Lost caribou
An Inuit man, Piqanaaq, cuts pieces of caribou meat in a camp in Akuniyuaq, Nunavut. Taken in 1950. (Courtesy: Richard Harrington / Library and Archives Canada)
Story told by Nick Huard
I was the tech on a film shoot way up in Nunavik and we had the president of the Quebec Ministere des Forets, de la Faune et des Parcs with us.
When he shows up there, he’s got this $3,000 rifle, with a scope and the whole thing. The guy’s a lawyer, he doesn’t know this shit.
There was a female deer with a calf. It took him eight bullets to kill the female. There’s no way we’d let him leave the calf, you gotta put it down too cause it can’t survive without its mother. So we had to go back to get bullets while the calf was going crazy around his mother.
Well now he got me on my bad side.
The next day, we get on the boat, we’re off on the lake. The rule is you don’t shoot a caribou while he’s swimming. You’ve got to give him two shakes when he gets out of the lake. It’s just decent.
So as we’re going across the lake, there’s a caribou swimming across. This a-hole picks up his rifle and shoots the caribou. “What the f*ck are you doing?”
He pulls this young buck into the freighter. Then the caribou starts to move so he grabs his rifle and puts a bullet through the caribou’s head - and the bottom of the boat. Now we’re sinking.
Caribou meat drying at Carey Lake in Northwest Territories (Courtesy: Geological Survey of Canada / Library and Archives Canada)
We ended up in the lake. Luckily, we only had water to our armpits. I had my daypack and camera and boom and everything else above my head. We get to shore and all he carried was his rifle. And he was giving shit to the guide for not carrying his bag.
So I grabbed his rifle and I smashed it against the rock. Son of a bitch had a bullet chambered and the safety wasn’t on, I could have killed myself.
I sort of got my revenge though because the day after that, we went for a walk around. He borrowed a rifle from another guy, and off we go. He sees a caribou. A nice big male. Shoots it, takes it down. Only took one bullet, he was lucky that day.
So I said, “Well aren’t you going to make meat?”
“Oh I’m sure the guide heard the gunshot and they’re going to come and do it.”
“No, no, no. You kill, you make meat.” I gave him my knife. I said, “Start cutting.”
In the meantime, the caribou is swelling. He doesn’t know what to do, so he goes and stabs the caribou. All the guts are pouring out on us. He turned dark green from head to toe. He’d never done that before, not even with a rabbit. At that point, he ruined the meat. It was a lost caribou.
Kanien'kéha version
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Kanien'kéha version ↓
Ka'wahraksà:ton atená:ti
Painting of a caribou hunt by Denis Gale in 1860. (Courtesy: Library and Archives Canada)
Nick Huard roká:raton
Tech watió'tehkwe' shitiakwaráhstha' í:non ne Nunavik tánon' thaia'takwe'ní:io ne Quebec Ministere des Forets, de la Faune et des Parcs shonkwatia'tará:ni.
Shà:rawe', áhsen niiohsénhserote' nikanó:ron rahonrenhá:wi, iontkahrata'áhstha' ió:ien', akwé:kon tiokwékton. Teharihwakéhnhas nen' nè:'e, iah thé:nen teharihwaienté:ri ne ken' nahò:ten'.
O'nhéhtien oskenón:ton tánon' oskenón:ton owí:ra' íthne'skwe'. Sha'té:kon naharòn:tate' tsi niió:re' wahakwé:ni' wahário' no'nhéhtien. Iah thahshakwaríhon' ne ahoròn:tate' ne owí:ra'. Ó:nen'k tsi enhtshério' ni' nè:'e ase'kénh iah thaón:ton' ahrónhnheke' tóka' iah thahnè:sheke' ne ro'nisténha.
Ó:nen se' ken wahakena'kón:ni'.
