Pat Kane

Photographer

www.patkanephoto.com

The Last Trappers - National Geographic

Follow Hire

With Fur Out of Fashion, Indigenous Trappers are Endangered - for National Geographic

Nathan Kogiak on his trapline o...p;rdquo; says Kogiak.

Nathan Kogiak on his trapline outside of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. “My father taught me everything I know about trapping and being on the land,” says Kogiak. “He went to residential school and came back a changed person who struggled with addiction as an adult. When he was on his trapline, he was so happy and kind to me. He passed away six years ago but before he died he asked me to be a full-time trapper and to carry on with this way of life. I feel connected to him when I’m out here, I’ve shed a lot of tears on this trapline,” says Kogiak.

Shaun Tobac, a skilled hunter a...assed down,” he says.

Shaun Tobac, a skilled hunter and trapper, sets traps for marten and lynx near a camp outside of Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories. The camp is located within the Ts'udé Nı̨lį́né Tuyeta (Rampart River and Wetlands) Protected Area, a 10,000 square kilometre sacred site for K'asho Got'ı̨nę people in Fort Good Hope. The boundaries of the protected area are based on the traditional hunting and trapping routes of the Dene people in the area. Tobac, like many young men from Fort Good Hope, learned how to hunt and trap as a boy and continue to do it today. “I started doing this when I was just a little kid. We learn how to survive out here from our parents, uncles and elders. All this knowledge is shared and passed down,” he says.

Lynx tracks in the snow at a hu...of the Dene people in the area.

Lynx tracks in the snow at a hunting and trapping camp near Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories. The camp is located within the Ts'udé Nı̨lį́né Tuyeta (Rampart River and Wetlands) Protected Area, a 10,000 square kilometre sacred site for K'asho Got'ı̨nę people in Fort Good Hope. The boundaries of the protected area are based on the traditional hunting and trapping routes of the Dene people in the area.

Nathan Kogiak makes his way thr...a chance to recover.”

Nathan Kogiak makes his way through the forest near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Trappers in the area navigate over lakes, through trees and old trails with their snowmobiles to make their traplines. “Most trappers alternate between different traplines every year or every second year,” says Kogiak. “You don’t want to trap all the animals in one area, it’s not good [for the animal population]. We need to respect the wildlife and give them a chance to recover.”

LEFT: Part of a conibear trap i...ance. RIGHT: A wolverine skull.

LEFT: Part of a conibear trap is shown on top of a beaver pelt in Nathan Kogiak’s work shack in Yellowknife. Conibear traps are known as “quick kill” traps which are spring loaded and intended to kill animals instantly, which trappers say is more humane than other traps despite it’s medieval appearance. RIGHT: A wolverine skull.

LEFT: Skinning knives made with...stoat or a short-tailed weasel.

LEFT: Skinning knives made with caribou bone handles. RIGHT: An ermine, also called a stoat or a short-tailed weasel.

LEFT: Joseph Tobac, a land and ...er and trapper, at Tuyeta Camp.

LEFT: Joseph Tobac, a land and wildlife monitor with the Ts'udé Nı̨lį́né Tuyeta guardian program. RIGHT: Shaun Tobac, a skilled hunter and trapper, at Tuyeta Camp.

LEFT: Mabel Tatchinron, a wildl... for adults and children alike.

LEFT: Mabel Tatchinron, a wildlife and renewable resource officer for the government of the Northwest Territories, in Fort Good Hope. When she’s not working at her government job, Tatchinron sews, beads and makes clothing from animal hides and fur. “Hardly any furs have come in this year and not many trappers are around anymore. I think with COVID and the low prices [of fur] means that not many people can afford to trap anymore.” RIGHT: Donovan Boucher at a camp in Yellowknife. Boucher, who has been trapping most of his life, has been doing it more seriously the past 10 years. He also leads training workshops about proper trapping techniques and etiquette for adults and children alike.

A picture of longtime trapper, ...g kids how to do it.”

A picture of longtime trapper, Wilfred Jackson, silhouetted in his cabin. The camp is located within the Ts'udé Nı̨lį́né Tuyeta (Rampart River and Wetlands) Protected Area, a 10,000 square kilometre sacred site for K'asho Got'ı̨nę people in Fort Good Hope. The boundaries of the protected area are based on the traditional hunting and trapping routes of the Dene people in the area. The beaver is synonymous with the fur trade in Canada, as the earliest European explorers hired Indigenous trappers to source beaver pelts from across the country to be sold as fashionable hats and robes in England, France and throughout Europe in the 17th and 18th century. “I’ve been trapping my whole life, since I was 4 or 5 years old, all around here,” says Jackson. “Beaver, marten, rabbits, everything. I don’t trap as much anymore because it’s hard work and nobody is buying it, but I still love being out here and showing these young kids how to do it.”

Nathan Kogiak checks a beaver t...apline,” says Kogiak.

Nathan Kogiak checks a beaver trap on a lake outside of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. “My father taught me everything I know about trapping and being on the land,” says Kogiak. “He went to residential school and came back a changed person who struggled with addiction as an adult. When he was on his trapline, he was so happy and kind to me. He passed away six years ago but before he died he asked me to be a full-time trapper and to carry on with this way of life. I feel connected to him when I’m out here. I’ve shed a lot of tears on this trapline,” says Kogiak.

Nathan Kogiak stretches beaver ...an do both,” he says.

