WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

In reply I have to inform you that this information cannot be located in the files of the Department and it is possible that the documents may be in the Lesser Slave Lake Agency. In letters dated 21st March and 30th March 1914, Indian Agent H. Laird was instructed to admit these bands into treaty when making the annuity payments that year and the first pay list shows Old Man, No.1, as the Chief, and Migsedlean, No.2, and Dogie, No.3, as Headmen of the Hudson’s Hope Band and William Desjarlais, No. 1, as Headman of the Moberly Lake (Saulteaux) band.

It is presumed that these Indians signed the treaty for their respective bands, the number admitted in the Hudson’s Hope Band being 116 and in the Saulteaux Band 34” (Parc 1/1 11-5 1933-65).

Following the March adhesion at Hudson’s Hope, MacRae noted:

“In the summer of 1914, Indian Reserve #172, totalling about 4 000 acres was surveyed... by Donald F. Robertson some 13 kilometres north of the present site of Fort. St. John. For the Beaver at Halfway River, 45 kilometres north of Hudson’s Hope, Robertson also marked out Reserve #168, totalling 9 893 acres. Here he reported that “the land was best suited for grazing,” and that “the hunting is good in the mountains nearby and at some seasons the trout are plentiful in Halfway River. These Indians live by hunting and fishing. At the same time, Reserve #168A, totalling 5 025 acres, was surveyed at the west end of Moberly Lake” (Leonard 1995:81).

Godsell noted some anger over surveyors and noted that the Beaver Indians believed the land was theirs:

“The Beavers still look upon the country as their own and upon all white men as usurpers... Now the Beavers were looking with genuine hatred and alarm at the increasing number of whites who are coming each year into their land. The surveyors especially aroused their keen suspicions. Why are they making these lines and cutting down the Beaver Indians’ trees?” (Godsell 1963:284)

Godsell wrote:

“The moccasin telegraph had brought further word of still more white settlers pouring into the Pouce Coupe and Grande Prairie country... Even the Moberly Lake Saulteaux were reported be resistive and it didn’t seem to occur to any of them that in accepting King George’s annual treaty bounty from Harold Laird, the Indian Agent, in the form of crisp new greenbacks and gold-braided suits for their chiefs they had bartered all rights to the land” (Godsell 1942:80).

38 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

In light of the immediate hostility and alarm on the part of the Dunne-za to the treaty process and its aftermath, it is difficult to understand how MacRae could have been so certain that he had eradicated “any little misunderstanding” or gave “explanations as seemed most likely to prevent any possibility of misunderstandings in future.” Further, the treaty process was marked by significant communications difficulties and cultural disconnects (many of which still exist today). Even today, the Dunne-za have no term or phrase to describe the act of surrendering land or letting someone else take it from them (Aasen 1993).

In addition to MacRae’s report, two eyewitness accounts to the Hudson’s Hope adhesions were documented by Elizabeth Beattie. These are perhaps the only written non-First Nations perspective of what occurred. Despite the content of the letters to and from the Department of Indian Affairs referenced above, these eyewitness accounts indicate that the Hudson’s Hope and Saulteau adhesions/admittances were not the tranquil affairs described in the official government reports.

“[When I arrived here in 1914 there was] just the Hudson Bay store here, a lot of trappers around and Indians… and that’s about it. Very few buildings. Oh yes, they were on this whole flat, they were in Teepees. They were here, the whole bunch from the North and from Moberly Lake and all over. They were all camped on this flat here… waiting for the Treaty. They were giving their first Treaty… Tomtoms playing all night long and playing a game, whatever they play. They were here for about three weeks or so and the boat finally came up and they got their Treaty. That was really worth seeing that Treaty business, when they had the money.

The Hudson Bay man that was here, Drew, he was going to build a hotel and he had ordered all the stuff for the hotel that he needed like bedding, sheets, pillowcases and all that and even a cookstove through the Hudson Bay… he also got ready for this Treaty business. He ordered all these fancy hats, high heel shoes and button shoes and all this for the Indians… When they got the Treaty and they had all this for the hotel bedspreads, candlewick bedspreads, and things like that and all kinds of ribbon and stuff. And after that they had the Treaty and they went and got all these bedspreads, they bought them and ribbons, they had rows of ribbons of different colors… on the bottoms of these blankets for horse blankets… and they were really flying around here

And you could see the young fellows particularly. There was money sticking out of every pocket you know and racing around on the horses… and that was really worth seeing. I’ll never forget that. That was the first Treaty. They got quite a bit here at that time… and then after that the Indian Agent would come up every year and pay them …so much for the year… but they didn’t get so much then. They couldn’t do things like that then, but that first Treaty, my it was really something to see gambling

39 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

night and day …and that old tomtom kept going all the time. Beaver Indians from the north and Moberly and the Cree Indians. They all camped together. This whole flat was just a mess of teepees way down across the road there where the church is – all that on the river flat all the Indians, there were hundreds and hundreds of them… their teepees were made of canvas.

[A]fter all their money was spent they all went back in the hills again trapping I suppose” (Beattie, 1989b).

Figure 4–3: Cabin used by West Moberly for trapping, hunting, and other cultural activities

The second half of Beattie’s account provides a snapshot of the Dunne-za and Cree lifestyle at the time, as well as noting that Dunne-za and English speakers had challenges communicating with each other:

“You see at that time they used to catch beaver pretty well all year round. They lived on it, they ate it. Then they go hunting of course and put up their meat. 20 mile and 12 mile that was at one time their headquarters there... They even started to build some cabins there at 12 mile, there was 3 cabins there they started (the Cree)…

They used to come up there⋅ for quite a few years and still hunt even after we lived here. They were up on the flat… and camped there, their whole outfit would camp there, quite a bunch... Then they would go both directions back and down to 12

40 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

mile and up Schoolar Creek and like that. They used to put up there meat there… Not so much moose because there wasn’t any at that time but deer and bear, lots of bear, there was lots of bear… When they were camping there that spring they used to dry the meat and so on and they would render out the bear fat…

These Indians were from Moberly and the Halfway. They used to come and they’d go around… and then go down on the raft… from the Finlay Forks and the Finlay, way up the Finlay… and around and then they always camped there when they come down. They had clothes, the Hudson Bay had everything in there, stores up there. At Finlay Forks there was a Hudson Bay store… A breed was running it, Billie Fox. They had moose hide jackets and mitts and all that. They had good moose hide but one thing I never could figure out, they just had these moccasins on and maybe one pair of stockings with the legs wrapped around. That’s all they would have on in the winter time. I guess they got used to it.

[T]hey didn’t mix with the white and no they didn’t speak English, you had to use your hands and face and everything else too” (Beattie 1989b).

The second account by Elizabeth Beattie relates much of the same information and is again important for documenting the celebration of the adhesions at Hudson’s Hope.

“…I happened to be the first white woman that crossed over the Portage on a saddle horse. That was in 1914. Then of course we landed in Hudson’s Hope put up a tent and fixed everything up… After that we had a cabin built. We lived in the Hope for three years, then we moved up on the farm about thirty-five miles above the Hope on the river and now, we lost it [due to the building of the dam].

[T]hey hadn’t had the Treaty until that year. They were camped all over the flat for about a month before the boat came up with the Agent to give them the Treaty. The tom-toms and gambling was going on all night long. Then when the Indian Agent finally came and gave the Treaty that was something to see, the way they treated the money and stuff like that saddle horses, buying bedspreads and ribbons and stuff for blankets, horse blankets. Money sticking out of every pocket. I really enjoyed it. I was happy we were here at the time.

They stayed all over the flat in front of the Hudson Bay Post towards the hill. They had tents and tepees and everything else… They were well taken care of but the way they acted was really worth seeing. Tepees were quite good. They were pretty well here the rest of the summer after that until they had to go home again, then of course there was the trading and dickering and so you see they had money.

41 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

The store was really stocked up, they were buying fancy hats for the women and high heel shoes and buckle shoes and all that. They cooked out on the fire. Just a pot or two hanging above the fire was about all they had. They had cans of stuff. They’d boil the water and throw in a hand full of tea. Their cooking was much the same, they’d put the water on and then would throw some stuff in there, then cook it up. It was quite an excitement that Treaty business.

