First Nations fishers offer up freshwater feast to families

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This article was published 18/12/2020 (1984 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The vehicles were lined up Thursday behind the Canad Inns hotel at Polo Park, and the fish were flying out the door.

Volunteers from Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council and several other groups scooped up free boxes of filleted pickerel and other freshwater fish to load into waiting trunks, all along playfully teasing each other.

“Everybody’s in the Christmas spirit,” said volunteer Steve Berens of Berens River First Nation (fellow volunteers nicknamed him “spokesman” on the spot).

“I think the people that have come in and picked up their fish, they really appreciate the effort that we have made. It’s a team effort.”

No less than 13 organizations banded together to help in the food giveaway, which members of the Fisher River Cree Nation had sparked, to put a surplus of fish to good use in the community. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and federal Crown Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp. also teamed up to redistribute product that couldn’t be sold overseas due to the pandemic.

It resulted in fish giveaways for Indigenous families in Brandon, Winnipeg, Dauphin, Thompson and The Pas.

A statement from Fisher River leadership said up to 1.3 million kilograms of fish will be distributed through the program, which received $11 million in federal funding.

John Murdoch received an armful of boxes Thursday. He said he appreciates the group thought to reach out to and help First Nations people off reserves.

“It really helps out a lot of people,” Murdoch said. “A lot of people don’t have bus fare or the means to get stuff.”

Renata Meconse of First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba said supports such as this are especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re seeing a lot of difficulties, families not being able to be together, and also people having job loss or other forms of hardship that families and people are experiencing,” she said. “This opportunity is really beneficial to help people in a time of need.”

The response shows just how much people needed it, she said. “We have seen a large turnout to pick up fish in Winnipeg, as well as in The Pas.”

And there were extra rewards for those working hard to move pallets stacked tall with boxes and load trunk after trunk with fish, said Richard Dumas, volunteering in the Winnipeg parking lot for Southeast Tribal Council.

“Being with the people and having to haul stuff and doing the pull work is probably the most rewarding job that I’ve had,” he said.

“It’s for people to have dinner on their plate for Christmas.”