White Bear Education Complex principal Murray Bird hopes to create a better future for the young men in his school by honouring the past.
On Sept. 8, 9, and 10, Bird took a group of six high school boys from WBEC on a three-day, two-night hunting trip that he already considers to be a success; one that he intends to repeat in his school, and one that he hopes will be adopted by other First Nations schools within the Treaty 4 Educational Alliance.
"It's not just a hunting trip," Bird says of the trip that took place in the traditional hunting lands of White Bear First Nations. "It's a full program where we tried to incorporate as much traditional teaching as we could. It's a new initiative. Maybe up north this has been done, but in southern Saskatchewan, it's a first as far as I know."
"This trip teaches all of the traditional, cultural, and practical aspects of the hunt, and the meat will be given to elders and non-hunters in our community."
Students Lester Shepherd (grade 10), Andrew Kakakeway, Jacob Lonechild (grade 11), Danon Delorme, Tyrell Kakakeway and Daylon Lonechild (grade12) were guided on the hunt by Bird and Matt Bird, Ken Lonechild, Mike Lonechild, Ray Petit and Mike Standingready. Kathy Cochrane, Rhonda Kayseas, Ray Petit, Dave Riddle and Cheryl Saulteaux cooked and helped with other camp duties. Mike Lonechild and Ray Petit also accompanied the hunt as elders.
"I can't stress enough how much of a team effort this was, and I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with on this. They were exceptional, every one of them."
"The boys really gelled together. Very quickly, they were working together as a team, not individually," says Bird. "There was no name-calling, no put-downs. Respect is a huge word at this school and that value was evident on this trip, with our young men, with the elders that were there, with the cooks, with everyone. We all worked together."
From the start and throughout the trip, traditional and spiritual aspects of First Nations teachings were observed and addressed. "The day before we set out, one of our elders, Ray Petit, did a sweat and prayed for a safe camp. We did a pipe ceremony thanking the Creator for the animals and we had a circle talk at the end of the hunt. The elders, the cooks, the young men, me, everyone."
"As a First Nations school, there is a whole classroom outside our school, a whole environment where we can teach our young ones," he adds.
Bird says the program was designed with safety in mind as well. "We chose to go when we did before the park got busy with hunting season. They learned gun safety and the guides carried the guns until it came time for the young men to shoot. The guides are all firearm aware."
In addition to gun safety, the boys learned archery, cooking skills, animal identification by observing their tracks, and what Bird calls, "A big one-camp preparation."
"They gathered wood, helped set up tents and so much more," says Bird. "On the first day and a half, they were taught to see animals in their own environment and themselves in that environment where those animals live. We saw so many animals: moose, elk deer, chickens, everything."
"It rained Monday and Tuesday and it was so cold and wet. The boys went out early in that rain. They went out every day at 5 a.m. They walked and walked and they got soaked and soaked. But there were no complaints; they just remarked on how wet they were," says Bird. "It got cold at night and still, no complaints."
"I was so filled with pride for them. There was no 'I want to go home.' I was expecting that, but it never happened. They deserve a whole lot of credit for what they went through in those 72 hours."
"The guides also taught them the processing part; the skinning, the gutting, and what parts of the animals to leave as an offering. There was no squeamishness. They all took part."
"This respect for the animal also honours the hunter," says Bird. "In the traditional sense, we don't go out to over-kill," says Bird. "We thank the Creator for what we are given. It's common to give away the first animal that any hunter kills; but it's especially common for a young hunter and when it's his very first kill."
On the third and final day of their hunt, the White Bear students successfully brought home a single elk, which they will give to elders and non-hunters in their community at a ceremony at their school on Sept. 25. "We deliberately waited until the last day," says Bird. "And we kept it to one animal. We didn't want to over-kill. This hunt was a hunt with a purpose and I think we achieved that purpose."
"Hunters were the most important people in First Nations tradition," says Bird. "They were essential to people's survival in winter and their hunts made sure that everyone had food to eat."
"This is role identification and trying to continue our culture," says Bird. "We're learning rules for our young men in First Nations society and as a First Nations school, our full curriculum was addressed. It's a way away from a negative lifestyle and for our young men, this is just a start."
"The cooperation from these young men and from our community made this hunt a success. It gave a lot of our young men a reason to come to school. Hopefully, with this camp, our young men can be successful. I was so impressed how quickly our boys gelled together and what I've learned as principal at this school and at this camp, is that we can cooperate."