[T]he Indians weren’t here long before we came. There were graves up on top of the hill, quite a few at that time but no whites, there hadn’t been any whites up there yet. My daughter (Toulie) was the first white baby born here. She was born in 1914… Very few people in Ft. St. John at that time but they started to come in after that. In 1915-16 there was quite a few people in. In 1915 they had the telegraph in there and we did too” (Beattie 1989a).

4.2.7 Earliest Documented Elder Accounts of the Negotiations

Elders in the Treaty No. 8 territory have also recorded accounts of the Hudson’s Hope treaty and their understanding of the agreement. An Elder informed The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples on November 18, 1992, that she was told that the Indians were to keep their way of life and the animals would be protected, and that the people that were coming into the territory would farm and bring their own animals. Her major recollection of the adhesion at Hudson’s Hope was that the treaty was there to protect the Indian from white people. It was also her understanding that Indians would retain ownership of fish, wildlife, and fur trapping areas.

She also recounted her understanding of Treaty No. 8 at the Alaska Highway Pipeline Hearings. Her concern in this context, as translated by Buddy Napoleon into English, was hunting and trapping rights, cumulative impacts and (an inferred) priority use right for First Nations people over sports hunters:

“She introduced herself in the traditional way by saying I am little or no value at all, sitting in front of you, but I do like to speak some of my mind. We are original people. We were given this land to live our traditional way. Seeing that we are traditional people we like to... I mean white man has no business in our land. No matter where you look there is explorations, where you cannot even go in the bush to get what you wanted. She also said she was very fortunate to live in a time when, before the explorations came that they lived the original happy way. Now you cannot do that because everywhere you go there is white people threatening our way of life. And she said there was a time when the white man promised us Indian people, long as there the rivers run, and as long sun rises that we have been taken care of in a fashion that we should, towards a white man fashion, but this was never so.

42 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

We have been cheated on that, and we cannot even trap or hunt any place without experiencing some activity such as logging, all the bush knocked down. So that has deprived us people. She said oh yes, I am an old person. It should not concern me too much, but I am speaking for my grandchildren and my great grandchildren, because there will be more to come. She also said our way of life is the original way, the traditional way. An Indian life is eating meat and living off the land: and to give you an example even the summer that we, there is hardly any moose being killed because of the fact that the white people have come up and shot most of the game away. And even when they do shoot them, shoot moose, they leave them there to rot without taking the meat at all. It is just more or less she is referring to them being sportsman...

And she said we cannot, previous to that I omitted some that it caught on to me now. She said even our reserve is too small to be supporting any kind of hunting at all, and what we have is that, what little we have the white people are even running our way of life on the reserve, She is basically concerned about grandchildren because those are things that, she would like to see the traditional way, you know, to be stabilized” (Davis 1979:591-593).

Elder Thomas Hunter from Halfway River First Nation also spoke at the Alaska Highway Gas Pipeline Hearings and described the chronology of events which led to the signing of Treaty No. 8 at Hudson’s Hope, as well as speaking about his mode of living:

“He was talking about he’s come in, in 1912, he was thirteen years old and he live on trapping and he was going to – talking about Treaty this time.

The First Treaty come out at Hudson Hope at that time in 1914. At that time his dad was gone so that time, the First World War is coming too. Like the Moberly Lake Band and Halfway River Band, they got the Treaty in the same time in Hudson Hope. They got the Treaty before in, someplace in down Alberta I guess, that is where they start Treaty, Fort St. John Band, they got Treaty before us anyways, that’s what he said and after that, Moberly Lake and Halfway, they got Treaty same time I think” (Hunter 1979:471).

At another point in the Alaska Highway Gas Pipeline Hearings, Thomas Hunter (as translated into English) provided his interpretation of the fishing and trapping rights enshrined in Treaty No. 8:

“His name is Thomas Hunter... And he is talking about the time when the Indians lived in the country when they had only stones were axes, bows and arrows to live in this country and a dead fall or which way he could make survival of living. He was saying in our country, there was no such things as money before the white

43 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

man came; our only [way] is to make a living is to hunt and there is no such thing as money to get from one another and big bulldozers that come over, go across our country.

He is saying as long as there is the sun that goes over that he shall never stop hunting in this country and whenever he likes to do, as long as the sun is still there.

He is saying in the 1912s he has nearly starved up in the Findlay, that was one of the roughest winters he said he had passed in their way of life.

He is saying that the white man pushed his way into our country, that he stake up all the land and a long time ago there was no people and then now there is so many.

He is saying that his daddy made a living from the woods and from trapping and he is saying that his daddy wasn’t all that Indian and he washed gold too at one time and he says he hasn’t forgot him yet in the country he was born” (Hunter 1979:430).

Moses Wokely, an Elder from Halfway River First Nation, also provided some detail about the people’s way of thinking about taking the treaty at Hudson’s Hope:

“Chiefs from Halfway and Moberly (Antoine Hunter, Dokie) came to Hudson’s Hope. Dokie came down from Moberly Lake. Dr. Brown tried to give the money right away, but the Indians were scared. Brown told the Indians they would have to get licences if no treaty. So long as moon keeps going, river keeps running, government will help you. Don’t worry. First Hudson’s Hope. Chiefs talked seven days.

Indian agent tried to pay money, $5.00 a piece. He scared old people. They said no, no, seven days. Sixth day he talk, he talk, never get it. Told Indians you get a licence too. You get treaty money.

Everybody, $5.00 each, children included. 50 pounds flour, big piece of bacon, some rice (not much) Indian agent he told them “Don’t you scared.” The $5.00 would continue to be given as long as a person lives. Something happens to you, you get into trouble, I don’t think you get into trouble too. Indian agent he told them that. That’s why you get $5.00 a piece.

Next summer it was $12.00 a piece. Seven days they talk, try to make business. Dokie too, he talk. Used to be many people in Hudson’s Hope Come from Moberly Lake. Everybody get $5.00… Antoine [Hunter] that time didn’t understand it good, besides old people not much know, not understand. Antoine talked and told them that” (Moses Wokely 1992:63-64).

44 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

Similar to Dunne-za and Cree oral accounts given years later, Harold Laird, the Indian Agent instructed to admit the Hudson’s Hope band into Treaty No. 8, supported an expansive understanding of treaty rights. In 1923, the Indian Agent advised in a report that Treaty 8 (B.C.) Indians “are at liberty to hunt and trap wherever and whenever they liked and that the B.C. Game Wardens and Police have no right to interfere.” [BCARS, GR 1085, Box 2, file 7, Report by Constable Barber, 12 September 1925]. Also in 1925, a debate ensued over whether First Nations people living on reserve must adhere to the Game Act. Indian Commissioner Ditchburn wrote that, [It is agreed that] “the British Columbia Game Act has no application to Indians while pursuing their vocations as hunters and trappers on their reserves.” Laird extended this interpretation to defend the rights of First Nations to hunt and trap everywhere on the territory, pointing out that the Treaty allowed “The Indians [to] hunt and kill game as long as the grass grows and the water flows”. Laird refused to register Indian traplines in the Treaty 8 area because he argued that it was a direct violation of the Treaty. [BCARS, GR 1085, Box 2, file 7, Indian Commissioner W.E. Ditchburn to the Department of Indian Affairs, 6 October 1925.]

4.3 Observations of Early Europeans in Dunne-za hananè

Adding to the oral history of West Moberly people, a number of early written accounts of the Mountain Dunne-za exist, penned by early visitors to Dunne-za hananè in the late 1700s. These reports describe the people and lands at that time. As the Mountain Dunne-za were at that time a pre-literate society, this information is necessarily derived from explorers, traders, and other non-Natives that travelled and/or worked in the region, as there is no other known non-indigenous person or entity that substantially documented the Dunne- za prior to the Fur Trade era.7 Fortunately, there are numerous accounts (albeit from a Eurocentric perspective) from a variety of sources documenting the area surrounding the Peace Canyon. Indeed, the visitors to Dunne-za hananè observed the considerable use of land and resource by the Mountain Dunne-za, both pre-contact and post-contact.

