Community Harvest Day
Come on down! Scott Carpenter and Louise Goulding invite everyone out to the Métis Community Gathering and Feast on Oct. 29 at the Maple Valley Club in Lafontaine.
Métis harvest
By Kim Goggins
The Mirror
Published: Tuesday, October 25th, 2005
The Métis culture has always been about sharing and helping their citizens in need.
As a daughter of a fishing family in Moon River, Louise Goulding grew up witnessing the tradition of harvesting food and giving it out to neighbours and family.
"Our people have always harvested and distributed to our community," she said. "It's always been about sharing in our culture, absolutely."
Currently, she is organizing a larger-scale Métis harvest in this area, as part of the first provincewide Métis Community Harvest between Oct. 19 and 29.
Last year, there was a one-day harvest to help historic Métis people, but the current 10-day event is the first of its kind in Ontario, ending with a celebration and feast on Saturday, Oct. 29.
"It will be just enough to get them going, to put some in their freezers. Hopefully, we'll get more and they'll have it through the winter," said Goulding, president of the Moon River Council and captain of the hunt for Region 7, which includes this area.
"Our big game harvest (moose and deer) is from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 so everyone can still harvest and donate. But this particular (event) is a 10-day harvest specifically to help (others) with a day of celebration at the end."
About 25 Métis hunters, in groups and individually, both locally and as far away as Port Elgin, are harvesting fish, deer and bear to benefit hundreds of community members who cannot hunt for themselves.
"My group hunts up at Moon Island in the Sansouci area and we're hoping to bring back a moose," said Goulding. "I'm determined to bring back a moose."
North Simcoe has a very significant portion of Métis in Ontario, says Scott Carpenter, community development officer for Region 7 of the Métis Nation of Ontario, which covers this area and as far east to Peterborough, north to Parry Sound and south to Alliston.
According to the last census taken in Penetanguishene, 11.4 per cent of residents identified themselves as being Métis.
"We estimate the number to be much higher due to the strong history of the Métis here," he said. "I think the average in Ontario is less than one per cent. So, there is a significant population of Métis specifically in this area."
While the 10-day harvest will only be used for Métis families, the public is invited to the gathering and feast on Oct. 29 at the Maple Valley Club in Lafontaine.
Beginning at 9:30 a.m., the day will feature an array of free activities to give guests a taste of Métis culture, including demonstrations in beading, rug hooking, trapping, skinning and stretching of hides, traditional salve workshops, fish cleaning and filleting, games,and a Métis jam session at the end of the day. There will also be both a jigging and animal calling contest. A free fish fry dinner will highlight the day.
"The greatest thing about the whole day is that everything, from the prizes to the porta-potties," said Goulding.
"We are not putting any money towards this. This is the community coming together. This is the excitement that has been building for the last two weeks. We are expecting upwards of 400 people for dinner and everything has been donated. The excitement and the enthusiasm is just unbelievable."
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