Submitted by Kevin Whalen
The Whalen family after successfully harvesting a
bull moose.
The Whalen family, as members of the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) Sault Ste. Marie Métis community, couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the Powely Case other than calling out and harvesting an enormous bull moose on Sept 19, 2014. Kevin Whalen shares the story below:
“The bull moose was taken by my son Collin and me, along with my other son Braedon’s help who broke sticks from time to time to enhance the bull in showing himself at the beginning of the rut, as well as the help of my father’s moose scouting skills. Ten minutes seemed like an hour when the bull moose first responded back to my cow call by loudly thrashing in the bush to complete silence. I continued to call on and off and we hid out of site while the moose circled around us as the wind was in his favor. We could occasionally smell him and he would grunt and thrash in the dense forest every couple minutes. He was getting closer and louder until we saw the tag alders spread apart as he stepped out into opening for the shot. Let’s just say there was excitement and high fives all around, we could begin to breathe again, lots of work ahead, and a toast to honor the Powley Family. We will never forget this traditional hunting experience and the memories.
Our family struggled to verify our harvesting files but hard work and persistence paid off for us Whalen’s and it was worth the victory in the end. After receiving a letter in 2013 requesting we turn in our harvesting cards, MNO President Gary Lipinski encouraged me and my family to work with MNO Registry staff to get the information they needed. After working with my family members, the MNO Registry team, legal, Kim Powley, MNO Captain of the Hunt for Region 4 Art Bennett and others for the past year and a half, this July MNO Registry notified our family that we have successfully fulfilled the required documentation as required in the Powley Test, Supreme Court of Canada and that Historic Sault Ste. Marie will be our harvesting territory. That’s two victories in one year for the Whalen family.”