Tsi saióhrhen'ne', kahonweià:ke wa'akwatíta', kaniatarà:ke ieiákwe's. Kaianerenhserá:ien' ne tóhsa enhtsharòn:tate' ne atená:ti tsi nikarì:wes ratá:wens. Ó:nen'k tsi enhsatehrhá:rate' ne tékeni tahatawákhon' nó:nen enhate'skó:ko'. Né: tkarihwaié:ri.
Tsi nikarì:wes káti' wa'tionkwaniatariia'konhátie', atená:ti ò:ni' wa'thoniatariia'konhátie'. Sok kí: na'teharihwakwénhte' wa'thahón:rahkwe' ne raóhonre' wahoròn:tate' ne atená:ti. "Oh ne ken nihsatkon'seratiéhrha'?" Kahón:wakon tahoia'tatihéntho' kí:ken ken' nithoién:ha atená:ti. Sok kí:ken atená:ti tahatáhsawen' wahatoriahnerón:ko' ne kahón:wakon. Tonsahahón:rahkwe' raóhonre' tánon' ranontsì:ne wahoròn:tate' ne atená:ti tánon' ia'tewatóhetste' ranontsì:ne - nok ò:ni' wa'okahrón:ta'ne' ne kahonwé:ia'.
Dene woman scrapes caribou skin in K’asho Got’ine, Northwest Territories. Taken in 1945. (John Lewis Robinson / Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development fonds / Library and Archives Canada)
Ó:nen ki' wa'akwahón:io'ne'. Wa'onkwatera'swí:iohste' tsi iakwa'nhonhró:kon khok niió:re' takahneká:ra'ne'. È:neken kenontsì:ne khá:wi ne átiere', iontatia'taráhkhwa', kawennowanáhtha', tánon' akwé:kon ó:ia naho'tèn:shon. Atsà:kta ia'ákwawe' tánon' thok ní:kon rahá:wi ne raónhore'. Wahotewennaién:tonhwe' ne shakohaharáhtha' tsi iah thiehohawà:se' ne raó:iare'.
Wahihonráhkhwa' ne raóhonre' tánon' otstenhrà:ke wa'kenonhwáre'ke' Kí:ken teharihwakwénhte' shé:kon tkanén:ia' raohón:rakon tánon' iah tekaniothahrhòn:ne', aiotòn:'on akatatáhsehte'.
Shonsaióhrhen'ne' ostón:ha ki' sahikária'kte', wa'tiatiahtáhkwaien'. Shaià:ta wahohón:rani', sok wa'atiahtén:ti'. Wahó:ken' ne atená:ti. Rakowá:nen rá:tsin. Wahoròn:tate' tánon' wahoia'tié:nenhte'. Skanén:ia khok wa'tewatonhóntsohwe', wahotera'swí:iohste' ne tho shiwenhniserá:te'.
Né: káti' wa'kì:ron', "Iah ken tehse'wahrahseronnià:ne'?"
"Ó:," wahèn:ron', "kwah í:kehre' tóka' wahothón:te'ne' tsi onròn:tate' ne shakohaharáhtha' nok énthre' tánon' tho nenhá:iere''."
"Iah, iah, iah. Í:se' ki' wahtshério', í:se' enhse'wahrahserón:ni'." Wahiia'shá:ron' nakwà:share', wa'kì:ron', "Tasatáhsawen' tetsà:khon."
Tsi nikarì:wes, ón:tohwe' aoià:takon ne atená:ti. Iah tehoterièn:tare' oh nenhá:iere', tho ká:ti' niahà:re' tánon' wahà:'ase' ne atená:ti. Akwé:kon ne okahróhsta takaiá:ken'ne' iakeniia'takwé:kon wa'ó:ra'ne'. Óhonte' nahaiatò:ten'ne' kí: rón:kwe. Iah nonwén:ton eh tehoié:ren nohén:ton, iah ni' ne' tehahonhtané:ken. Ó:nen waha'wahrahétkenhte'. Wa'ka'wahráksen'ne' ne atená:ti.
Translated by Sahawisó:ko’ Arquette