Fruit of the land

James George, manager of Whapmagoostui general store Whale-mart, readily admits that his store offers similar products to those available at the Co-op and the Northern Store in town. The difference, he says, is that Whale-mart is 100% Cree-owned. And what that means is that you can buy ptarmigan there, which you definitely can’t get at the Northern.

The opportunity to stock traditional foods has always been a goal, George said.

“Part of what they wanted when they formed Whale-mart was to put traditional food in the store for those people who cannot go hunt for themselves,” said George. “That was the idea from the beginning.”

The store just finished its first year in operation. “We’re not a co-op – we’re run by a corporation called Whapikyo Investment Group that’s under the band office,” George told the Nation. “It was formed back in 2012. I didn’t start working for Whale-mart until 2014, but I’m pretty sure when they started they had a plan for a general store.”

At the moment George spoke with the Nation, the Whale-mart was only stocking ptarmigan and fish, but back in the fall, they also stocked beaver – though not for very long.

“They were out within about two days!” he exclaimed, noting that traditional meat is very popular with people who can’t hunt – Elders, those who are dealing with health issues or disabilities, or those for whom hunting is simply too expensive.

“The other problem is that there are hunters and other people trying to sell rotten meat to the Elders,” he said. For that reason, Whale-mart has prioritized selling unfrozen meat fresh off the land, and they have put out the call to hunters for fully-cleaned ptarmigan shot with lead-free pellets, for which they’ve offered to pay $4 a head to a maximum of 50.

The plan is to expand their stock to caribou in the near future. Because caribou are a sacred animal, George wants to make that step very cautiously, by consulting with Elders who might be upset to see caribou for sale, and by putting the word out on their Facebook group for any comments or concerns before they go ahead with the practice.

“We’re still working on the process for how we can handle that,” George said. “It’s not something you’d just jump on. You have to be careful not to offend the Elders. I grew up learning about the caribou, taking care of the land, because my family has been on that source of food for many years. Right now I’m being very careful.”

However, George underlined that they had heard no complaints about the idea so far.

“At this point, we’re not seeing very many concerns. And lately, Elders have been asking when we’ll be able to sell meat.”

Part of the reason for that, George said, is that hunting is becoming more difficult for everybody – not just those who have a hard time getting out on the land. Whale-mart had to cancel an expected stock of beaver in early December due to the warm weather.

“As far as I know, you can’t really go hunt in the fall because of climate change,” he said. “They’re only out on the trapline for four to six weeks. When they’re ready to come back, the ice is not good yet to go hunting, and the snow is not deep enough to go further from their camp. It’s happening every year – it’s getting worse every year.”

As access to traditional meat is getting more difficult, having a central point for hunters and trappers to sell their meat may benefit the whole community.

However, a notice on the Whale-mart’s Facebook page underlines that country food is first come, first serve – they will not hold ptarmigan for people hoping to call now and shop later.