Feeding a community through the fall hunt

History is full of great quotes.
My late grandfather Sandy Beardy gave us a great one: ‘When people go upon the land to hunt, they sacrifice their own safety. But they also know if they kill a duck then that person can feed his family. But when they shoot a moose then they can feed a whole community.’
Those words relate to our community of Michikan Lake. The tradition of sharing your good fortune with your family and neighbours is still a practice being passed down.
Michikan Lake’s 23rd Annual Fall Hunt is an example of the dedication and determination of our cultural upbringing as hunters once again gathered at the local boat launch to seek their good fortunes on a two-day hunt.
It’s Sept. 22 and 6:30 a.m. A gunshot disturbs the still darkish landscape along the Severn River signalling the start of the great hunt. Twenty-seven boats, each carrying two hunters, roar into action and slowly disappear into purplish skyline.
While the hunters are out, the rest of the people tend to other duties planning each detail for the five-day feast at the traditional site.
The second day brings a lot of anticipation to the people who have come together again at the traditional grounds to start cooking for the starving hunters expected to arrive by 5 p.m.
“I bet you Philip is asleep by the shoreline somewhere while ducks are flying by,” says a voice from one of the teepees.
“Michael will probably walk right by a moose standing beside him in the bush because he has video games playing in his head,” comes a comment from another teepee.
It’s 5 p.m. and people emerge from their smoke filled teepees and proceed down to the shoreline where the boats will be arriving soon. A group of five boats are spotted coming around the two points a mile from the main shore and this has everyone scrambling to one side each trying to guess who is occupying them. The boats come in by twos and threes until by 6 p.m. when everyone is reported in.
It’s an awesome sight because the majority of boats are hauling a moose while some are carrying three or four. The noise from the crowd is echoed with ‘oh’s and awes’ as the hunters carry the heads of the moose from their boats and place them along the shore. The check-in point is soon lined with moose heads as the count is now 18 moose shot.
Bags of ducks and only a small percentage of geese are tallied up by the hunters committee and volunteers.
Here they dine on fresh hot tea and snacks and some share stories of their adventure while the crowd laughs at each escapade.
The next day is set aside for those hunters retrieving the moose they had shot. Float planes are ordered in for those that travelled far to bring in their moose. People start cooking early at the teepee site to feed those hunters going on the boats. It’s an all-day event cleaning and preparing the game that was brought in, but everyone works together to make this a success.
The evening brings the whole community together for a feast and to be thankful for a successful hunt. The day has also brought in another six moose that were shot by the hunters going out to bring in their kill.
Saturday morning reveals another beautiful day as people scramble in and out of the two stores buying their extras for the feast that will take place that evening.
It’s a day filled with excitement as this evening’s feast will also be the time when the winners for the hunter’s fest will be announced.
At the traditional grounds moose after moose are hauled into the main building where the food is being distributed for each of the teepees.
It’s 6 p.m. and the community has once again blanketed themselves at the main field of the traditional grounds awaiting the awards to be announced. The majority of the people have already guessed the three main winners.