"The
land is, and has been for thousands of years, the economic
base of my people. Left alone for another thousand years,
we would still survive!" John Petagumskum - Cree Elder - Whapmagoostui.
One of the many goals of the CTA is
to promote sales and assist in the orderly collection
and marketing of wild furs by its 5000 members.
Many issues, however, over the years
have affected the sales of Cree furs, the European fur
ban being particularly harmful. The European agreement
has since addressed these issues.
The traditional wildlife and trapline
management expertise of the tallymen must be preserved
and passed on to future generations.
The CTA is taking responsibility for
preserving this knowledge and assuring the future of
this resource base.
The role of the Cree Trappers’ Association
is an important one, it is to protect and maintain a
way of life that completely identifies who we really
are as Eeouch who depend and continue to depend on the
land for survival. Our parents, grand-parents and all
of our ancestors never gave up, nor became tired of maintaining
this way of life and ensuring we would be able to use
the important components of this way of life today. |