In 1763, Alexander Mackenzie, regarded as the first non-Indigenous person to reach the Peace River Canyon, discovered a trail system developed and used by the Mountain Dunne-za to portage around the treacherous canyon when using the river as a traditional means of transportation. The trails were an opportune find for his expedition, as it would be “impracticable to proceed any further by water” (Mackenzie 1963: 25). Chief Factor, Archibald McDonald, also referenced these trails in 1828 (McDonald 1963: 43). They were further described by John McLean, Chief Trader of the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1833, particularly the terrain that the trails were embedded within, as well as the presence of Mountain Dunne-za camping there:

“The Rocky Mountains came in view on the 8th of October, and we reached the portage bearing their name on the 10th, the crossing of which took us eight days,

45 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

being fully thirteen miles in length, and excessively bad road, leading sometimes through swamps and morasses, then ascending and descending steep hills, and for at least one-third of the distance so obstructed by fallen trees as to render it all but impassable. I consider the passage of this portage the most laborious duty the Company’s servants have to perform …In the passage we came upon a large camp of Tsekanies [i.e. Mountain Dunne-za], Mr. Fraser’s customers. Their dialect is similar to that of the Beaver Indians…” (McLean 1963:50).

In 1873, William Butler described the “solitary house of Hudson’s Hope” and the trail that “emerges from the canyon of the Rocky Mountains” to enter the open plain country. He describes the trail as “passable for horses” leading along the north shore to the Hudson’s Bay Company “trading-post on the verge of the mountains.” He also noted a “trail of ten miles leads across this portage, and at the western end of this trail the river (Butler 1963:99).

Figure 4–4: Historic Dunne-za camp site

In addition to a travel route, in the pre-contact era, the Mountain Dunne-za used the area as an annual meeting place and, prior to about 1914, they had established a semi-permanent village there. It was, as Hulbert Footner described during his travels through the area in 1911, an important “annual gathering site” for the Dunne-za (Footner 1963:258) that

46 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

included a village and a cemetery near the fort (Godsell 1963:287) that was “high on a plateau above the village” (Harrington 1963:497).

While travelling through Dunne-za hananè, Alexander Mackenzie wrote of the Peace River region’s landscape. In his 1763 journal, he captured not only the beauty and allure of the area, but also the abundance of wildlife, such as ungulates:

“The west side of the river displayed a succession of the most beautiful scenery I had ever beheld… This magnificent theatre of nature has all the decoration which the trees and animals of the country can afford it: groves of poplars in every shape vary the scene; and their intervals are enlivened with the vast herds of elks and buffaloes; the former choosing the steeps and uplands, and the latter preferring the plains... The whole country displayed an exuberant verdure…” (Mackenzie 1963:23).

He also wrote of an area near Bear Flats along the north shore of the Peace River, a day’s travel from the Pine River:

“As for the other animals, they are in evident abundance, as in every direction the elk and the buffalo are seen in possession of the hills and plains – some parts, indeed, offer a beautiful scenery, in some degree similar to that which we passed on the second day of our voyage, and equally enlivened with elk and the buffalo, who were feeding in great numbers, and unmolested by the hunter... The country is so crowded with animals as to have the appearance, in some places, of a stall yard, from the state of the ground, and the quality of the dung which is scattered over it. The soil is black and light. We this day saw two grisly and hideous bears” (Mackenzie in MacGregor 1952:89).

In addition to Alexander Mackenzie’s account, many other explorers, pioneers, fur traders and settlers noted the considerable abundance of ungulates in the region. For example, Daniel Harmon’s 1810 journal points out that fur traders “do not want for the Staff of life as Moose, Deer & Buffaloe are tolerably plentiful hereabouts” (Harmon 1963:36).

In 1865, John Moberly described the richness of area around where the Mountain Dunne- za gathered south of the Peace River in terms of fauna:

“Thousands of wild fowl, geese and many swans found their way to it [the lake] in the spring and Fall; beaver, moose and caribou were plentiful in the surrounding territory. Bears - black, brown and grizzly – were also numerous, and big horned sheep might be hunted within twenty miles…

After the ice broke one spring I went up a small stream, navigable for some eight miles, in a canoe. On this stretch I shot before the time for beginning my garden

47 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

one hundred and seventeen beavers, and before the fur was out of season about sixty more... Ammunition being extremely scarce I only now and then expended it on a goose or a swan and seldom wasted any on ducks, although they were in the thousands” (Moberly 1963:69).

He also noted that, “any day I wished I could have started a half a dozen moose” (Moberly 1963:71). Other visitors held similar views. In 1871-72, J.C. Bryant, a gold seeker, wrote: “A mile from camp I saw innumerable signs of moose. They were so thick that they resembled a cattle yard, the indentations from the hooves were so thick. A mile further up I saw a moose [I shot it].” Charles Horetzky, a surveyor working for the railway in 1872, described the richness of the habitat and abundance of wildlife roughly twenty miles to the east of the Mountain Dunne-za portage around the Peace Canyon (Horetzky 1963:82). In all, the Peace Region was said to be a veritable paradise for wildlife, containing not only such common animals as bears, moose, sheep, and caribou, but large herds of elk as well (Haworth 1963:338). Moreover, according to MacGregor (1952), the region contained a significant interplay between ecosystems and the abundance of wildlife:

“The huge moose was plentiful too. He did not frequent the prairies so much as he did the woods and the surrounding muskegs [in marshes moose were numerous and there were thousands of bears].

There is another large game animal that must not be overlooked. In all the forest surrounding these prairies lived the woodland caribou – near relation to the barren land caribou – and cousin to the reindeer… The coexistence of these two, the buffalo and the caribou, is but another example of the contrasting points of view of the Peace River Country which looks two ways – to the great southern prairie where dwelt the plains buffalo, and to the barren ground of the north where still lived the great herds of caribou” (MacGregor 1952:17-18).

In addition to tremendous wildlife resources, remarkable sources of flora were also noted. John Macoun, a Canadian scientist and companion of Horetzky, observed that the Peace River region grew luscious berries that were “so sweet that we preferred them in our pemmican” (Macoun 1963:91). A.R.C. Selwyn also noted the diverse flora located within the south Peace region in 1875. He wrote: “I never saw the berries… so fine or so abundant. On some of the open sandy ridges, blueberries and cranberries were also plentiful (Selwyn 1963:123). In 1836, John McLean noted the overall richness of the region:

“Such parts of the district… yield a variety of wild fruit… Of these the Indian pear is most abundant and sought after both by natives and whites… The natives dry them in the sun, and afterwards bake them into cakes… When dried, the cakes are placed on wooden vessels… Blue berries are plentiful in some parts of the district…

48 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

Figure 4–5: Blueberries of Dunne-za hananè

The district is still rich in fur-bearing animals, especially beavers and martens, which are likely to continue numerous for many years to come, as they find a safe retreat among the vastness’s of the Rocky Mountains where they multiply undisturbed. This is the great beaver nursery, which continues to replace the numbers destroyed in the more exposed situations; … There are also otters, musk- rats, minxes, and lynxes. Of the larger quadrupeds bears only are numerous, and in all their varieties, grizzled, black, brown, and chocolate: numbers of them are taken by the natives in wooden traps. …mountain sheep generally keeps aloft in the most inaccessible parts of the mountains… I have... observed that rabbits sometimes abound. Another small animal …the marmot, is found in great numbers” (McLean 1963:53).

Encounters with the Dunne-za in the years following first contact produced several snapshots of their culture and the environment of the Peace Region. For example, Jenness (1937) described the ecological diversity of the region:

“Within the forests there were numerous black and grizzly bears, moose, beaver, porcupine, and rabbits; on the mountain slopes caribou, goats, sheep and groundhogs. To the east, beyond the Rocky Mountain on the prairie south of the Peace River, roamed many herds of buffalo that the Sekani had hunted previous into the nineteenth century …The grassy plateaus to the northwest, around the headwaters of the Finlay river, is still one of the finest game areas on the continent. There caribou and groundhogs are particularly abundant, and on the neighbouring mountains sheep and goats; but moose that are now becoming common reached the district, apparently, not more than half a century ago” (Jenness 1937:2-3).

49 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

Figure 4–6: West Moberly members harvesting bison near Pink Mountain, B.C.

