9.0 Plant Gathering

SECTION 9.0 PLANT GATHERING 9.0 Plant Gathering The importance of berries and other boreal forest plants to the people of Fort McKay has been specifically described in numerous EIAs, community reports (Neshi et al. 2013; Stelfox et al. 2013; FMIRC 2010; HEG 2009; FMIRC 2010b; FMFN 1994; Tanner et al. 2001; BG-TEK Consulting 2003; FMFN IRC 2004) and regional documents (Dersch and Bush 2008). While important in terms of their medicinal and nutritional value, Fort McKay Métis members also associate many social and cultural values with specific plants and berries and plant gathering. Wood was also harvested throughout the year as needed for fuel and building materials. Historically, selling wood to fuel steamboats provided important supplementary income to many Métis families from Fort McKay. The echo steamboat travelled to McMurray. We went with it and stayed in McMurray all summer. We came back to McKay in August and lived on the river by Suncor to pick berries and hunt moose; there were two tents for two families. There were lots of fish. Auntie Mary made dry meat. Everybody came, lived there (Ray Boucher has a cabin there now) and picked blueberries, and sold them in town at the McGinnis fisheries. They traded blueberries for food, mainly bags of flour. We went back to McKay in September. ....... Lots of Blueberries, cranberries and raspberries grew on the island. We sold berries for ten cents a pound when 1 pound of lard was 10 cents, bread 5 cents, a four-pound can of jam was 40 cents, a pound of bitter 40 cents. (Victoria McDonald in FMFN 1994, p. 64) They’re important to us because that’s how we survived when we were younger. We grew up picking berries, that was our jam for our pancakes, and our bannock and whatever. We grew up on it and we’d like to see it always be in our community. (Barb Faichney in WBEA Fort McKay Berry Focus Group Video 2015 www.youtube.com/watch?y=FSp16uPHJPc) Fort McKay Métis families have traditionally gathered medicines, roots and berries at different times of the year depending on what was in season. Berry patches were selected in productive areas for harvesting, and in some places, berry patches were actively managed by limiting harvest quantities, or by using fire. However, in 1890-1920, Forestry officials restricted spring burning for habitat enhancement (Campbell et al. 2005, p. 70). 9.1 Plant Gathering in the 1960s During the 1960s, berries continued to be harvested from July to September when the berries were ripe, with the exception of some species (such as rosehips and some cranberries) that would freeze on shrubs and be available through the winter. This prime gathering season corresponds to the time of HEG FRONTIER MINE PROJECT ICA PAGE 183 OF 419 SECTION 9.0 PLANT GATHERING year when families gathered in larger groups to fish during the summer months and for the fall hunt. During the 1960s, it was common for Fort McKay Métis youth to spend summer months out on their family’s trap line and to be taken out of school to participate in fall preparations for the winter months. While women oversaw the majority of the berry harvest planning and processing work (drying, preserving, stewing, making of jams and jellies), picking was a family affair and was often remembered as a time of laughter and good cheer (HEG 2009). Fort McKay Métis members suggest that prior to and during the 1960s, berries were found and harvested “everywhere” – although most community members recall picking berries in and around McKay, along the MacKay (Red) River, on family trap lines, and at traditional seasonal harvesting/gathering areas along the Athabasca River (such as Poplar Point and Tar Island) and around Moose Lake and McClelland Lake/Fort Hills area. The Traditional Land Use and Occupancy Study carried out by Fort McKay in 1994 and 2013 maps berry harvesting areas throughout the territory. The maps in these documents show parallels between intense berry harvest areas and important travel corridors such as the Athabasca River Corridor (including upstream sections of all major tributaries), the Legend-Namur-Gardiner-Sand- Eaglenest corridor and the McKay River (FMFN 1994, p. 26). 9.1.1 Cultural Values Linked to Plant Gathering in the 1960s Community members associate Plant Gathering in the 1960s with the following cultural values: • Identity; • Self reliance; • Self determination; • Cooperation; • Caring; • Cohesion; • Faith; • Pride; • Happiness; • Adaptability; and • Understanding nature. HEG FRONTIER MINE PROJECT ICA PAGE 184 OF 419 SECTION 9.0 PLANT GATHERING Identity Multiple community reports (FMSD 2013, Berryman et al 2013, FMIRC 2010a FMIRC 2010b; HEG 2009; Highwood Environmental Management, 2002), have described the role traditional plant gathering has in strengthening identity by linking families and communities with place and providing opportunities to share knowledge, traditions and history. Fort McKay Métis members suggested this link be moderately strong because even though the