Stewardship Ethic
The Tse’Khene Nation leads their work on the land with a strong ethic of stewardship and care. The vision of the elders, aunts, and uncles, is for their youth to be able to take over the upkeep of lands, forests, and waters for future generations. This involves keeping the lands at a health where traditional cultural ways such as harvesting and hunting can be practiced sustainably.
Always leave footprints that you would be proud to have your grandchildren walk in.
Nathan Tsidabohl Prince, Traditional Land Use Coordinator, McLeod Lake Indian Band
Caring For The Caribou
The Tse’Khene follow a principle of sustainability: never over hunt or harvest and always leave some for the person behind you and the youth of the next generation. Caribou have been an essential resource to the Tse’Khene Nation since the days of nomadic hunting. In these days, elders remember tens of thousands of caribou roaming the land. The traditional harvesting of caribou used every part of the animal–meat, fur, and bones were all treated with respect and utilized. But as the community saw the population decline, they stopped hunting the animals and have been working to restore their health and population numbers.
The McLeod Lake Indian Band elders, aunties, and uncles hope that they will be able to restore the caribou population back to their original abundance. In this future, the caribou population will be self-sustaining and the community will be able to pass on their knowledge of caribou hunting and care to the youth.