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KAHBAMIUE/COLVILLE LAKE
Daniel Tutcho knows how important schoolwork is. He also recognizes the importance of maintaining a traditional lifestyle.

Daniel Tutcho spends time drawing in class. The Colville Lake student says school is important to him. - photo courtesy of Daniel Tutcho

That's why the Grade 12 student at Colville Lake School is doing his best at doing both.

"Daniel is an excellent role model for our students," said principal Marie Laforme.

"He's able to do the things like going out for wood and hunting and setting nets and trapping as well as maintaining his academics."

Tutcho said he has always enjoyed trapping and hunting with his family.

"I like to go trapping," he said. "I live a healthy lifestyle."

Since he was a young boy, he has been travelling on the land with his family during different seasons of the year. In winter, they travel by SkiDoo to set traps to catch marten. They find a "good clear spot in the trees" to set the traps.

They dry the skins for a day before stretching them, then they sell them to the game warden.

Tutcho said family and friends also go caribou hunting. He said his favourite place to try and catch caribou is on a frozen lake.

"I like finding caribou on the lake because you can shoot them better," he said. "You don't have to chase them into the woods where you can't really find them."

Tutcho said since he first started hunting, he has learned not only how to find and catch caribou, but also how to butcher the meat.

"When I was 12, I didn't know how to cut the caribou, now I can do it on my own," he said. "I know where to go on the land. I know where the good spots are."

In addition to hunting and trapping, Tutcho said he simply enjoys being out on the land.

"You go on the land and you get away from town," he said. "You see new places you've never been before."

Laforme said although Tutcho is very attached to the land and misses some schoolwork, he always makes sure to catch up on what he has missed.

"He still has those connections to the land and he does go out on the land quite a bit," she said. "He actually balances that really well with his schoolwork."

Tutcho said he wants to encourage other young people to "go get out on the land. It's a good lifestyle."

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