As winter approaches,
families pack up and begin the journey to the winter hunting
grounds.
They head south into the backcountry,
sometimes as far as the Bay of Fundy.
Rivers are used as main communication routes, connected
by numerous forest trails.
Navigation periods alternate with portage periods.
In their packs, consisting of leather travel bags and woven
ash baskets,
the Indigenous people carry supplies of smoked eels and
animal fat.
They carry pelts to use as blankets and clothing.
Since the distances to be travelled are rather long,
the families stop regularly and set up temporary camps.
During these stops, they set up traplines.
Despite having some provisions, the search for food remains a
constant preoccupation.
Therefore, at the sight of small mammals or edible birds,
the Indigenous people use their spears, bows or traps to hunt
for game.
In the winter, the hunting groups are smaller but very
mobile.
Families settle near lakes for ice fishing.
Camps are spread out over the entire territory to ensure that
each family group has sufficient resources.
Hunters wait until winter is well underway to hunt moose and
caribou.
They take advantage of the heavy snow cover or ice-layered
snow, which slows the animal's pace.
After a successful hunt, the entire animal is used.
The fur is made into clothes and blankets.
The skin is made into strips for snowshoes and bows.
The bones are used to carve spearheads or to eat the marrow.
After the big winter hunts, when the snow melts, many
Indigenous people head to the well-known site where the
Touladi chert, a rock ideal for tool making, is found in
abundance.
Pieces of boulder are collected from this rock, which the
stonecutters turn into projectile points or sharp tools.