Band welcomes long-missing elk back to traditional territory

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An unlikely alliance, that included the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation working side-by-side with Aboriginal organizations, has succeeded in bringing elk back to the forest around Montreal Lake. Chief Henry Naytowhow, of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation, said he believes the project can serve as a model for other partnerships in conservation. A shipment of 65 elk transplanted from Elk Island National Park in Alberta was released Jan. 22 on the band's traditional lands, 100 km north of Prince Albert.

It was the first installment in what is expected to become a herd of several hundred elk over the next few years. February will see another 120 wapiti join the herd.

"The last siting of elk around here was 25 years ago," Chief Naytowhow told a crowd assembled to celebrate the release. "Today we welcome them back."

The project to bring the elk back to Montreal Lake began two years ago when band members sat down with representatives from groups like Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management, the Prince Albert Model Forest and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation has traditionally often been at odds with Aboriginal groups over issues like treaty hunting and fishing rights. Ken Cantin, of the Prince Albert Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, said he didn't come into the discussions with very high expectations, but quickly found all the groups had similar goals - conservation of elk in their traditional habitat.

When funding of $100,000 was secured from the Department of Natural Resource's Canadian Rural Partnerships fund, the project became a reality. Of that funding, $86,000 will be spent in 1999 to pay for the first shipments of elk, the corral used to acclimatize them to the new area, and for four radio tracking collars and computer equipment to track their movements from the University of Saskatchewan. The remaining money will be spent in 2000 for more elk shipments. Mike Newman, president of the Prince Albert Model Forest, said it's not known what drove the elk from the area, but it is important to see where these elk travel.

"We're not sure why they left. Whether it was predators, whether it was hunting pressure, or if they joined up with other herds," he said. Newman said the high point of the project for him was seeing the diverse groups that had doubts about the project work together so well. "If we can get a couple hundred elk in here, we should be able to establish a new herd," he said.

Chief Naytowhow said the band has imposed up to a five-year ban on hunting of the elk to help the herd establish itself. He's hoping hunting can be thrown open to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal hunters within that five years, however.

"If we can work together to let this herd reproduce, I think we can be successful," he said.

The arrival of the elk has generated excitement from both young and old on the reserve.

A local school class of students studying the traditional ways of their band visited the holding area to view the elk the day of their release. And Elder Amos Naytowhow, 65, was so excited to see the elk return, he had already visited the viewing area three times. He said he hopes to soon see the elk the way he remembers them, tramping through the bush around his home community.

"That's what I hope to see," Naytowhow said with a quiet smile. "It's a great, joyful moment. It's a fulfillment."

Naytowhow said the younger generation of his band are losing out on the traditions of being close to the land. While he still snares rabbits for the stew pot and dries wild meat, his six grandchildren faced the prospect of not having a chance to share in that culture to the same extent. Naytowhow told the crowd the release of the elk was a very significant event for the band, and that it has the responsibility to look after the elk as well as the other animals on it's traditional land. Also on hand for the release ceremony were: Grand Chief Alphonse Bird of the Prince Albert Grand Council, Roy Bluhorn from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and Chief Harry Cook of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band.,

Other groups also involved in the elk relocation project were: the Canadian Forest Service, Weyerhaeuser, Prince Albert National Park and the FSIN.