Northern Climate Change Schools Program

General Questions

First, I'd like to ask a couple questions about you. How much time did you spend on the land this past year from July 1 to December?

Did you... spend time on the land for a week or more at a time?

• Yes, both elders

What age group are you in... older than 50?

• Yes, both elders

Now I'd like to ask you about the weather in our area. How was the weather this past summer (June to end August)?

• It was really wet and rainy.

How was the weather this fall (Sept til present [November])?

• The weather has really changed and it doesn't freeze really fast.
• The lake freezes later than it did many years ago. Not too many months of travel on ice now.

Were there any unusual storms or other kinds of unusual weather?

• Don't remember.

Where were you for freeze up this year?

• I was out of town from freeze up until the end of October. The ice overflowed.

Did the river freeze up quickly this winter?

• Some years it used to freeze up fast but now it is slow. (both elders)

What has this year's snow been like so far?

• Different kind of snow right now (in November).

Is there anything else about weather you would like to mention?

• Way back, 20 years ago, sometimes it was 60 degrees below zero and parents went out in -40 to -60 degrees. Now the weather has really changed.

Fish

Did you do any fishing last year?

• Yes (both elders)

Where did you do most of your fishing this past year?

• Sometimes at Wool Bay on Great Slave Lake (both elders)

What was it like this year for fish?

• It was really nice in the winter times.
• Fishing was good but not as many fish as when she was a younger woman.

How was the quality of this fish this year? How was the size of the fish?

• Some fish were big and some were small.

Were there any parasites?

• Don't think so. Some are dead so not really healthy. Caribou and buffalo are healthy but the fish are dying.
• Some white fish had pimples on the flesh inside, around the back. The wildlife officer took the fish to examine it. We haven't heard anything back from them.

Do you eat the fish with pimples on the flesh?

• No.

Do you feed the fish to your dogs?

• No.

Did you notice anything unusual about the livers?

• Nothing unusual. (both)

Was the colour OK?

• Some were bad and some were good.

Anything unusual about the taste?

• I used to eat lots of fish when I was younger but not so much now.

How about the firmness of the fish?

• The fish are good but some are really soft.

Do you think the fish are healthy?

• Some yes, some no.

Loche or lingcod

Have you noticed any unusual loche livers this year?

• Don't remember the livers. The fish themselves are medium sized. They used to be very big when I was younger.

Berries

Cranberries are the berries that were discussed.

• The elders agreed that the berry seasons have been very different lately. Last year, the berries were larger because of all the rain in the summer. Most years the berries have been small and less of them than in the past.
• In the past there were many berries but not so much now.
• Families have their special places for picking berries and they don't share that information with other people very often!!