‘Dooming the moose’: Manitoba Cree chief calls for voluntary stop to hunting

WINNIPEG – The leader of a First Nation in Manitoba is urging all moose hunters to stop hunting in the community’s traditional territory due to what she calls dwindling population numbers. 

Misipawistik Cree Nation Chief Heidi Cook is advocating for a “voluntary hunting closure” of an approved game hunting area that encompasses a large part of the community along the northwestern shores of Lake Winnipeg. 

Cook is appealing to all hunters, including members of Misipawistik, to prioritize the long-term health of the moose population by halting harvesting in the area beginning Monday, when the season opens. 

“At this moment in time, the moose population just cannot sustain that harvest. So we’re asking all Manitobans to stand with us in protecting moose and calling on our government to do better,” Cook said in an interview.

“We need to take action, all of us collectively, to protect that moose population so that it can be there for generations of hunters to come. This is our responsibility.”

Cook said information last year from the province, based on an aerial survey, estimated 64 bull moose were in the area.

The government has made 62 bull moose tags available for the same area this year, said the chief.

That doesn’t take into account community hunters, who have treaty rights to hunt on their traditional territory and don’t require government-issued licences or tags.

A provincial spokesperson said in an email Friday that the government’s survey found the moose population remained stable since the last survey in 2013. 

While 62 tags were available this year, the spokesperson said fewer hunters applied and 37 licences were allocated. The government projects a harvest of nine bull moose.

The First Nation disputes the province’s position on the moose population, saying it has observed a sharp drop in the number harvested by members.

Cook said historically the community would harvest up to 19 moose in a season but that hasn’t happened for the past 10 to 15 years. 

A government report detailing the 2013 survey recorded a historic low number of moose for the area. It attributed the low numbers to fires, forestry and mineral exploration, and suggested further disturbances to the animal’s habitat over the following 10 to 20 years. 

The First Nation has been raising concerns with the province for years about the moose, said Cook, but it hasn’t seen much “meaningful change.”

“What our people have been experiencing for a number of years is that it’s almost an involuntary closure. We just don’t have the moose,” she said.

“This is something that is part of our responsibility. We have a right to moose, but we also have a responsibility to protect that moose and make sure that it can survive and be healthy.

“If we continue with the hunt as is, we’re dooming the moose to not being able to be available for future generations.”

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, an advocacy group representing some northern First Nations, supports Cook’s call for a voluntary halt to hunting. 

“When First Nations’ leaders raise concerns about the health of a population and the future sustainability of a resource, those concerns must be taken seriously by Manitoba,” Grand Chief Garrison Settee said in a statement.

Cook said areas south of the First Nation have seen total hunting closures because of the way the province has managed the moose population.

In 2024, Misipawistik warned the province its members couldn’t meaningfully hunt for moose in their territory and asked the government to put licences on hold.

The government reduced the number issued and committed to working with the community to determine moose population dynamics and the First Nation’s food needs, but Cook has said that didn’t happen. 

The First Nation took the province to court last year in an attempt to halt moose harvesting in its territory, arguing it infringes on the community’s right to hunt for food and that moose are important for social and ceremonial purposes.

The importance of the animals affects the community in more ways than “just an empty freezer,” added Cook.

“It’s hard, because the moose is such an important cultural species. It’s tied to our relationship with the land, the sharing that happens between families, just the seasonal rhythms of being out and having those moose camps.”

In 2018, Misipawistik developed a land guardian program to track moose in the area. 

Cook said the program has been successful in reducing poaching and animals killed in highway accidents. This hunting season, the guardians will also be tasked with educating hunters about moose population concerns.

The community doesn’t plan to set up blockades or checkpoints to prevent hunting there, Cook said.

It will instead encourage people to reach out to the government and advocate for better moose management. 

“We won’t be stopping anyone from accessing the land. We want to minimize conflict,” she said. “I think the important thing to emphasize is our shared love for moose.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2026.