Deer for one, deer for all

Thousands of pounds of deer meat went out to community members last week, following a recent cull in the province. Culls to deal with overpopulation are common - but up until now, Kahnawa’kehró:non haven’t been able to benefit from them.

“We valued it at something around $27,000 that was delivered,” said Council chief David Diabo, who oversaw the agreement struck recently between the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) and wildlife officials that made the donation possible.

The cull began in the fall and ran into this winter, and was carried out in regions like Mount Bruno, Boucherville, and Longueuil, he said. No community members were involved in the hunting.

The shipment included over 4,500 pounds of the meat that were vacuum sealed and frozen.

Various cuts went out to community members through the Kateri Food Basket and the free food program run by Bobby Patton last Thursday, February 6.

“The amount that we received was just incredible,” said Patton, who operates the All Nations Gathering Place, also known as the Mohawk-Cree teepee project. “It’s gone out and helped so many people, so many people are just grateful.”

The Kateri Food Basket got over 1,000 pounds of the game.

“It was all gone that same day, in six hours actually,” said Cory Rice, the director there.

Luckily there’s still some left at the All Nations Gathering Place. They got a larger chunk of the order, said Ashley Ross, who volunteers there - just because they have more storage space.

“We’ve never got a shipment of meat that’s been this large, this is the first time that this has happened,” she said.

The remainder of the meat will likely be integrated into the pre-cooked meals they serve each Friday. Whether it’ll be included in the meal this Friday (today) is still up in the air. It’s their chef that calls the shots, she said.

“There’s just so much that you can do with it,” Ross said.

She took home some of the steak and ground meat herself, which she’ll probably be using to fry up some burgers.

Rice, meanwhile, cooked up some chilli that he ate alongside his wife. With grated cheese on top, of course.

It’s not just ground meat and steaks that were distributed. Antlers, used to make kahstó:was and regalia, were also donated to the two main Longhouses in town, Diabo said. Hides currently being held in Magog will also come through the community at a later date, he said.

Some will be set aside for the cultural centre and Longhouses, with the remainder set to go out to community members.

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