The Tse’Khene Nation and the woodland caribou on their territories have a deep relationship. Tse’Khene means “People of the Rocks” but the name can’t only be credited to their home lands on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. During the days of nomadic hunting, the ancestors of McLeod Lake Indian Band members travelled from one side of the Rockies to the other following the caribou herd migration. Surrounding nations saw them descending from the mountains, giving them the name “People of the Rocks’’.
Now these caribou are endangered and the McLeod Lake Indian Band is collaborating with local biologists to pilot a feeding program that hopes to strengthen and support the caribou population’s growth and health. This work is paying off, with consistent population growth over the past nine years. In 2012, the Kennedy Siding caribou herd had declined to only 41 caribou. In 2022, the herd boasts 115 members with consistent growth expected as the feeding program continues.