 | E-mail this story |  | Write letter to editor |  | Order a classified ad |
| E-mail this story | | Write letter to editor | | Order a classified ad |
 Jonas Antoine, left, and Tony Antoine enjoy conversation with their father, William (centre). They often reflect on their time growing up and talk about current affairs. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo |
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Jonas visits his dad, William, nearly every day in his modest living quarters, one of the units known as the "clusters" behind the Stanley Isaiah supported-living home. Tony resides with his father.
When they get together, they recall times spent hunting, trapping and travelling on the land. William, 91 years old according to missionary records but suspected to be older, delights in telling of his exploits in the Horn Plateau and North Nahanni, where he hunted with friend William Cli.
"He was an incredible hunter and trapper," Jonas says of his father.
"The caribou used to take off from him and he used to run them down," adds Tony.
"On snowshoes," Jonas interjects. "Now (hunters) use snowmobiles."
Providing for his wife, Celine, and their 12 children, William had to be a prolific hunter and trapper. Born in the Bulmer Lake area, he raised his family at Rabbitskin, approximately 40 kilometres up the Mackenzie River from Fort Simpson. Tony remembers accompanying his father to the Horn Plateau by dogsled in the bitter cold of winter. When they arrived they would be exhausted and fall asleep in front of an open fire.
Speaking in Slavey, William said he can remember bringing wild meat into the settlement (Fort Simpson) in exchange for goods from missionaries and store keepers.
"That was the way of life in those days," Jonas explained. "Work, work, work. Get what you can and then start all over again, survival."
The Antoine family moved to Fort Simpson in 1957 when falling fur prices and a scarcity of animals in the Rabbitskin area made life difficult, Jonas said.
William agreed that life was hard. Although the present brings more comforts, he said he'd like to see the land remain as it is, not exploited.
"It's a big piece of land. Why can't we all share it instead of somebody owning it?" said William.
"I think he was quoted at one time as saying, 'I hope nothing bad happens to the land in my time because when I die, I don't want to be the one to break the news to the people who have gone ahead of me,'" said Jonas.
