Festival feeding frenzy remains popular as ever

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Take one moose, add one-third tonne of potatoes, garnish with 20 kilograms of onions to taste, and stir. Serve with 5,000 pieces of bannock.

That is the recipe that fed 1,500 Yukoners who attended this year's four-day Moosehide Gathering, which celebrated its seventh anniversary on July 29 and is becoming renowned for its free feasts.

Tr'ondeck Hwech'in First Nation started the festival in 1993 as an annual affair, but the magnitude of food preparations for a huge crowd caused organizers to scale back their celebration to every two years.

Overseeing kitchen duties was the band's cook, Nora Van Bibber. With seven hours' food preparation each day, watching dancing and other cultural activities was out of the question for her.

"Okay, this morning I saw the rain and said, 'Cancel the salads'," she said on the last day.

The Moosehide people who put up the party are descendents of the Han tribe who frequently conducted potlatches until the end of the 19th century. At that time, Chief Isaac, anticipating the loss of his people's culture with the start of the gold rush, took their ceremonies and traditions to the Upper Tanana tribe in adjacent Alaska. There he requested these practices be kept until they could be returned to the Han.

Now a few people live year-round and have re-established Han traditions three kilometres north of Dawson City, in an area accessible only by the Yukon River.

Patricia Lindgren of the band's heritage department explained why the Moosehide celebration is regaining its popularity.

Lindgren, whose great-great-grandfather was Chief Isaac, said, "The Han people were a really rich First Nation back in the day. Today with our self-government we are becoming dominant once again."

Each day more than 20 volunteers helped cook for the gathering. Besides moose, they cooked 65 salmon over the four days. These low-fat entrees plus a choice of vegetarian dishes and contemporary foods provided ample variety.

All of this activity occurred in a 10 square metre kitchen area containing two stoves and outdoor barbeques. This year, they had running water.

"The drain is a kitchen thing and it's wonderful," the chef said about this year's renovations. "Slop buckets are not."

The day's steady downpour ended just as the cooking was finished. That allowed the last meal to be served outdoors to more than 300 who braved the elements.

The Yukon tourism board promotes the Moosehide Gathering.