Describing the traditional economy, Jenness (1977:379) wrote that the Mountain Dunne- za were “first and foremost, hunters, living on moose, caribou, bear, porcupine, beaver and smaller game.” Similarly, according to Ridington (1968), the environment in Dunne-za territory “supports caribou, moose, elk, deer, grizzly bear, black bear, mountain sheep and goats and fur bearing animals.” Further, he writes, before 1830, the Dunne-za “hunted bison in the prairies and woodlands adjacent to the Peace River as well as moose in the muskeg, woodland caribou in the lower mountain ranges and sheep and goats in the high mountains” (1968:18). In an attempt to inform a non-Indigenous audience about the Dunne-za traditional economy and the centrality of hunting to that economy, Ridington analyzed the quantities of meat that would have been needed to sustain groups of varying sizes. Based on his analysis, it is clear that the Dunne-za required considerably large, dependable, diverse, available and culturally-preferred sources of meat from aquatic and terrestrial environments in order to maintain an important part of their mode of life (see, e.g., Ridington 1981). Brody (1988:19-20) came to similar conclusions, noting the richness of habitat and continuity in traditional harvesting of ungulates and other species in the 1970s:

“The foothills and forests between the Peace and Liard support the world’s maximum known densities of moose and strong, if less even, population of mule deer. Much of it is land to which beaver and are ideally adapted, where caribou herds move between summer grounds into the mountains of the lower slopes and flatlands, north of the Halfway River and west of the heights now followed by the Alaska Highway”.

50 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

“It is possible that nowhere in northern North America is there a comparable convergence of habitat – where buffalo trails once reached into the country still rich in moose, elk, caribou, and deer; where natural lines are so imprecise and the ranges of so many species of wildlife so extensively overlapped”.

“But in the North, thanks to great herds of buffalo and caribou or an abundance of moose, deer, and beaver – converters of vegetation into the meat to which humans have become so thoroughly adapted – hunters [in the late 1970s] continued to practice their system following ancient, though never static, patterns. In this region, with its several overlapping environments and extraordinary variety of game, the system found a setting to which all its skills and attributes were ideally suited”.

Wildlife are extremely important in Dunne-za culture. Goddard (1916) recorded Dunne- za “myths” that serve a number of cultural purposes, including imparting moral lessons, guiding appropriate conduct, and serving as spiritual teachings. Likewise, Jenness (1937:67-68) wrote of Mountain Dunne-za belief:

“…there seems to have been no deities. Animals were like human beings in ancient times… lasting was the belief that man and the animal world are linked in together in some mysterious way, and that the animals possess special powers which they may grant to man if he seeks them in the proper manner… In the olden days, tradition said, animals and man had been alike. Animals still resemble man in certain ways, and even surpass him; the animal thinks like a man, excels him in strength, speed, or cunning. So man logically turned to the animal world to secure help for the crises of life, and established a certain relationship with it. The animals might withhold their help and grant a man no “medicine”; but, generally speaking, he who sought it by the proper methods seldom went home empty handed.

Certain animals were more closely associated with man than others, and it was from these, not unnaturally, that the Sekani obtained their “medicine.”

One native expressed their attitude thus: “The Carrier, who are fish-eaters, may obtain medicine from fish and water- animals; but we live by the chase, and our ‘medicines’ came from the bear, the moose, the caribou, animals and birds essential to our life”.

When Dunne-za males reached puberty, they sought an individual hunting medicine that could be summoned when needed. Young women also sought spirit helpers (Jenness 1937:69). Ridington also documented Dunne-za spirituality and culture, including vision quests, medicine powers and dreams and dreamers (see Ridington 1981: 353-357; 1988; 1990).

51 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

Ridington (1981) writes that, before the twentieth century, the Dunne-za people relied heavily on trails. They often “…moved from place to place because of their dependence on hunting, gathering, and fishing for subsistence, a pattern that persisted even after the fur trade… (1981:350). Visitors to Dunne-za hananè also observed their mobility patterns throughout the region. For instance, John Moberly described the Dunne-za he met while hunting close to what is now called Moberly Lake:

“The Indians inhabiting this region were a small band of Sikanees, numbering round twenty-five families. With the exception of two brothers they hunted north from the Peace River as far as the Liard, in and along the foothills. The brothers hunted along the Pine River” (Moberly 1963:71).

In the fall of 1890, Warburton Pike, an explorer and railway and mining promoter, was in the Peace Region around Fort St. John and Hudson’s Hope, and noted:

“[At Fort St. John] ...we found Mr. Gunn busy with a band of Indians who were taking their winter supplies, and I had a chance of hearing their accounts of the wilderness to the north in the direction of Liard River; they described it as a muskeg country abounding in game and fur, but a hard district to reach, as the streams are too rapid for canoes and the swamps too soft for horses to cross… Sometimes by ascending the Half-way River, a steam adjoining the Peace twenty-five miles above Fort St. John’s, they meet Indians from Fort Nelson…” (Pike 1963:154).

A.C. Bury, a Constable with the RNWMP, noted of the Klondike trail in 1905-1906: “[f] or some distance, at least to about the Half Way River, the trail taken by many of the Klondykers was well blazed, being constantly used by the Beaver and Dog Rib Indians” (Bury 1963:215). He continued:

“We would on this trail occasionally come across some Indians camped with their families – like ourselves, they moved camp quite often. We were encouraged by our superiors to be friendly with these bands of Indians and following work we would in threes and fours visit the camp and join the men of the tribe around fire... In this way [by playing games] we made friends with the Indians. These bands of Indians specialized in their calling as hunters of caribou, moose and beaver. The [women] would specialize in lynx, martin, ground hog, etc” (Bury 1963:217).

In 1906, Robertson noted of the RNWMP trail:

“This trail leaves the Peace river at Fort St. John and bearing north-west strikes the Half-way river about half-way up. This river, and a tributary, were followed up for some distance when, crossing the plateau, the trail strikes the headwaters of Otter Tail creek which, in turn, is followed up to the Laurier pass, through the

52 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

Rocky mountains into the valley of the Finlay and to Fort Grahame…” (Robertson 1963:233-234).

Also remarking on the centrality of trails to the Dunne-za, in 1912, Vreeland wrote:

“The Indians had just cut a new trail into the valley where we met them, and we were thus enabled to cross the eastern range by a 4,800 foot pass and descend into the valley of Stone Creek (as the Indian called it in their own language) which lead us easily to the Halfway River, and thus to Hudson’s Hope.

Stone Creek heads in a valley not far from Laurier Peak, and apparently affords an easier route to the Pass than the one we had followed along Cypress Creek. An old Indian trail follows this valley” (Vreeland 1963:312).

Jenness briefly described how Dunne-za travel routes connected the entire Peace River region:

“Eastward there was a route up the Ospika River via Laurier Pass to the upper waters of the Halfway river, which led down to the Peace half-way between Hudson’s Hope and Fort St. John; another, straight down the Peace, which is navigable the whole distant at certain stages of water except at Rocky Mountain Canyon… [A third route was] across Pine Pass to the Pine River, which joins the Peace nearly opposite Fort St. John” (Jenness 1937:2-3).

The Dunne-za travelled for many reasons, including visiting with families and trading. They also travelled across the land to conduct various land-based activities, such as hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering medicines and other edible flora. Spiritual activities, such as vision quests, also necessitated travel across the land. All of these activities and associated travel involved teaching the next generations, passing along knowledge, wisdom and skills.

4.4 Traditional Seasonal Round

Land use and movement patterns of West Moberly people in and around their territory was never (and still is not) random. It is, as Brody described (1988), fundamentally linked to specific, deliberate cultural practices. He described in detail the complex patterns of traditional economic activities that involved travel to different parts of the territory during different seasons of the year. This traditional economy was carried out according to what Brody termed the “seasonal round”. This round was (and still is) carried out within the preferred Treaty territory. Some of this area was documented in the 1970s when Brody (1988) interviewed a few members of West Moberly and had them draw where they carry out such activities. Their hunting and trapping grounds in the 1970s included the area where the proposed NMP Project is located. This map illustrates the particular importance of the Pine River and Groundbirch area.

53 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

Figure 4–7: An Elder drying meat from the fall hunt

The traditional seasonal round involves five main periods of land use activity. The first is the fall dry-meat hunt. Brody (1988) wrote of the hunt:

“Most of the species hunted, especially moose and deer, tend to be dispersed. In their hunting, the men either follow the game’s seasonal movements, or they travel to areas where a specialized habitat supports particular species in abundance. In late summer and early fall, the bands split into small groups to begin the dry-meat hunt. This is a period of dispersal to camps that may be as little as five and as much as thirty miles from summer locales. The people travel to areas in which, based on their knowledge of animal behaviour and distribution and their understanding of the current populations levels of the major resource species, they predict animals will be numerous enough to provide their winter supply of dry meat” (pg. 191).

