawson City, Yukon, in Canada's North, for one year.
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation introduce youth to caribou hunting under the guidance of experienced Elders and hunters at First Hunt Culture Camp. Photos by Ashley Bower-Bramadat. From FirstWeEat.ca, the Food Security North of 60 website supporting First We Eat, a documentary by Yukon filmmaker Suzanne Crocker about eating only locally-grown foods in in Dawson City, Yukon, in Canada's North, for one year.
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation introduce youth to caribou hunting under the guidance of experienced Elders and hunters at First Hunt Culture Camp. Photos by Ashley Bower-Bramadat. From FirstWeEat.ca, the Food Security North of 60 website supporting First We Eat, a documentary by Yukon filmmaker Suzanne Crocker about eating only locally-grown foods in in Dawson City, Yukon, in Canada's North, for one year.
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation introduce youth to caribou hunting under the guidance of experienced Elders and hunters at First Hunt Culture Camp. Photos by Ashley Bower-Bramadat. From FirstWeEat.ca, the Food Security North of 60 website supporting First We Eat, a documentary by Yukon filmmaker Suzanne Crocker about eating only locally-grown foods in in Dawson City, Yukon, in Canada's North, for one year.
At First Hunt Culture Camp students learn about all aspects of caribou hunting under the guidance of experienced Elders and hunters. Photos by Ashley Bower-Bramadat.

I don’t think many high schools in Canada offer caribou hunting as a high school credit.  But Robert Service School in Dawson City, Yukon does. Since 1995, every October, the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation have introduced youth in the community to caribou hunting under the guidance of experienced Elders and hunters at First Hunt Culture Camp.

It is open to all high school students, both First Nations students and non-First-Nation students, and counts as one high school credit. This year 18 youth participated. They spent four days up the Dempster Highway (the northernmost highway in Canada) on traditional land that has always been an important source of food for Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in ancestors. 

The youth chop wood for the woodstoves that heat the cabins (this year the temperature dropped to -22°C during First Hunt), they learn gun safety and rifle target practice, they practice archery, they learn how to snare rabbits, and they go caribou hunting.  After a successful hunt, they also participate in skinning, hanging and butchering the caribou.  The meat is then distributed to local elders and used for community feasts.

Members of the Forty Mile Caribou Herd as seen along the Dempster Highway. Photo by Suzanne Crocker.
I had the privilege to be part of this year’s First Hunt Culture Camp, which was held Oct. 19-22. What struck me most, apart from all the adults who volunteer time to be part of First Hunt, is how all the students totally thrived in this element, regardless if they came to First Hunt already with skill sets or were learning new skills for the first time. Mähsi Cho for inviting me to be part of First Hunt!

One Reply to “Suzanne’s Blog: First Hunt Culture Camp”

  1. That was an amazing experience for you!
    With all your education, nothing compared to this, and to think it is a high school credit! We are never too old! Carry on. You are going to see this through and be all the better for it. Wonderful.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Top