Hide Handling and Butchering of Bison

To get the optimum use out of bison the Natives had a specific method of butcher. The method involves skinning down the back in order to get at the tender meat just below the surface. This is now known as the "hatch" or "hatched area".

It was o because bison hides are so heavy (Averaging 100 lbs. for a "wet" hide and 70 lbs. for a "dry hide, that the butchering process involved men placing the bison on its belly and removing the hide in two sections, divided along the backbone.

After removal of the hatched area, the front legs were cut off as well as the shoulder blades. Doing so exposes the hump meat (in the Wood Bison), as well as the meat of the ribs and the bison's important inner organs. After everything was exposed, the spine was then severed and the pelvis and hind legs removed. Finally, the neck and head were removed as one. This allowed the tough meat to be dried and made into pemmican.

Then, the meat had to be cut into long thin sheets and dried in the sun. The dried meat was light, portable, and well preserved.

Originally, because they no way of splitting them; the thick very heavy bison BULL hides, suitable for machine belts and heavy equipment, were of little use to the natives; other than for what was fashioned into armour for battle or used to sole moccasins, sandals, or other foot wear.

For this reason, the North American Native targeted the much smaller cows and young caves--with softer, thinner and naturally much more manageable skins. They were not 'TROPHY HUNTERS" but unfortunately, they were also not concerned about conservation, reproduction, or sustainability.

Working or "dressing" an animal hide (especially bison) was a strenuous job. A woman spent several days preparing the bison hide for use, and the process changed little over the years. First the wet hide was stretched taught, and pegged to the ground. The woman then took all the flesh off the hide with a straight, toothed tool known as a flesher. Then they shaved it to a uniform thickness with an "L" shaped antler or wood scrapper Hides with the hair still on them were used as blankets or coats. If the hair was to be removed, the native woman had a very simple but effective way--they would weight the hide down in the bottom of a fast flowing stream and let time and the water do it's work. Or, the hide could be laced tight in a vertical frame and the hair "slipped" off with the scrapper. The woman then then applied a pare of cooked brains that softened the hide. Finally, as a final step , the hide was pulled, twisted, rubbed, and wrung out until it was absolutely dry At this point the robe was snow white and velvety soft; but, bison hide was still bulky, and very heavy; this is evidenced by the fact that although venison hide coats, leggings, jackets, pants, moccasins, etch are and were very common; such products made from bison hide were, and are, not. Some, Canadian police forces and parliamentary "guards, at one time wore "split" bison skin jackets and hats but even in this case it was more commonly bear skin that was used.©

Native Hunting & Food Gathering

Their lives may have been physically demanding and their diets rough, but they were healthy (few digestive or stomach problems such as ulcers), physically fit, never obese, and, as history has proven, quite content to be living a lifestyle that seems harsh and is 

completely unfamiliar with ANY of us today.

Everything eaten was pure, 100% organic, wild plant and animal foods. 

So far this sounds quite healthy--and it was--but some of what they ate and how they fixed it might not sound as wholesome, too you. the North American native ate essentially everything edible they could get their hands on and they ate many things with little or no preparation. The term "foraging" probably describes most of the food procurement strategy more accurately than does "hunting and gathering

The latter may conjure up an image of an orderly division of labour with women and children gathering plant foods fairly close to camp and men sallying forth on hunting expeditions to bring home game.This is probably fairly accurate, but, in reality it was far more complex. Hunters and gatherers are opportunists first and foremost. Most of the time, they foraged off the land scape taking advantage of whatever food they found. Adult male hunters did target big game--deer; or if you prefer venison, (include moose and elk), were the top-ranked locally available prey--as judged by archaeological digs and the amount of meat represented by the bones found. When the hunters brought home a fat deer, life was good--bellies were filled with meat, fat was rendered, hides stretched and scrapped, and praise was sung to the mighty hunter. But, deer hunting success was likely limited: deer are wary, skittish and like bison, they are highly mobile.

While deer supplied an estimated 40-50% of the total meat; plants, birds, and relatively small animals that could be trapped, snared, netted, or knocked on the head with a stick were the dietary mainstay. Women and children would have harvested most of them, especially those requiring labour-intensive gathering and processing; but anyone able and hungry would have been on the lookout for anything easily acquired. Beaver, muskrats, porcupine, rabbits, and raccoons  were for example, were regularly consumed but plants or plant products always accounted for the bulk of the diet.

Hunter-gatherer life is highly mobile, especially in an environmentally challenging country such as Canada. People could not live in one spot for long without exhausting the local supplies of food and firewood and sanitation becoming a major problem. Instead they must have moved their camps quite regularly--even every few days or weeks--to take advantage of the resources changing with the seasons and during short-term climatic events. Because part of the mobility was tied to seasonal rounds--moving across the landscape to areas where different food resources could be found in abundance certain times of the year, they travelled more or less in a circle but the major movement was North and South, rather than East and West..

