Province apologizes after fish seized at Métis event

The Alberta government is apologizing to a Métis community in northern Alberta after fish and wildlife officers seized about 25 lake whitefish at a cultural event aiming to teach the traditional way of smoking the catch.

“We were all so hurt,” said community spokeswoman Roxanne Powder on Saturday.

She explained the three-day culture camp occurs annually and offers the community a chance to learn about traditional activities, including making dreamcatchers, trapping and hunting.

On Friday, about 30 people were learning about the process of smoking fish when fish and wildlife officers arrived and asked for fishing licences. Two individuals admitted they had caught the fish, but they didn’t have the right documentation, Powder said.

“There were community members with their harvesting licences, their fishing licences, hunting licenses … I don’t exactly know what they needed,” she added.

A government news release said investigators went to the camp near Conklin, about 350 km northeast of Edmonton, after a report of an illegal net in a nearby lake. Investigators seized the fish and issued notices to two individuals for fishing without a licence.

“This was an unfortunate circumstance. I understand there may have been some issues with the licensing, but I think this situation could have been avoided,” said Indigenous Relations Minister Richard Feehan in a statement Saturday. “I commit that we will take steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Feehan — who personally apologized to Métis Local 193 president Shirley Tremblay and vice-president Ernie Desjarlais — had visited the camp on Thursday.

“I had a great time at the camp and truly enjoyed meeting with the residents,” he said. “These types of cultural experiences are very important in preserving Métis culture and I wouldn’t want to see that experience ruined.”

The government said officials are reviewing the policy and will work with the community to ensure individuals have the appropriate licences.

“It would have been nice if we got some fish back, like an actual gift,” Powder said. “Something was taken from us, it would be nice to get something back in return.”

The community’s culture camp ended Saturday, and was supposed to finish with the shared meal of smoked fish.

“The whole community had to watch them take (the fish) away,” Powder said. “We woke up to an empty rack.

“It changed the mood of our culture camp.”