Nathan Kogiak stretches beaver hides inside of a work shack in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Kogiak, who works as the fur marketing and sales coordinator for the government of the Northwest Territories, spends his evenings and weekends trapping. “My father taught me how to trap and he really loved being on the land. When I left to go to school for accounting, he told me to trap full-time instead. Trapping is important to our survival and way of life as Indigenous people but we’re kind of caught between two worlds where we need to find good paying jobs to pay for food and mortgages and bills, but we also need to stay connected to the land and our culture. I’m lucky because I can do both,” he says.

Philip “Peppie&rd... nature and Indigenous culture.

Philip “Peppie” Beaulieu and Donovan Boucher show a grade school student how to skin a wolverine inside of a wall tent at a camp in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. The students are part of an education program called BushKids, which aims to teach children about the outdoors, wildlife, nature and Indigenous culture.

Francis Lafferty, Shaun Tobac a...assed down,” he says.

Francis Lafferty, Shaun Tobac and Joseph Tobac warm up by a fire at a lake near Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories. The camp is located within the Ts'udé Nı̨lį́né Tuyeta (Rampart River and Wetlands) Protected Area, a 10,000 square kilometre sacred site for K'asho Got'ı̨nę people in Fort Good Hope. The boundaries of the protected area are based on the traditional hunting and trapping routes of the Dene people in the area. Tobac, like many young men from Fort Good Hope, learned how to hunt and trap as a boy and continues to do it today. “I started doing this when I was just a little kid. We learn how to survive out here from our parents, uncles and elders. All this knowledge is shared and passed down,” he says.

Ice crystals form in the air ov...nada at minus 40 below Celsius.

Ice crystals form in the air over a snow covered lake on the outskirts of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada at minus 40 below Celsius.

Delphine Pierrot and her mother...at way,” says Orlias.

Delphine Pierrot and her mother Vicky Orlias sew beads and fur onto hides to make moccasins and mitts in Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories. “When I was a little girl I used to go trapping with my dad, and my mother taught me to sew. Then I taught my daughter to sew. We use the whole animal – we eat the meat and use the hides and fur to make our clothes. It’s always been that way,” says Orlias.

A beaver, trapped at a camp nea...e in the 17th and 18th century.

A beaver, trapped at a camp near Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories, sits on table ready to be skinned of it’s fur. The camp is located within the Ts'udé Nı̨lį́né Tuyeta (Rampart River and Wetlands) Protected Area, a 10,000 square kilometre sacred site for K'asho Got'ı̨nę people in Fort Good Hope. The boundaries of the protected area are based on the traditional hunting and trapping routes of the Dene people in the area. The beaver is synonymous with the fur trade in Canada, as the earliest European explorers hired Indigenous trappers to source beaver pelts from across the country to be sold as fashionable hats and robes in England, France and throughout Europe in the 17th and 18th century.

Buddy Gully, Tyrell Kochon and ...of the Dene people in the area.

Buddy Gully, Tyrell Kochon and Trapper Rabesca load moose meat into a toboggan at a hunting and trapping camp near Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories. The camp is located within the Ts'udé Nı̨lį́né Tuyeta (Rampart River and Wetlands) Protected Area, a 10,000 square kilometre sacred site for K'asho Got'ı̨nę people in Fort Good Hope. The boundaries of the protected area are based on the traditional hunting and trapping routes of the Dene people in the area.

LEFT: John Tobac,  a c...quo;s top hunters and trappers.

LEFT: John Tobac, a cultural coordinator for the Ts'udé Nı̨lį́né Tuyeta guardian program. “We come out to monitor the land, the water and wildlife on our territory,” he says. “We share our language and traditional skills with younger people so they know how to live on the land. The boundaries of this protected area come from the traditional hunting and trapping routes of our people, so it’s very important that we protect it.” RIGHT: Joseph “Trapper” Rabesca, one of Fort Good Hope’s top hunters and trappers.

Robert Grandjambe and Chloe Dra... way we respect that."

Robert Grandjambe and Chloe Dragon Smith in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The couple are full-time trappers and harvesters who live at an off-grid cabin south of Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. Dragon Smith, who is of Indigenous Dene/Métis and settler Canadian German/French ancestry, and Grandjambe, who is of Indigenous Cree/Dene and settler Canadian German ancestry, are among the few full-time trappers left in Northern Canada. While some of their income comes from trapping and fur sales, they are also educators who share about the history of trapping in Canada, and how colonization has impacted people's relationships with the land, including wildlife. "Indigenous lands and societies were colonized by European settlers, who see the land as separate from people," says Grandjambe. "[Indigenous people] were moved off the land onto reservations and into urban centres. Our people lost that connection with the land, including wildlife – these are things that shape our identity and worldviews. We are not separate from the land, we are part of it and we all rely on this context and connection to exist”, adds Dragon Smith. “When we talk about land, we include peoples, cultures, languages, and knowledge systems. All that we are and what we have comes from land, and trapping is one way we respect that."

Buddy Gully inside of a canvas ...of the Dene people in the area.

Buddy Gully inside of a canvas wall tent at a hunting and trapping camp near Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories. The camp is located within the Ts'udé Nı̨lį́né Tuyeta (Rampart River and Wetlands) Protected Area, a 10,000 square kilometre sacred site for K'asho Got'ı̨nę people in Fort Good Hope. The boundaries of the protected area are based on the traditional hunting and trapping routes of the Dene people in the area.