“Nor are [hunting areas] the same each year. At times of great need, when moose and deer populations are low, they may move to distant areas to hunt for mountain sheep and caribou… Everywhere, moose and deer have long been the main animals hunted; although wherever possible or necessary, fish, goose, whistler (hoary marmot), sheep, goat, bear, elk and caribou are taken too” (pg. 192).

54 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

Table 4–1: Seasonality of Traditional Use

The early fall (September and October) was the time of year when hunters left their horses in winter pastures (Brody 1988:192). An October 1810 account from the northwest end of the portage reveals what was happening there as the Mountain Dunne-za prepared for the winter:

“[They] just returned from the other side of the Rocky Mountains, where they go to pass the summer months. During the winter season, they remain on this side [east] of the Mountain, where they find buffaloes, moose and deer” (Harmon 1963:33).

55 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

Brody (1988) outlined what happens after the fall meat hunt:

“In late September or early October, the small groups return to base camp with their supply of dry meat and grease. Until recent times, the women often remained in base camp while the men travelled to one of a number of trading post for an outfit of basic store-bought staples (such as flour, sugar, tea, baking powder, tobacco) and the tools of trapping (snare wire, traps, twine, ammunition). This journey could take a few days and was sometimes made on foot or with dogs. [Today people travel to these regions by car.]” (1988:192).

An account of trapping outfitting in the canyon area was documented in the fall of 1890:

“Hudson’s Hope is a small unpretentious establishment, a mile below the wild canyon… The Indians were all encamped in their moose-skin lodges on the flat close to the fort waiting for the trade to begin…

I decided to wait a few days for the trader, and we had a very festive time at Hudson’s Hope; a ball was given every night, and the moose-dance, rabbit-dance, and duck dance were kept up till the small hours” (Pike 1963:155).

The second part of the traditional seasonal round was early winter hunting and trapping. Brody (1988:193) noted that, “[a]fter autumn trading, trapping groups dispersed to their traplines.” Some beaver were trapped at this time under the ice. In the winter, trappers focused on fur species including “marten, lynx, fisher, and wolverine”. In 1906, a provincial mineralogist, William Fleet Robertson, noted that:

“Hudson Hope, the Hudson Bay Co.’s post, which had existed for many years on the south bank of the Peace river … [but was moved and a second trading place, Revillion Freres] have been established for trading with the Indians during the late fall and winter months which is the season when these Indians, of the Beaver tribe, are in the vicinity. The Beaver are a [mobile] tribe having no fixed place of residence nor permanent habitations, and owning neither horse nor cattle as they live entirely by hunting. Their “village” was passed on the Portage trail; it was [a number of tepee frames and was] completely deserted” (Robertson 1963:232-233).

As Jenness (1937:2-3) noted:

“[They] …generally spent the period from about November until mid-summer on the plateaux and mountain slopes, running down the caribou and moose on the snow, and when the snow had melted driving them into snares and trapping groundhogs.”

The third part of the traditional seasonal round was winter hunting and trapping. Whereas during the early winter, particularly the Christmas and New Year’s season, Dunne-za

56 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

trappers moved “to trading posts to sell their furs and visit” (Brody 1988:193), the late winter saw intensive trapping that continued until the spring. In 1911, Footner (1963:257) clarified that the “trading-post at Hudson’s Hope is open only in the winters for convenience for the fur-trade”.

Figure 4–8: Lynx trapped by a West Moberly member

Figure 4–9: Lynx and other trapped species in the process of being stretched and dried

57 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

The fourth period of the seasonal round was the spring beaver hunt. In 1912, Godsell (1963:287) wrote that, “[a]s soon as the ice went out of the river in the spring a number of Beavers arrived [at Fort St. John] on lean, starved ponies, rounded up their horse herds and drove them inland to their villages to carry in the furs and equipment”. He also described the activities of Dunne-za women during this time, who were:

“…busy with their camp duties, scraping skins, hauling water, carrying piles of spruce boughs for firewood, upon their backs, or chopping wood. Piled upon tripods of poles beside the teepees was a heterogeneous collection of dried meat, pack-saddles, skins, gaudy rugs and blankets, pots, rifles and clothing. There was life and movement everywhere, for every moment riders were coming and going…” (Godsell 1963:281).

He described the festivities and the pride that came with a successful fur harvest:

“Soon the place was alive once more with Indians [drumming and playing games and horse racing]. They were wonderful trappers, these Beavers [when furs came in people accumulated to watch and the trapper would throw pack after pack of furs upon the floor]” (1963:287).

After trading furs, the early spring saw another movement when hunters moved for the spring beaver hunt. These areas are the same areas used for trapping. At this time they “hunt beaver, moose and deer until the end of May” (Brody 1988:193). Controlled burning was also practised in the spring, as was trail maintenance. After the beaver hunt, their furs were traded.

Simon Fraser’s account of 1806 (from Peace River Canyon) also details the types of activities associated with the spring hunt (1963:30):

“Monday May 26th …Here we overtook a band of Meadow Indians [Sekani] who are on their way to Beaver Country, beyond Finlay’s branch.

La Malice killed a Rein Deer that was crossing the River; for this we may thank one of the Indians dogs that chased it and brought it to the Riverside. Previous to our arrival at the Indians we were greatly amused looking at some of the Indians running after wild sheep, which they call As-pah. They are really expert; indeed running full speed among perpendicular rocks, which… I could never believe to have been… for the rocks appear to us, which perhaps might be exaggerated (sic)… to be as steep as a wall and yet, while in pursuit of the sheep, they [the Indians] bounded with the swiftness of a Roe, and at last killed two in their snare, one of which we traded for ammunition merely for a rarity. They have a great resemblance to the European sheep; the wool is almost as fine… and when fat the Indians represent the flesh as excellent eating” (Fraser 1963, pg. 30).

58 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

The fifth part of the seasonal round was known as the summer slack. By June, the Dunne- za had moved to their summer areas. During these months, the people would travel to hunt, berry pick, fish and visit (Brody 1988:193). The term “summer slack” is somewhat of a misnomer. It was likely adopted by non-Indigenous peoples because it was the time when many Dunne-za families would gather for large and extended celebrations. However, as both the literature and oral history reveal, the Dunne-za are continuously busy. In 1912, the scientist Frederick Vreeland was commissioned to collect specimens of mountain sheep near Laurier Pass. While in Hudson’s Hope, he noted:

“Here we obtained horses and pack outfit for the journey to the mountains. With two packers our party was now increased to four. …the Beaver Indians of Hudson’s Hope were all away on the hunting trail and the trading posts were closed for the summer” (Vreeland 1963:309).

Vreeland also noted during his time in the mountains that he “fell in with a band of Beaver Indians” returning from a hunt on the Nelson River:

“They frowned unpleasantly at the sight of our sheep and caribou heads, which they said were their sheep and caribou. They were mollified, however, by gifts of tea and tobacco, and became quite communicative [in his view]” (1963:312).

Figure 4–10: Bull trout caught by a West Moberly member near Pink Mountain, B.C.

59 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

The Mountain Dunne-za also fished throughout the summer. According to Jenness, “About mid-summer they resorted to the lakes to fish, or visited the various tribes beyond their borders” (1937:2-3). Brody (1988) noted that the seasonal round also includes labour related to the fur trade. The following are some activities conducted in the area of the South Peace and at the fur post:

• In 1872, Horwtzky wrote of hiring Beaver Indians and obtaining a boat from the portage (1963:82-85). • In 1879, Rev Daniel Gordon described Indian employment at the Hudson’s Hope Fort that included packing and hunting for the fort. His description also included terms of the employment (1963:138). • In 1906, Robertson noted that he hired an Indian to provide the transport from Hudson’s Hope to Fort St. John. He noted that this person was to return to his camp in the Moberly Lake area (1963:235). • Indian women were also employed in and around forts. In 1916, Haworth noted that in “the old days” Indian women would pack goods (very heavy loads) across the portage, fourteen miles for the Hudson’s Bay Company (1963:343). When Bezanson (1963) was in the area in 1907, he recorded a general description of the Dunne-za economy and seasonal round. He noted how prosperous their way of life was:

“[At Fort St. John] One can always find quite a number of Indians camped here and everyday sees a bunch come riding in after supplies. They spend the long summer days roaming the wilds to the north and to the south of the river, hunting moose and bear, whose meat they smoke and dry for winter use…

Winter or summer, the Indian never lacks for fresh meat, nor does he lack for anything… which can be bought at the trading posts… Every year is a prosperous year for him, here; for a poor hunter indeed is he if he cannot catch $500 worth of fur in a winter. Many run over the $1,000 mark, and some think $1,500 not an extraordinary winter’s catch. One may live well on $500 a year where there is no rent to pay, no fuel to buy, nor water, nor light, nor dress makers’ bills” (1963:243-244).