Métis don’t necessarily self-identify as “plant-gatherers”, berry picking and plant gathering has always provided important opportunities for individuals to share stories about their family’s time together out on the land. Elders, aunts and uncles and family friends pass on values to youth by telling stories of life in the bush and their history in the region as Métis people. In Aboriginal culture, storytelling served as a means to share vital lessons across generations about the relationship between plants, animals, and people – as well as the importance of maintaining relations of respect and reciprocity between humans and their world. Because berries are an important traditional food and medicine, knowledge associated with the harvest, preparation and use of medicine was gained out on the land during berry picking excursions. Self Reliance and Adaptability During the 1960s, wild plants and berries provided an important source of food and medicine throughout the year. Fort McKay Métis members report picking large volumes of berries to eat fresh and to store over the winter (HEG 2009, Tanner et al. 2001; FMFN 1994). In addition to being considered a healthy traditional food, berries and different parts of berry plants were commonly used as medicine. Other medicinal plants could be harvested throughout the territory, but families often had knowledge of specific patches or reliable harvest locations for key species such as rat toot or mint. Knowledge related to finding food plants and medicinal herbs contributed to Fort McKay Métis members’ ability to live off the land and reduced reliance on purchasing food or getting medical assistance (doctor assessments or prescriptions) from Fort McMurray. During the 1960s, berries or berry products (jams/jellies) were also sold to non- community members or traded within the community for other goods (FMFN 1994; FMTA 1983). Being able to provide healthy food and medicine for themselves and supplementary income strengthened the values of self- reliance and adaptability. Collecting wood and selling it to the steamboats was another aspect of Plant Gathering that had linkages to the values of self-reliance and adaptability. HEG FRONTIER MINE PROJECT ICA PAGE 185 OF 419 SECTION 9.0 PLANT GATHERING Self Determination and Leadership Being able to plan berry harvests, maintain berry patches and decide where and how much could be harvested helped to instill the value of self- determination and leadership. Fort McKay Métis members felt the link between Plant Gathering and self-determination should be moderately strong since historically there were so many places to harvest berries, management and access to harvest areas was not really an issue. Cooperation, Cohesion and Respect In Fort McKay, berry picking was a group activity carried out with friends and extended family. Berry picking was one of the earliest ways young children became contributing members of the family. Elders used the activity of berry picking to pass on stories and to teach the values of respect for the land and importance of cooperation and family cohesion. Spending time on the land together strengthened ties between family groups and helped to build respect across different age groups. So then I would take Flora to go out, any time she would call me, Flora Grandjam, to go out and that, I'd go with her.... she’s my adopted grannie...She’s the one who taught me what to use ... She taught me a lot about herbs too. (FMM017-WS2) Caring The value of caring is manifested by the act of sharing berry harvest or medicines with those not able to harvest their own, and supporting each other while out on the land. Fort McKay Métis members who have special knowledge of medicine are appreciated for their efforts helping those that are sick or in need. These kind actions can have a ripple effect throughout the community that strengthens community relationships. Faith Time spent berry picking was also time spent sharing stories and learning about relationships between people and their environment, and about the spiritual links with the Creator. Yeah, If you take medicine from the land you're supposed to put tobacco. You're supposed to. You pay for it. (FMM003-WS1) If you take sweet grass from the ground - You put tobacco, right? You take any type of smudge, if you take fungus, or if you take sage, you give tobacco. You always give back. (FMM005-WS1) HEG FRONTIER MINE PROJECT ICA PAGE 186 OF 419 SECTION 9.0 PLANT GATHERING Happiness As described earlier, berry picking was most often done as a group and was often remembered as a time of laughter and good cheer (HEG 2009). Understanding Nature Berry harvest was one of the many traditional activities that depended on the time of year. Northern people dependent on berry harvests to supplement winter food stores are noted for their ability to interpret many of nature’s signs and signals (indicators) that help them to plan berry harvests (Parlee et al.

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