But the changing seasons only tell part of the mobile life story. Climatic events can be extremely localized and must have triggered movements of people, just as they do the movement of people and animals today. As farmers and ranchers  know only too well, warm-season hail, thunderstorms, or tornadoes often fall in small areas or hit only narrow swaths in this country. Where one spot gets more than it's share of rain, plants bloom, shrubs and trees leaf out, and grasses green up and grow thickly. Deer and other mobile animals from miles around can move quickly to take advantage of localized abundance, especially during droughts and otherwise tough conditions. Hunters and gatherers had to be equally opportunistic. For this reason, it was necessary to have many sheltered places throughout their area in which were stored  large stock piles of firewood (most important during the late winter and early spring when few other sources were available), heavy tools, and small caches of food.

The bison is a relative newcomer to North America, having originated in Eurasia they, (like Aboriginal North Americans); migrated over the Bering Strait; in their case about 10,000 years ago.

The North American Native belonged to a wholly stone-age culture, not possessing metals of any kind (ornamental gold being the only exception) and although the Inuit (a people believed to have immigrated much later) used dogs, the so called "Indians" did not. The usual draft animals were unknown and neither had discovered the wheel. Theirs was a very primitive culture, a thousand years or more behind most Asian, European, or even African civilizations; but the natives were certainly not stupid; they knew Canada's national game --Survival and played it very well..

Native bows, not very accurate and designed for close range (100 yard max); in bush or tall grass, were not powerful enough (30-50 lb. pull) to kill a bison --unless possibly-- if the arrow were first shot high into the air and let fall back to earth (a technique used by the English, in military conditions, with their long-bows). Records show; it often taking up to fifty native arrows to kill a tethered beef animal; which eventually bled to death.

Prior to the introduction Even after the introduction of the horse, it is a certainty that far more bison were killed with a lance than ever had been by an arrow. The process of collecting all the necessary materials and producing a single arrow would take up to six months; the natives could not afford to loose them. The common weapons of both hunting and warfare were clubs, lances, spears and knives made from stone or more often bone or tree bark. The making of a bow string, usually from plant fibre, sometimes from three strands of fine sinew, was a major undertaking.

©

Broiled Bison Steaks

Broiled Bison Steaks

Dip 6 individual bison steaks, cut at least 1 inch thick, into seasoned oil; place them on a hot broiler rack and sear well on both sides with high heat. Reduce the heat and broil the meat as desired (until it is rare or medium-rare), basting several times with melted butter during the broiling. Arrange the steaks on a hot serving platter, and finish with butter and coarsely minced parsley

The Native

Rocks, I am one with you

Sea, I am yours.

Your rages come and go,

Your strength endures.

Passion may burn and fade;

Pain surge and cease.

My still soul rests unchanged

Through storm and peace.

Fir-tree beaten by wind,

Sombre, austere,

Your sap is in my veins

O kinsmen dear,

Your fibres rude and true

My sinews feed--

Sprung of the same bleak earth,

The same rough seed.

The tempest harries us.

I raves and dies'

And wild limbs rest again

Under wide skies.

Grass, that the salt hath scourged,

Dauntless and grey,

Through the harsh season chide

your scant array,

Year by year you return

To conquer fate,

the clean life nourishing you

Makes me, too, great.

O rocks, O fir-tree brave,

O grass and sea!

Your strength is mine, and you

Endure with me

Smoked Salmon

 Smoked Salmon: Traditional Method

            Actually Lake Whitefish and Char, not salmon, are the fish Canadians most often smoke but the method used is the same for all three.

1. Make a fire of willow, and get it burning so that it's smoky and not too hot.

2. Cut salmon at least 1, 1-1/2 inches thick. When it’s too thin it's no good.

3. Hang over pole, and let it smoke for at least 6 days.

4. To keep salmon, skin it, slice it, and let it dry.     

Quick Steamed Fish:

           Quick Steamed Fish:

            1. Build a fire and let it burn down to red-hot coals.

            2. Clean fish, cut in half, and cook in boiling water 10 minutes.

            3. Remove fish, dry it a little, and sprinkle with seasoning to taste.

4. Rub the bottom of a braising pan with a small amount of fat. Lay the fish over the rack in the pan; if you haven’t a rack, place 3or 4 small pieces of wood in the pan and lay the fish over this.

            5. Cover pan, and place directly on hot coals for 5 minutes.

Campfire Style Planked Salmon

**This same prehistoric, broiling, method can be adapted and used for other meats, game, any larger fish, or poultry. It is not barbecue**

1. First fillet the fish then lash it to driftwood or other slab of wood or bark.

2. Next, prop the plank over a fire. While it is cooking, watch carefully to see that the fire is hot enough to a first sear the flesh and seal in the juices, then let the fire burn low to cook the fish slowly and smoke it all the way through.

3. When the fish is done, it will be charred slightly on the outside but succulent and moist, with a rich smoky flavour on the inside.

Or even simpler.

Fish on a Stick- Other meats can be cooked using exactly the same method. You could call this the American "wiener" roast done Canadian Style.

1. First, using a filleting knife, or by simply using your thumbs to separate flesh from ribs and backbone, de-bone but do not skin the fish

2. Place a green willow pole on the fish (some people prefer to use a forked pole for greater stability, but it is not really necessary.)

3. Using green willow sticks long enough to ensure the fish can not slip off (again, some people layer the fish and original pole between two sticks, but this is not really necessary) go through the skin and flesh of the fish over the pole and back through the flesh and skin of the fish thus securely fastening it to the pole. Do this top and bottom.

4. Broil the fish over hot coals until done.