As Brody noted of the late summer/early fall period: “in late August and early September the seasonal round begins again. It is a pattern that originated in aboriginal times…” (1988:193). It would be a mistake to separate the economic activity of hunting and gathering from the larger social structures of family, political and community life. For example, Ridington wrote of values including the ethic of sharing and community integration that comes with sharing meat:

“When a hunter killed an animal he gave meat to everyone in his camp. The people received life from one another just as the hunter received life from the animals. The

60 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

man who gave away meat one time received it another. The man who received the gift of an animal’s life had given away his own life to an animal during a childhood vision quest. Before people were settled on reserves it was unthinkable for some people in camp to eat while others went hungry. The moose was usually divided at kill site, each family sending someone to pack in the meat. In camp the meat was then distributed so that everyone was fed” (Ridington 1981:353).

Figure 4–11: Historic Dunne-za camp site on the shores of what is now referred to as Moberly Lake, B.C.

Further, he points out that the seasonal round “[o]ver the past fifty years has changed in detail, but not in broad outline” (1988:191). Each period of the seasonal round:

“…has its own pattern and its own areas of land use. People have followed this seasonal round from the early days of the fur trade, and it is still the basis for hunting that is carried on from the fixed base camp or the permanent camp sites that housing on a reserve represents” (Brody 1988:191).

Figure 4–12: Molly Desjarlais, an Elder from West Moberly, teaching at camp how to stretch, flesh, and remove the hair from a hide

61 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

5.0 CURRENT CONDITIONS

5.1 Introduction

This section provides spatial and qualitative data about the current conditions within the Review Area. Spatial depictions of traditional use data associated with the different areas with the Review Area are provided, as is qualitative data for select VCs (hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, spirituality and connection, and culture camps. Themes of traditional management and teaching and learning are present in each of the VCs. This data is provided in the context of West Moberly’s traditional seasonal round (TSR).

5.2 Early Concerns about Changes to the Seasonal Round

The 1970s marked a time of accelerated change within Dunne-za hananè. Brody (1988) noted the quickening pace and scale of industrial development in the area. He paints a picture of a bleak, land-based economy under heavy threat by several large-scale proposed projects including the Site C Hydroelectric Dam and the Alaska Pipeline. During hearings on the former, several West Moberly Elders anticipated the difficulties that their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren would experience with regard to their mode of life as a result of industrial development. Their concerns were based on their observations of accelerated industrial growth on their lands throughout the 1960s and 1970s. All of these Elders have since passed on. Predictions about impacts to the Dunne- za mode of life were also documented during the 1970s at the Alaska Pipeline Hearings, which took place in Dunne-za hananè. Joe Mykoose, an Elder, stated the following:

“…there is no survival for the Indian people because they are even scared to go and make a living out in the bush anymore. There are roads everywhere… destroying wildlife… we cannot even teach our own young people… the land has been disturbed… older people are stuck… they are scared to go out to hunt…. There are so many people hunting that do not know how to handle guns… Like especially hunting season… people are scared to go hunting, because they could get shot…” (Treaty 8 Tribal Association 1992:119).

Further, Charlie Cryingman, another Elder from West Moberly, noted:

“…all the wildlife is getting, gone away because all kinds of it happening again… it is gone away… with dams and all this different pipeline and all that developments that are coming… found three deer dead and then one moose. They could have died of poison… since the seismic lines came in… there is roads all over the place… a lot of moose could be destroyed by people… that is out living… what is going to happen to our children and grandchildren… that is the only living we have known. So what is going to happen to our kids if all that game…. is gone? (Treaty 8 Tribal Association 1992:119).

62 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

Similarly, Elder Molly Desjarlais explained:

“…we do not only live in this little reserve here. We used to move around… we just follow the game… used to move up to Bull Moose Mountain and all those areas along the mountains towards… [Klinse-Za] and all those places… used to leave the game alone for a few years, just let them rest… Let the rest so the moose could stay… make all kinds of dry meat in the summertime to stock up for winter. Today now… there is no moving around… seismic crews… make roads for the people that are hunting… that is where some of our game is destroyed… after they stock up for the winter, they came back to their usual camps…when everybody comes back in the fall and then they go into this lake… where they fish for trout and different things… Four years ago they tried to set up some nets here… the Game Warden came and took them [nets] away (Treaty 8 Tribal Association 1992:120).

Changes to the economic climate in the 1980s prevented many of the proposed large- scale projects of the day from being constructed, thus sparing Aboriginal groups in the northeast the effects of these projects for the time being (Brody 1988). However, many of the projects considered to be serious threats to the First Nations’ mode of life have once again gained support and have either been developed in some fashion or, are currently planned for development. The proposed Site C Hydroelectric Dam is one example of such a project proposal noted by Brody. Brody was unaware at the time, however, of the substantial increase other industries (oil and gas, coal mining, forestry and wind farms) would also experience in the three decades since his study was published.

5.3 Overview Spatial Data

NGTL’s preferred route for Aitken Section of the proposed NMP project is geographically in the Farrell Creek Cultural Network and PMT Cultural Network. Land and natural resources in these cultural networks have been relied on for thousands of years, as demonstrated by archaeological information (see, e.g., Burley 1996) and observations by explorers, traders, and other visitors to Dunne-za hananè in the late 1700s and early 1800s (see: Butler 1963; Footner 1963; Harrington 1963; Mackenzie 1963; McLean 1963). Many of the historical cultural activities, if not all, continue to remain be integral elements to West Moberly’s traditions, customs, and practices as exercised in the Farrell Creek Cultural Network and the PMT Cultural Network.

5.3.1 Farrell Creek Cultural Network

Modern-day land use patterns of West Moberly continue to demonstrate that the Farrell Creek Cultural Network forms part of the traditional seasonal round. Research participants identified approximately 683 sites, locations, and/or areas during the TLUS relating to hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and additional cultural values.

63 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

5.3.1.1 Hunting Values

Current use data of hunting practices was collected through the TLUS with regard to the Farrell Creek Cultural Network. Results of the TLUS included a total of 549 TLU sites, locations, and/or areas where research participants exercised cultural activities associated with hunting in accordance with the traditional seasonal round. Many of these values intersect with one another. Figure A-60 in Appendix A illustrates TLU data in relation to NGTL’s preferred route for the Aitken Section of the proposed NMP project. Each represents one of the following: • Mineral licks; • Hunting grounds; • Water courses used for hunting; or, • Trails used by wildlife and/or hunters. Participants became aware of the sites, locations, and/or areas through one of two ways. The first was their family. Teaching, as participants noted, was an integral part of the practices. When hunting with a family member, such as an Elder, a member would learn on the go how to hunt, where to hunt, what to hunt when, and why certain rules are applied while hunting. The second way, as several participants noted, was by traveling on the land for the purpose of surveying the various ecosystems for culturally important information. Each source supports the maintenance of traditional knowledge in the community. For example, a hunter that was gathering berries with his family would travel down game trails to determine how or why an animal might use the trail; in some case, a mineral lick was nearby and in others it related to summer foraging habitat, both of which provides a hunter with important ecological knowledge.

Harvesting of species varied. Traditional knowledge guides the practices of hunting for the species within the traditional seasonal round. In general, the species that are currently harvested from within this cultural network include the following: • Moose; • Eagles; • Elk; • Grouse; and, • Deer; • Grizzly bear. Eagles were noted as being hunted in the area; however, the practice is that a hunter will collect feathers from Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles in accordance with specific traditions and customs from the area simultaneously when, for example, hunting for ungulates. The locations of these sites and/or locations remain in large part confidential to the individual, and in some cases, members that have a distinct role in the culture (e.g., Elders, teachers, or individuals with spiritual and/or medicinal responsibilities).

64 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

Harvest schedules are distinct in many cases, with a number of overlaps depending on the species. For example, harvesting moose and grouse generally overlaps; however, as noted below, the practice of harvesting a grouse does not happen concurrently with the harvesting of moose. When viewed collectively, the hunting season for West Moberly includes all months of the year with the understanding that particular species are targeted at certain times of the year based on the traditional knowledge and values of the culture, and the skill level of the hunter (e.g., some hunters are able to distinguish between a female moose that is not pregnant from one that is pregnant) at the time.

