WFN Healthy Hampers

THIS IS FOR WOODSTOCK FIRST NATION MEMBERS ONLY ues to go out hunting with his brother.

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“My whole family…I would say, depended on different seasons of hunting that we can participate in,” said Haiyupis. “We’ve always been that way.”

Haiyupis explains that he grew up around his parents plucking, dressing, and preparing ducks that were hunted, together. This is now something that Haiyupis does with his partner.

“They’re all my favorite memories because I can pretty much remember just about every year and every place that I caught [an animal],” said Haiyupis.

In early December the Assembly of First Nation passed an emergency resolution opposing Bill C-21.

Haiyupis said that he struggles not seeing much Indigenous leadership speaking out about issues involving hunting.

“To me, any rifle, if you’re using it for hunting, it’s not an assault style, it’s a hunting rifle,” said Haiyupis.

He continues that the politicians that are making this legislation don’t have a full understanding of rifles, the way that a hunter does.

“We go through all this screening when we do our application for our [Possession and Acquisition Licence]. And yet, it’s not enough that we shouldn’t be trusted with what we own,” said Haiyupis.

“We [hunt] for sustenance,” added Haiyupis. “It’s a way of life for us, for a lot of us.”

Darren DeLuca is owner of Vancouver Island Outfitters for the last 30 years. Deluca grew up in Port Alberni where he had access to the backcountry and started hunting with friends as a teenager.

“The amount of time that you spend in the outdoors, and the things you see and experience, you sort of see the glory in nature… both its strength and its fragility,” said DeLuca.

Deluca explains that with hunting, because you are taking the life of an animal, hunters often build a sense of personal responsibility and stewardship towards nature and wildlife.

With Nuu-chah-nulth teachings at the center, Sutherland Sr. teaches respect for the environment, animals that are hunted and the people who are joining the hunt, whether they are elders or the younger generation. Respect is the number one priority, including not overharvesting.

“It’s partly also looking after the population of what we’re out there for,” said Sutherland Sr.

“[The last minute amendment] feels like a target on rural communities, and has distracted from the original purpose of the bill,” said NDP MP Rachel Blaney while in the House of Commons.

But Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino stressed that the bill was to target AR15 style guns, used in previous shootings such as Polytechnique.

For DeLuca, hunting is about going out with friends, families, and sustaining his community.

“The real crime issue is handguns in gangs in the inner cities,” said DeLuca.

“I always see governments trying to restrict hunters’ rights, and I never once see them do something to support hunters’ rights, bring forward a regulation, or an act that protects a person’s right to hunt and fish,” said DeLuca.

“Fortunately, Indigenous people have the constitutional right to hunt and fish,” he added. “In a lot of cases it’s protected wildlife, because they had to protect that constitutional right.”