Scientific projects
The Cree Trappers’ Association participates in numerous scientific projects in order to improve general knowledge and awareness about topics of interest for its members.
These are just some examples:
Traditional Dietary Exposure
The Cree Trappers’ Association raised a concern that Crees were unaware of contaminant loadings of commonly consumed traditional wild hunted game in Eeyou Istchee. In partnership with two researchers from Ryerson University and the University of Toronto, the CTA submitted an application to obtain funds from the First Nations Environmental Contaminants Program (NFNECP). This initiative is part of Health Canada’s Environmental Public Health Program in First Nations communities that aims to identify and prevent environmental public health risks that could affect people’s health.
A project named “Traditional Dietary Exposure to POPs and Toxic Metals in First Nations Hunted Wild Game and Meats in all nine (9) First Nations of Eeyou Istchee” or Traditional Dietary Exposure for short, was proposed to investigate the concentrations of metal and organic contaminants in commonly consumed species and perform a quantitative human health risk assessment.
To facilitate the sample collection (moose, beaver, goose and rabbit), ready-to-use kits were made and shipped to local CTA Administrators. In turn, the bottles were distributed to hunters who were identified as spending significant time on the land.
The results, which will consist of the analytical findings and the quantitative human health risk assessment will make it possible for all Crees to be informed of the presence of contaminants, if any, in wild hunted game and the possible effect on health.
Fox Project
The Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP), in collaboration with Cree Trappers’ Association, is conducting a research project on fox rabies and other wildlife diseases.
Arctic fox rabies persists in northern Canada and can spread southward throughout red fox (include all color phases – red, crossed or silver foxes).
As a consequence of climate warming, coloured fox range is expanding northward, increasing potential contacts between arctic and coloured foxes, which could cause the arctic fox rabies virus to be more regularly transported to southern latitudes.
The project’s objective was to answer various questions, such as the impact of climate change on fox behavior and rabies outbreak, the possibility to predict rabies outbreaks, the speed of propagation, its pathways, etc.
As a result of this project, the communities obtained up-to-date information for predicting where and when rabies outbreaks could occur.
This project also provided an opportunity to prepare new maps identifying current hot spots for potential rabies spread.
The meetings held with the community allowed us to exchange and share knowledge with members, and the creation of educational tools will help the people protect themselves against rabies and other parasites in both arctic and coloured foxes while preserving Cree culture and way of life.
Caribou – Predators
Caribou Ungava is a large research program focused on the ecology of migratory caribou and their predators in the Québec-Labrador peninsula in a context of climate change and anthropogenic disturbances.
It is a collaborative program involving researchers from six (6) universities, the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP), and partners.
The Caribou Predators Project, as we call it, focuses in Eeyou Istchee on caribou herds from River-George and Rivière-aux-Feuilles.
These herds are exposed to predation by wolves and black bears, yet their impact on changes in caribou numbers remains unknown.
The project aims to increase our common knowledge of the role of predation on caribou populations.
To collect data, we focused mainly on the northern communities of Whapmagoostui, Chisasibi, Wemindji, Eastmain and Nemaska. Local hunters and trappers were asked to contact their Local CTA Administrator if they caught wolf, black bear, hare, moose and beaver. Various tissues were analyzed to determine what they ate and the importance of caribou in their diet, allowing us to understand the impact of predation on changes in caribou numbers.
For more information on the Caribou Ungava Research group