Several participants, mainly Elders within the community, noted that additional species were hunted within the Farrell Creek Network in the recent past. These species include sheep, goats, and caribou, which were once widely distributed and substantial populations. Sheep and goats remain part of the seasonal round to some degree within this cultural network; however, caribou are not. Elders in the 1970s placed a moratorium on the harvesting of caribou until such a time that the species was once again healthy. West Moberly has conducted TEK and scientific research into identification of critical habitat for recovering caribou, including for the land-base of this cultural network. Figures B-1 and B-4 (Appendix B) illustrate the critical habitat in and around the Farrell Creek Cultural Network. These habitats, when protected and/or restored, would most likely contribute significantly to the species being reintroduced into West Moberly’s traditional season round in the future.

5.3.1.2 Fishing Values

Current use data of fishing practices was collected through the TLUS with regard to the Farrell Creek Cultural Network. Results of the TLUS included a total of 15 TLU sites, locations, and/or areas where research participants exercised cultural activities associated with fishing in accordance with the traditional seasonal round. Figure A-60 in Appendix A illustrates TLU data in relation to NGTL’s preferred route for the Aitken Section of the proposed NMP project. Species of fish that are targeted include the following:

• Rainbow trout; • Bull trout; and, • Grayling. Fish that are caught are either used as bait (i.e., to catch other species of fish) or are consumed. An example of the former is when members catch “feeder fish”, which are smaller fish. These species, particular those that spawn during the spring, are used in this manner. These fish are then used to catch the Bull Trout that migrate up the smaller rivers and creeks in order to feed on the spawning feeder fish. While specifically targeted in the spring, Bull Trout are also fished at other times of the year through other methods as well.

65 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

Methods of fishing are largely based on the location, target species, and health of the population. Most members hike in from various locations to pools where fish are holding. Many members use basic fishing gear. Some use nets in lakes, rivers, and larger creeks. Most fishing occurs during snow free months in rivers and creeks. The exception is fishing on lakes. Aside from the time period in the early winter where the lakes are icing over and in the spring when the ice is melting, members fish on lakes throughout the winter. Methods include netting, baiting, and regular fishing gear in some cases.

5.3.1.3 Trapping Values

Collection of current use data regarding trapping practices was a part of the TLUS with regard to the Farrell Creek Cultural Network. Results of the TLUS do not include any TLU sites, locations, and/or areas where research participants exercised cultural activities associated with trapping in accordance with the traditional seasonal round. While there were no site-specific TLU collected during the TLUS, members of West Moberly noted that trapping was extremely prevalent in the past. Some also believed that it was likely that there were members trapping in the area, but that such individuals were not interviewed as part of the TLUS.

5.3.1.4 Gathering Values

Current use data of gathering practices was collected through the TLUS with regard to the Farrell Creek Cultural Network. Results of the TLUS included a total of 43 TLU sites, locations, and/or areas where research participants exercised cultural activities associated with gathering in accordance with the traditional seasonal round. Figure A-60 in Appendix A illustrates TLU data in relation to NGTL’s preferred route for the Aitken Section of the proposed NMP project. Flora species that are gathered include the following: • Saskatoon; • Diamond willow; • Raspberry; • Old Man’s Beard (arboreal lichen); • Blueberry; • Wild onion; and, • Pine tree; • Rat root. • Spruce tree; Use of the plants varies considerably. The cultural use of certain plants, such as those with berries (e.g., blueberries), is obvious given that the berries are gathered for the purpose of sustenance over the course of the year. Some are eaten fresh, while others are canned and/or preserved for the winter months. Some members, as noted below, also use berries with dry meat from moose to make pemmican. Trees were used several ways, including for food, medicines, and manufactured goods. In addition, trees are used in ceremonies and

66 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

other cultural practices such as making dry meat from moose. Each type of tree produced different smoke and heat, which is significant when it comes to properly performing the practice. As one participant noted: “firewood is not just firewood. We call it firewood. But it’s more than merely wood for the fire” (P096 Transcript 2013). Importantly, some plants with berries are also used for other purposes. Leaves and roots can form part of a medicine that is used to treat aliments. It is important not to compartmentalize plants into rigid categories. Many have several uses. Parsnip for example, as explained by a participant below, is a plant that is used for all purposes.

Participants were not comfortable with identifying the numerous medicinal plants that are located in the Farrell Creek Cultural Network, which are gathered by trained members. Such information is private and is provided (i.e., taught) in a particular way by the knowledge holder. Further, as explained by a knowledge holder, the knowledge of medicines can be dangerous to those that are not properly trained in how to collect, prepare, and return medicines to the land. In particular, as one participant noted, improper use of traditional medicines could seriously harm someone if used incorrectly. Some medicines were, therefore, provided whereas some were generally noted by “other medicines”, as there are likely hundreds of additional plants that are used for a variety of cultural purposes according to an Elder who teaches such traditional knowledge.

Traditional practices relating to gathering plants are very specific to the plant and the cultural purpose for which such plants are being collected. Medicinal plants have specific rules and protocols that are to be followed in order to adhere to cultural traditions. These ensure the safety of the plant, its power, and spirit, as well as the safety, power, and spirit of the knowledge holder that is collecting it and the individual that is being treated. Practices used to gather plants for cultural ceremonies are similar in context to those as medicines, but different in terms of customs. The gathering of other plants for the cultural purpose of sustenance and manufactured goods are typically based on the seasons and weather. Plants with berries, for example, are gathered when the berries are ripe, which is usually in the mid to later summer and early fall months (e.g., July, August, and September). Other plants, such as teas, can be gathered through the year (including winter, in some cases) but are typically gathered in the late summer and fall months.

5.3.1.5 Additional Cultural Values

Current use data of additional cultural uses and values was collected through the TLUS with regard to the Farrell Creek Cultural Network. Results of the TLUS included a total of 76 TLU sites, locations, and/or areas where research participants exercised cultural activities associated in accordance with the traditional seasonal round. Figure A-60 in Appendix A illustrates TLU data in relation to NGTL’s preferred route for the Aitken Section of the proposed NMP project. These data represent one of the following:

67 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

• Camping; • Spirituality; • Teaching; • Trails; and, • Additional values. Cultural values associated with the specific sites, locations, and/or areas that have been categorized as “additional” are equally as important to the mode of life for West Moberly in comparison to those considered hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering. There are 2 TLU sites with regard to camping. These sites are part of the Culture Camp area, which is represented by the Farrell Creek Cultural Network.. There are 2 TLU sites, locations, and/ or areas that are spiritual to members of West Moberly. These sites, locations, or areas are used for activities such as: drumming, singing, prayers, storytelling, healing areas and plants used for spiritual purposes and ceremonies. These sites, locations, and areas were noted to be very sensitive. The season of use varies and is primarily dependent on the individual and the situation; conservatively, the use is considered to occur throughout the year. There are 2 TLU sites, locations, and/or areas that are used for the purpose of teaching. Depending on the situation, these values occur concurrently with other uses (e.g., when hunting) or may also occur independently. Cultural pedagogy varies depending on the teacher, student, season, lessons, circumstances, ecological conditions, et cetera. There are 2 TLU locations and/or areas relating to trails. Trails, as noted above, could be those used by wildlife and/or members. Most situations involving trails involves both wildlife and members. Elders often compare such queries as the “chicken and the egg” conundrum. In their view, it matters not which party made the trial, as both rely on such features as part of their livelihoods. There are 46 TLU sites, locations, and/or areas that relates to a number of cultural values that occur individually or collectively with other traditions, customs, and practices. These incidental uses include, for example, water collection and engagement, firewood, trekking, egg gathering, TEK for wildlife, nets and feathers, mating and calving grounds, wintering areas, shedding areas, swimming, preparation sites for wildlife, and dry meat making sites.

5.3.2 Peace-Moberly Track Cultural Network

Modern-day land use patterns of West Moberly continue to demonstrate that the Farrell Creek Cultural Network forms part of the traditional seasonal round. Research participants identified approximately 3,023 sites, locations, and/or areas during the TLUS relating to hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering, and additional cultural values.

