A Good News Story About Aboriginal Youth

A trapping school program - one of the first of its kind - is underway in the Sahtu region of the Northwest Territories. Targeted at Aboriginal youth, this trapping school program will arm them with many of the traditional skills some have not been able to learn because they do not have a trapper role model in their household. This program focuses on teaching some of the traditional ways that many young people do not have the chance to learn anymore. It also sets clear expectations of performance - always a good thing for young people. The training in this program will cover all aspects of trapping, as well as bush survival, first aid, pelt preparation, sorting, grading and fur marketing. Additionally, the young people will earn credits towards high school equivalency, with a teacher, Mark Phillips, supplied by the Board of Education.

The program is sponsored in part by the Fur Institute of Canada, who provide project management and administration services.

The goals of the program for the participants include: helping the youth to maintain a sense of personal well being, along with retention of traditional knowledge, language and culture. Ultimately, the program hopes to recruit a younger generation of professional trappers to ensure a continuance of this important heritage industry.

Warren, age 16, enjoying being part of the training
program in the Sahtu region of the Northwest Territories.

The hopeful applicants were selected by a laborious process to ensure their full commitment. The senior trapping instructor, Wilfred Jackson, together with a school official, traveled to Fort Good Hope, Coville Lake, Deline, Tulita and Norman Wells to interview and select the pre-screened candidates. Nine participants were selected; two from Tulita, three from Deline and four from Fort Good Hope.

To meet the criteria of the Sahtu Regional Board of Education, the nine participants had to enroll in their local school and attend for the month of September, as a condition of acceptance into the project. Beginning in October, and continuing in November and December, they underwent trapping and classroom instruction, where they were trained in basic first aid, firearm safety, wilderness survival skills, basic small motor repair, and the safe operation of chainsaws, outboard motors, and skidoos. Students were also instructed in the humane, safe and effective use of traps and restraining devices that meet the requirements of the AIHTS (Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards) for each of the species to be harvested. The students also received academic lessons leading to credits for high school equivalency. Currently, all are doing well with their academic studies and all will earn high school credits because of this project.

The camp where the youth were staying, Turton Lake, is remote. They stayed in single-lined tents, heated by stoves, in sub-zero temperatures, in a harsh, isolated arctic environment. None of the nine original participants left the program after ten weeks living in tents and all are healthy, getting along well and continue to work together as a team.

In fact, the youth were so keen, they asked their instructor if they could take their traps home for the Christmas break so they could continue to practice what they learned.

Travel to North Bay, Ontario will take place January 10, 2003 as the next phase of this program, for two weeks of training at Fur Harvesters Auction House in basic furbearer biology, pelt preparation, fur grading, sorting and wild fur marketing.

The Youth will then return to the Ramparts area of the Sahtu Region to learn about trapping beaver and resume academic instruction. It is hoped that other sponsors will be inspired to participate because of the overwhelming success of this pilot program.

Cooking a quick breakfast in the tent

In addition to the Fur Institute of Canada, sponsors of this valuable project include: the Sahtu Regional Board of Education, the Northwest Territories department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Fur Harvesters Auction House, International Fur Trade Federation, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (NWT region only), NWT Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (Sahtu Region), Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated (SSI) and the three District AHRDA Boards (Aboriginal Human Resources Development Agreement).