Chisasibi turns to social media in hunt for meat donations to elders care centre

A seniors activity centre in the James Bay Cree community of Chisasibi turned to Facebook Tuesday to increase the chances traditional meat will be on the menu. It's asking hunters to make donations of wild meat.

Chisasibi is one of two Cree communities which currently have traditional food programs, meaning they are able to use an exemption from inspections usually required by the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ).  

"We understand the importance for the elders to eat traditional food," said Paul Linton, assistant director of Public Health for Chishaayiyuu [people over the age of 30] for the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay.

Chisasibi has had a traditional food program in place for about 10 years and Mistissini for about five years.

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The plan is for similar programs to be in place in all the Cree communities by the end of 2018. Linton says it's a source of food elders trust and helps maintain a sense of cultural identity, not to mention the health benefits that come with food from the land.

"When you buy a chunk of hamburger meat or chicken or pork chops at the store you don't know what's been put in the food," said Linton. "You don't know what kind of growth hormones or antibiotics. When you kill [an animal] off the land, the only thing they've had is what the land provides."

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The program can accept fish, rabbit and beaver from any hunter, but under the MAPAQ exemption, it can only accept most other kinds of traditional food from hunters with training given periodically by Cree elders and veterinarians from the ministry.

The social media call-out for donations Tuesday is part of efforts to create stronger links to those hunters.

According Cree Public Health, the Safe Food Handling workshops have been given in inland and coastal Cree communities every year since 2008.

So far the Chisasibi seniors centre has received over 13 kilograms of whitefish.

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