Jeepers, that was a dramatic drop in temperatures. We were rolling along with typical spring like days and wham o, -20'ish means and -36 wind chill overnight.
The upside is the snow that fell yesterday will stick around a little longer.
The good fortune in having caribou around close to town has it's downside. I noticed, and apparently others have too, a number of irresponsible people are paunching, skinning and cutting up caribou out on the harbor ice.
Now I am sure most people do not have an issue with some people attending to the task out on the ice, but to just walk away and leave the guts, skin and bits you don't need out there, and so close to town, well that is pushing it a bit far.
Years ago this happened more frequently, but council asked people to refrain from doing it, leaving the mess that is, and for the most part the request was adhered to, seems another reminder may be necessary.
The vast majority of people who process there caribou around town take the remnants to the dump.
Which brings me to a comment some posts back about the skins being dumped. The commenter asked why the skins could not be used for other purposes.
The reasons they are not used commercially is complicated, and why they are not used locally is less so.
This time of year the hair is in molting stage, so if skins are needed to use in any traditional way people wait until the late summer or fall.
Skins this time of year are OK to use for underlay in tents and camping, on komatiks for warmth and extra padding, but that is about the extent of there usefulness, and most people do not bother with them.
If skins are to be used for craft and clothing then later in the year is best.
There is no commercial use for the skins these days. Over the years some pilot programs were tried.
A tanning workshop one year using the traditional Innu method. This did not catch on, one reason being that caribou hide is thinner that the traditional moose hide used for clothing and crafts.
Another time a woman from North West River did a project using the hair of caribou, turning it into a felt like product for use as lining for cloths and mitts and boots.
The resulting product was very warm but at the same time rather bulky, I believe the idea just faded away after the initial pilot project was completed.
3 comments:
Thanks for answering my question on hides Brian. Now I understand. We are pretty ignorant of you way of life up there, so I find your blog facinating. I wouldn't know the first thing about field-dressing an animal. At least the freezers will be full up there, and just keep your fingers crossed the power stays on so the meat doesn't spoil. No doubt you also have back-up generators! From Lynne in St. Catharines.
Thanks for the explanations, I am happy to learn more about the opportunities of the use of caribou skin. - Pretty cold there up north! - Greetings from Berlin, we have blossomy spring here.
Interesting post, thanks. Also, is secondary for me personally, the question will be whether the extension? :)
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