KA'A'GEE TU/KAKISA
Signs warning morel mushroom pickers to stay out of Kakisa were not put up with malicious intent, according to Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation Chief Lloyd Chicot.
Daunting signs mark a boundary for morel pickers near Kakisa, although community members say no ill will is intended - just a desire to keep their privacy and peace during the harvesting season. - April Hudson/NNSL photo
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It has been less than a year since the small community of 45 was evacuated due to a large forest fire. Now, that burnt-out area is prime picking for the much-sought-after morels and this year Kakisa has been the first stop for many first-time pickers from B.C. and other provinces.
That initially created tension between unprepared community members who are used to peace and quiet, and pickers who now outnumber locals nearly three to one, but Chicot said the relationship is much smoother now that newcomers are obeying the signs and respecting residents' privacy.
"We don't have the infrastructure to support so many people," Chicot explained, noting Kakisa is still picking up the pieces from last year's fire.
Walter Brown and Joachim Obst, who authored the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment's harvester's guide to morels, have been at the morel camp since the season began and have open lines of communication with both pickers and Kakisa residents.
They said minor conflicts - such as some pickers using campground facilities without paying - have been quickly resolved.
"You will always get some people who disregard the rules," Brown said, noting the overwhelming majority of pickers do not want to cause trouble.
He said when pickers first started gathering, a few of them were going into Kakisa at all hours of the night to use band plug-ins to charge their phones and laptops.
"The (community members) had their privacy obliterated," he said.
"But those pickers are the kind of people who are used to just taking things."
In order to get the situation under control, Chicot and the community threw two barbeques for residents and pickers. Nearly 100 pickers showed up to the second one.
"At those community meetings, we told the pickers how we do things here. Since then, they've been pretty respectful," Chicot said.
In the mushroom pickers' camp, pickers and buyers alike agreed there is no bad blood between them and Kakisa.
Fredrick John, who has been buying mushrooms for 15 years, said the "rumour mill" starts up every picking season. So far this year, that mill has churned out rumours of violence, threats and even groups of people with guns forcing pickers away from Kakisa.
"People are just trying to create conflict between (Kakisa) and the pickers. It's unnecessary," he said.
