Earl Evans believes M茅tis young people are losing interest in spending time on the land, and fears that the skills and traditions of their forebears could be lost as a result.

SA国际影视传媒淵ou try to find a young person to go out in the bush hunting and stuff right now, and itSA国际影视传媒檚 very difficult,SA国际影视传媒� the M茅tis Elder said from his home in Fort Smith. SA国际影视传媒淓verybodySA国际影视传媒檚 more interested in iPads and phones and computers.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think itSA国际影视传媒檚 terrible. I think itSA国际影视传媒檚 sad.SA国际影视传媒�

Evans has lived his entire life in Fort Smith, and has been spending time on the land surrounding the community of close to 2,500 people for almost as long.

SA国际影视传媒淲e used to go out hunting right from when we were young,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淲e used to go out with our fathers and stuff.

SA国际影视传媒淢y dad used to take me out rabbit hunting when I was just a kid SA国际影视传媒� just old enough to drag rabbits behind me. He took me out on my first buffalo hunt and my first caribou hunt when I was 14 years old.

SA国际影视传媒淗e used to send me hunting with these old Chipewyan Elders, they used to be really good moose hunters. I learned how to walk on snowshoes and hunt moose old style with the old guys. Nowadays, nobody does that anymore. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 not a person in town, I donSA国际影视传媒檛 think, that can strap on a pair of snowshoes and go find the moose.SA国际影视传媒�

In communities all across the NWT, one can find programs that encourage young people to get back out on the land, and learn the skills that were imperative to the survival of their ancestors. Unfortunately, as Evans pointed out, these programs are often brief, and can end up being little more than a temporary distraction for the young people that participate.

SA国际影视传媒淵ou might have a cultural camp or something, [where] youSA国际影视传媒檒l go and someone will show them how to fillet a fish or whatever, but itSA国际影视传媒檚 small, itSA国际影视传媒檚 not like youSA国际影视传媒檙e living out in the bush and doing things like you would if you were really living out in the bush,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭he minute the fish is filleted, the kids are on their phone trying to see what they missed. The interest is really not there.

SA国际影视传媒淵ouSA国际影视传媒檝e got to want to do it. You canSA国际影视传媒檛 just say, SA国际影视传媒極K, the kids are going out in the bushSA国际影视传媒� and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 it. YouSA国际影视传媒檝e got to have people that want to go and enjoy themselves when theySA国际影视传媒檙e out there, not just wait to get back to town,SA国际影视传媒� he added.

ItSA国际影视传媒檚 not just the young people around Fort Smith who are spending less time out on the land, according to Evans. Unfortunately, fewer and fewer Elders are participating in activities like hunting and trapping, as they are no longer fit or healthy enough to do so.

SA国际影视传媒淎 lot of our Elders are gone now,SA国际影视传媒� Evans said. SA国际影视传媒淎ll my old friends are all banged up, they have health problems, so they canSA国际影视传媒檛 go anywhere. It makes it very difficult.SA国际影视传媒�

Even Evans himself has been spending less time trapping, which was once a central part of his life. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 due, in part, to the fact that he has very few people to go with, but also because local wildlife is disappearing amid the SA国际影视传媒渄evastatingSA国际影视传媒� effects of climate change, while the cost of trapping often exceeds the potential payout.

SA国际影视传媒淚 havenSA国际影视传媒檛 trapped for several years now, SA国际影视传媒榗ause itSA国际影视传媒檚 not worth it,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭he trapping that used to go on before in the SA国际影视传媒�70s and SA国际影视传媒�80s and SA国际影视传媒�90s, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 all gone, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 all dried up,SA国际影视传媒� he added. SA国际影视传媒淭hereSA国际影视传媒檚 no profit in it. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 no way to make a real living.SA国际影视传媒�

Having spent much of his life working for the territorial government, Evans still finds ways to get out on the land. HeSA国际影视传媒檚 a long-serving chair on the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board, an organization that monitors two of the herds that travel through the NWT. He is also a member of Thaidene Nen茅 Xa Da Yalti, the management board that oversees the Thaidene Nen茅 Indigenous Protected Area northeast of Fort Smith.

Despite the great changes to the environment and the wildlife, he loves the time he spends out in nature for those roles.

SA国际影视传媒淚 really, really like it out there,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淕oing out in the land, I think, is kind of a healing process for everybody in some shape or form.SA国际影视传媒�

Evans would love to see more young people discover the benefits of spending time on the land, but admitted that his outlook is SA国际影视传媒減retty bleak.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檇 like to see more of them get out there, but how are you going to do that? I donSA国际影视传媒檛 know,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚 just donSA国际影视传媒檛 see a real incentive. I canSA国际影视传媒檛 see it progressing.

SA国际影视传媒淚 donSA国际影视传媒檛 know what kind of magic someoneSA国际影视传媒檚 going to have to throw out there to get people back on the land,SA国际影视传媒� he added. SA国际影视传媒淎t one time, that was our identity, but weSA国际影视传媒檙e losing that.SA国际影视传媒