5.3.2.1 Hunting Values

Current use data of hunting practices was collected through the TLUS with regard to the PMT Cultural Network. Results of the TLUS included a total of 1,141 TLU sites, locations,

68 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

and/or areas where research participants exercised cultural activities associated with hunting in accordance with the traditional seasonal round. Many of these values intersect with one another. Figure A-61 in Appendix A illustrates TLU data in relation to NGTL’s preferred route for the Aitken Section of the proposed NMP project. Each represents one of the following:

• Mineral licks; • Hunting grounds; • Water courses used for hunting; or, • Trails used by wildlife and/or hunters. Participants became aware of the sites, locations, and/or areas through one of two ways. The first was their family. Teaching, as participants noted, was an integral part of the practices. When hunting with a family member, such as an Elder, a member would learn on the go how to hunt, where to hunt, what to hunt when, and why certain rules are applied while hunting. The second way, as several participants noted, was by traveling on the land for the purpose of surveying the various ecosystems for culturally important information. Each source supports the maintenance of traditional knowledge in the community. For example, a hunter that was gathering berries with his family would travel down game trails to determine how or why an animal might use the trail; in some case, a mineral lick was nearby and in others it related to summer foraging habitat, both of which provides a hunter with important ecological knowledge.

Harvesting of species varied. Traditional knowledge guides the practices of hunting for the species within the traditional seasonal round. In general, the species that are currently harvested from within this cultural network include the following: • Moose; • Blue grouse; • Elk; • Grouse; and, • Deer; • Grizzly bear. • Eagles; Eagles were noted as being hunted in the area; however, the practice is that a hunter will collect feathers from Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles in accordance with specific traditions and customs from the area simultaneously when, for example, hunting for ungulates. The locations of these sites and/or locations remain in large part confidential to the individual, and in some cases, members that have a distinct role in the culture (e.g., Elders, teachers, or individuals with spiritual and/or medicinal responsibilities).

Harvest schedules are distinct in many cases, with a number of overlaps depending on the species. For example, harvesting moose and grouse generally overlaps; however,

69 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

as noted below, the practice of harvesting a grouse does not happen concurrently with the harvesting of moose. When viewed collectively, the hunting season for West Moberly includes all months of the year with the understanding that particular species are targeted at certain times of the year based on the traditional knowledge and values of the culture, and the skill level of the hunter (e.g., some hunters are able to distinguish between a female moose that is not pregnant from one that is pregnant) at the time.

Several participants, mainly Elders within the community, noted that additional species were hunted within PMT Cultural Network in the recent past. These species include caribou, which were once widely distributed and included substantial populations, and sheep and goats to a lesser extent. Sheep, goats, and caribou are no longer a part of the traditional seasonal round in this cultural network. Elders in the 1970s placed a moratorium on the harvesting of caribou until such a time that the species was once again healthy. West Moberly has conducted TEK and scientific research into identification of critical habitat for recovering caribou, including for the land-base of this cultural network. Figures B-1 and B-4 (Appendix B) illustrate the critical habitat in and around the PMT Cultural Network, which are part of the Action Plan to protect and augment the Klinse-Za caribou herd. These habitats, when protected and/or restored, would most likely contribute significantly to the species being reintroduced into West Moberly’s traditional season round in the future.

5.3.2.2 Fishing Values

Current use data of fishing practices was collected through the TLUS with regard to the PMT Cultural Network. Results of the TLUS included a total of 307 TLU sites, locations, and/ or areas where research participants exercised cultural activities associated with fishing in accordance with the traditional seasonal round. Figure A-61 in Appendix A illustrates TLU data in relation to NGTL’s preferred route for the Aitken Section of the proposed NMP project. Species of fish that are targeted include the following: • Rainbow trout; • Bull trout; • Ling cod / Burbot; • Pike; • Lake trout; • Sucker; and, • Whitefish; • Grayling. Fish that are caught are either used as bait (i.e., to catch other species of fish) or are consumed. An example of the former is when members catch “feeder fish”, which are smaller fish. These species, particular those that spawn during the spring, are used in this manner. These fish are then used to catch the Bull Trout that migrate up the smaller rivers and creeks in order to feed on the spawning feeder fish. While specifically targeted in the spring, Bull Trout are also fished at other times of the year through other methods as well. Methods of fishing are largely based on the location, target species, and health of the

70 SEPTEMBER 2014 Potential Adverse Impacts to Cultural Valued Components

population. Most members hike in from various locations to pools where fish are holding. Many members use basic fishing gear. Some use nets in lakes, rivers, and larger creeks. Most fishing occurs during snow free months in rivers and creeks. The exception is fishing on lakes. There are several lakes of various sizes in the cultural network. Aside from the time period in the early winter where the lakes are icing over and in the spring when the ice is melting, members fish on lakes throughout the winter. Methods include netting, baiting, and regular fishing gear in some cases.

5.3.2.3 Trapping Values

Current use data of trapping practices was collected through the TLUS with regard to the PMT Cultural Network. Results of the TLUS included a total of 238 TLU sites, locations, and/or areas where research participants exercised cultural activities associated with trapping in accordance with the traditional seasonal round. Figure A-61 in Appendix A illustrates TLU data in relation to NGTL’s preferred route for the Aitken Section of the proposed NMP project. Target species with regard to trapping include the following: • Beaver; • Mink/Weasel; • Fisher; • Rabbit; • Lynx; • Wolf; and, • Marten; • Cougar. Trapping has been a cultural activity that has been a part of the traditional economy for thousands of years. Locations that are often annotated on a map with regard to trapping are not reflective of the quantity of traps, precise site of a trap, and the ecological values and knowledge associated with the placement and rotations of traps. The trapping season begins approximately in November and extends to the end of February each year. With climate change and difference weather patterns emerging, however, the expectation is that the beginning and end of the trapping season may fluctuate by a month or so in a given year. Trappers often head onto the trapline in snow-free conditions for a number of cultural purposes relating to trapping. This may include matters relating to infrastructure, such as the cleaning of trails or the repair of cabins and other manufactures items. In other instances, a trapper may be assessing the ecological potential of current and future locations.

5.3.2.4 Gathering Values

Current use data of gathering practices was collected through the TLUS with regard to the PMT Cultural Network. Results of the TLUS included a total of 599 TLU sites, locations, and/or areas where research participants exercised cultural activities associated with gathering in accordance with the traditional seasonal round. Figure A-61 in Appendix A illustrates TLU data in relation to NGTL’s preferred route for the Aitken Section of the

71 WEST MOBERLY FIRST NATIONS

proposed NMP project. Flora species that are gathered include the following: • Saskatoon; • Parsnip; • Huckleberry; • Fungus; • Raspberry; • Diamond willow; • Strawberry; • Mint; • Blueberry; • Honeysuckle; • Muskeg tea (Labrador); • Sweetgrass; • Pine tree; • Old Man’s Beard (arboreal lichen); • Spruce tree; • Wild onion; and, • Aspen; • Rat root. • Birch; Use of the plants varies considerably. The cultural use of certain plants, such as those with berries (e.g., blueberries), is obvious given that the berries are gathered for the purpose of sustenance over the course of the year. Some are eaten fresh, while others are canned and/or preserved for the winter months. Some members, as noted below, also use berries with dry meat from moose to make pemmican. Trees were used several ways, including for food, medicines, and manufactured goods. In addition, trees are used in ceremonies and other cultural practices such as making dry meat from moose. Each type of tree produced different smoke and heat, which is significant when it comes to properly performing the practice. As one participant noted: “firewood is not just firewood. We call it firewood. But it’s more than merely wood for the fire” (P096 Transcript 2013). Importantly, some plants with berries are also used for other purposes. Leaves and roots can form part of a medicine that is used to treat aliments. It is important not to compartmentalize plants into rigid categories. Many have several uses. Parsnip for example, as explained by a participant below, is a plant that is used for all purposes.

Participants were not comfortable with identifying the numerous medicinal plants that are located in the PMT Cultural Network, which are gathered by trained members. Such information is private and is provided (i.e., taught) in a particular way by the knowledge holder. Further, as explained by a knowledge holder, the knowledge of medicines can be dangerous to those that are not properly trained in how to collect, prepare, and return medicines to the land. In particular, as one participant noted, improper use of traditional medicines could seriously harm someone if used incorrectly. Some medicines were, therefore, provided whereas some were generally noted by “other medicines”, as there are likely hundreds of additional plants that are used for a variety of cultural purposes according to an Elder who teaches such traditional knowledge.

72 SEPTEMBER 2014