Hundreds of years ago fur trapping was a necessity for clothing, housing and trade. In the 21st century trapping is no longer the necessity it once was except in extreme northern and isolated communities. Trapping though has survived as a part of aboriginal culture and remains a skill passed down through generations here in Pikwàkanagàn.

Fur
Ethical and moral concerns regarding fur trapping has created a decline in fur sales. New more humane trapping measures have caused a recent upswing on the purchase of furs. Fur is becoming popular again and it is offered dyed pink, green or blue, covered with stripes and polka dots, in a variety of weights and lengths.

While the trend towards greater fur purchases may increase the bank account balances of popular fur fashion designers, aboriginal trappers are definitely not hauling in large amounts of money for their fur trapping skills.

Cliff Meness is a trapper and member and past President of the Board of Directors for The Fur Harvesters Auction (FHA), a non-profit organization dealing in millions of dollars annually in wild and ranch fur exports. Half of the Board Members are native, 50% of the company belongs to the Union of Ontario Indians. The FHA stores and sells hundreds of thousands of fur pelts in auction. Furs are grouped according to colour, weight and size. International buyers bid on the pelts and the cost of each fur lot will vary depending on demand.

Cliff explains that with the limited quotas and trapline numbers that the Ministry of Natural Resources permits, regional trappers could not make a living off of trapping the 19 fur bearing species. Trappers don’t make an hourly wage and must spend vast amounts of time setting, checking and preparing traps, as well as skinning and cleaning skins.

Approximately 19 traplines are located inside Algonquin Park for trapping by the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn. Trappers and their helpers work these traplines. The average age of a trapper here is 50 years old. There are very few young trappers, even here in Pikwàkanagàn.

In 2007 fur harvesting will change yet again with the full implementation of the European Union Agreement for international humane trapping standards. All new and existing fur traps in Canada must be certified by the Canadian government for use. The European market will not purchase any furs unless they have been trapped using government certified traps.

Pikwàkanagàn's Trappers
Our community has a number of trappers and one of them is Anthony (August) Commanda. Many trappers and hunters from Pikwàkanagàn learned the skills of the trade from this accomplished trapper and hunter. Both August and his brother Ed Commanda trap and prepare beaver pelts for sale.

These are their basics of trapping:
1. You have to maintain your harvest or next year there won't be any
2. Trapping is not a high paying career in fact it barely pays at all, so don't expect to get rich
3. The work all begins after the trapping is complete.

To process a beaver pelt Ed begins by making a slit around each paw and the tail to deftly remove the pelt from the beaver. The skinless beaver is covered in a thin layer of fat. August explains, "You can tell how tough the winter was by how thick the layer of fat is. If they have a lot of fat, it has been a good winter with lots of food for the beaver. "

August showed me the beaver pelts already skinned and prepared for sale. They were cleaned and stretched out in a circular pattern on a piece of wood and held firmly in place with nails. Each fur I handled was softer than the one before.

August explained how the traps are used. They are metal and placed in the path of the beaver. When the beaver swims through the trap it closes shut on him and prevents him from swimming to the surface for air. August said, "He doesn't drown. He suffocates." He set up a trap for me and explained that the newer traps are thicker, stronger and close tighter and with more force. This prevents any undue suffering of the animal. These more humane traps must all be in place for 2007. Without the use of certified traps the trappers will not be able to sell their furs.

Pikwàkanagàn's harvesters have accumulated years of trapping and hunting experience, but most importantly they have shared their experiences with many others, keeping this ancient skill alive here in our community for future generations.

Tanning Hides
Dave Hall volunteered his time and tools to spend several hours demonstrating hide tanning skills to a school that visited the community to learn the art of hide tanning. The students learned about the tools and techniques of hide tanning and had the opportunity to work on a prepared hide. Dave supplied a deer hide previously stretched and tied onto a wooden frame. He then demonstrated the removal of the fur from the deer hide with the use of a scraper. He gave the students and teachers the opportunity to help scrape the hide clean. He then explained the entire procedure for tanning a hide to produce a soft and pliable skin.

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