DELINE
Rosanne Taneton said being successful on the land means knowing how to work together - especially when it comes to collecting firewood.

Gordon Taneton shows Ehtseo Ayha School students, including Isaiah Baton, how to properly butcher a caribou after a good hunt the week of Nov. 30. The students spent three days out on the land as part of the Take a Kid Trapping program. - photo courtesy of Evan Ferguson

"We worked as a team so it probably just took two minutes," she said about the daily chore.

Taneton, who is in Grade 10, was one of six high school students from Ehtseo Ayha School in Deline who participated in the Take a Kid Trapping program earlier this month.

Gordon Taneton, Rosanne's father, chaperoned the trip along with Evan Ferguson and Bernice Neyelle.

The group left Deline on Nov. 30 and travelled about 30 kilometres west to Gordon's cabin. They retuned on Dec. 2.

While on the land, students learned everything from where to collect snow for drinking water to how to properly skin and butcher caribou.

Searching for caribou was the best part of the trip for Brenden Takazo, Grade 10.

"My favourite part of the trip was when we wen to go look for caribou. I was riding on a Ski-Doo with Gordon," he said. "He spotted two black dots far away."

Watching Gordon expertly skin a caribou was another highlight, he added.

"I learned how to skin the caribou, where to start and how to take all the meat out," Takazo said.

Gordon said it was the first time many of the students had seen how a caribou is butchered.

Students were amazed that Gordon didn't wear gloves as he skinned the animal, even though temperatures hovered at about -30 C.

"They were just looking at me because I use my bare finger to skin all the caribou," he explained. "You can't skin with a knife. The tough part they gotta learn as well."

Taneton said she learned how much work goes into preparing meals. After watching Neyelle prepare ingredients for supper, Taneton said she decided to help with the cooking.

"She worked really hard, so I just took over," she said.

"I put all the meat and the potatoes in a pan and fried it up. After they ate they said it was good.

"I thought the potatoes were done because they looked like they were burning, but they were a bit hard, but it was still a good supper."

After the day's chores were finished, the group gathered around the bonfire to tell stories and share hot chocolate.

Gordon explained the reasons behind his cabin's location. He chose a rich spot traditionally used by people in the Deline area.

"I taught them about how our ancestors went through there," he said. "The reason why I built a cabin there was because there is lots of caribou, lots of moose, beavers and muskrat.

"It's a pretty good area to go harvesting."

The lessons students learned during the trip can be translated into the classroom, Ferguson said.

"It is directly transferable to Northern Studies 10," he said.

In addition to practical skills, spending time on the land is a great way to build bonds between students and educators.

"One of the major goals is to build relationships with the kids while you're out there, you see each other in a different light," he said. "You definitely see people's personalities shine."

The trip is especially important for students who don't have an opportunity to learn traditional skills outside of the school.

"A lot of the kids don't get a chance to head out in the bush," Ferguson said. "It's nice to make that available to them."

Takazo said he knows learning traditional skills are important.

"It's to keep our Dene culture alive and keep it running," he said.

When they returned to Deline, each student was given a package of meat to take home and the remaining meat will be used at the school.

Gordon said the skin will likely be used as part of another school program where elders teach students how to make traditional drums.

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