Excerpted From Alaska Department of Fish and Game Technical Paper No. 122, April 1985

1984-85 SEASONS AND HARVEST

Fall (September) Season

Permits were issued in Minto by the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) in early September for the fall season which extended from Monday, September 17 through Friday, September 21. Twenty-nine permits were issued for this five-day hunt. Most (27) were issued to year-round residents of the community, while the remainder (2) were issued to individuals who have close social ties to residents of the community and who occasionally reside in the village. Individuals issued a permit in Minto ranged in age from 18 to 74 with a median of 39 years.

Of the 29 permits issued for the fall season, 22 (76 percent) permittees hunted and 7 (24 percent) did not. . . .

All hunters departed from the village to hunting areas where temporary campsites were established as base camps. Almost all (91 percent) operated from a temporary camp, and some individuals hunted from as many as three base camps during the 5-day season. As noted earlier, hunters generally place themselves into areas where they are familiar with the terrain and existing animal and human trails; where they have been successful in hunting in the past; and where, during the summer, they have observed or heard of moose or signs of moose. Most Minto hunters are familiar with the network of major trails, lookouts, and lookout trees in key areas of the flats that have been used for moose hunting throughout much of this century. Hunting groups distribute themselves to these various key localities during the hunting season, but do not necessarily confine themselves to one particular area. Information is frequently exchanged between hunting groups as they travel from one area to another and encounter each other along the waterways and at base camps. Hunting parties often camp together at customarily used campsites which are located in the northeastern, southeastern and southwestern areas of Minto Flats.

In fall 1984, all access by permittees into the flats was by means of riverboat and on foot. Fifteen of the 22 hunters used a boat belonging to a member of their household, and 5 did not (2 cases unknown). Permittees as a group hunted in 17 boats (2 cases unknown). Aluminum flatbottom riverboats 16 and 18 feet in length accounted for most boats used although they ranged from 14 to 24 feet in length. All were outfitted with prop-equipped outboard motors mostly 20 and 25 horsepower, but ranging from 20 to 50 horsepower. . . .

While most permit holders hunted with members of other households, as noted earlier, most (45 percent) hunted with close consanguineal relatives (mother, father, brother, son, and/or daughter) and a substantial number (21 percent) hunted with their wife, either alone or in the company of other relatives. Others included more distant relatives (24 percent) such as first and second cousins; no relation or an in-law (8 percent); and one hunter hunted alone (3 percent). . . .

The 22 permit holders who hunted were successful in harvesting 6 bull moose (27 percent success rate of those hunting). This represents two-thirds of the total fall harvest reported by permittees hunting in the Minto Flats Management Area. In all cases, moose meat from these harvests was distributed to members of other households in the community. For permit holders who were not successful (73 percent) in obtaining a moose, 75 percent of them received moose meat from successful hunters. It is customary for successful hunters to share moose meat with all hunting groups ("boats") camped at the campsite where the successful hunter and his party is based. Furthermore, hunting parties group together to watch, track, pursue, and coax a moose toward the main hunter. Thus, the meat of the moose that has been shot is shared with the other individuals who contributed to the successful harvest. Moose meat is also shared with any nearby hunting parties who may not have been directly involved in the hunt customary with the belief that the act of sharing will contribute to the hunter's future success in hunting moose.

Moose meat is often redistributed later to their households and individuals, particularly to elder members of the community and also during ceremonial occasions, both religious and non-religious. The brisket, head, ribs and backbone (sometimes referred to as "potlatch meat") and stomach (tripe) generally are reserved for use during these occasions when the entire community comes together. Marrow and rendering fat obtained from leg bones are used in preparing foods for religious ceremonies such as funeral and memorial potlatches. Fat which is used in making various types of "Indian ice-cream" is prepared by pounding and rendering. The hooves are boiled to loosen the toe bones that are then removed and eaten. The hoof proper is sometimes used in manufacturing handicrafts. Inner organs such as liver, heart, and kidney, are consumed also; however, the liver, kidney, and stomach of bull moose in rut are considered inedible. Intestines are sometimes cut, cleaned and added to soup. In the past, during stringent times, moose brains were boiled and eaten or cut into small pieces, roasted, and added to soup. They were used also in the process of tanning moose hides. Rarely today, parts of the lungs are boiled and eaten, or roasted in a campfire, and the inner parts are eaten. Usually, the lungs are used for dog food.

Winter (January-February) Season

Fifty permits were available at Minto for the winter hunt (January 10 through February 28). Thirty were issued. All permittees are residents with one exception (2 cases unknown). Sixty-three percent (17 of 27) permittees are heads of households. The age of permittees ranged from 21 to 74 with an average age of 43, slightly greater than that for permittees for the fall season.

Of the 27 permits issued for the winter season and known to represent Minto residents, 4 (15 percent) permittees hunted and 23 (85 percent) did not. The four individuals hunted in two separate parties, each party consisting of two individuals. One party represented two households, while the other represented a single household. The hunting groups included a 62-year-old son who resided in the same household.

Both hunting parties used their residence in the village as a base of hunting operations, unlike the fall hunt in which temporary campsites were commonly used as base camps. At the end of each hunting day, the hunters returned to the village for the night.

Both parties reported hunting in the vicinity of Swanneck Slough (locally referred to as "Tanana Slough") approximately 13 miles south of Minto by trail. During the season, one party hunted in the manner described about three to four times during one week then waited about a week before going out again. During this second period, they were successful in harvesting one bull moose. The second party made four trips within the season. On one trip, the elder individual was accompanied by his son. They were unsuccessful in harvesting a moose, although they spotted a cow moose. Hunting occurred during late January and early February when weather conditions were generally cloudy and relatively warm (+10° to + 25° Fahrenheit). The successful party noted it was also windy during the day they shot the moose.

Access to the hunting areas by both parties was by use of snowmobiles and on snowshoes. Both members of one party each had a snowmobile and a sled, upon which they loaded their hunting euipment. When the older member of the second party hunted alone, he made less use of snowshoes because of his age; however, he utilized them in areas where brush and trees made use of snowmobile impossible.

Both parties used a moose hunting strategy commonly described in the historic literature and discussed during interviews with key respondents. When a pair of hunters encounter moose tracks, they first determine the direction of the wind and the direction of travel the moose might take. Then they proceed on snowshoes downwind from the tracks to avoid the possibility of their scent being picked up by the moose. Characteristically, the moose eventually circles back downwind from its route before it will bed down. At the point where the moose has reversed its course, the hunters wait in the estimated path of the moose; once it appears, it can be shot. This same technique has been described in greater detail for other interior Alaskan Athabaskan groups (Paul 1957; Nelson 1973; Stokes 1983).

The harvested moose was distributed to numerous households in the village with the man who shot the moose keeping one hindquarter. The ribs, brisket, head, backbone, and tripe were reserved for a future potlatch. The remainder was cut into small pieces and was distributed to village households, the choicest parts given to the elderly. The distributed moose meat was either eaten immediately or stored in freezers for future potlatches. . . .