Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Take a Kid Trapping is a popular program through Industry, Tourism and Investment. It’s designed to introduce youth in the NWT to the traditional harvesting practices of hunting, trapping, fishing and outdoor survival.
[Translation] The students that are going to school are also taking up trapping. They set the traps and snares and also learn how to fish. In the past, our history, our elders have been able to make a trap and make a living doing such. Secondary school students, starting on March 7th , will be doing an on-
the-land program, then in one week they will check their traps. They have been doing well. [Translation ends]
Being on the land gives our youth a better understanding of who they are, where they come from and where they live. People who spend time on the land learn to value in a greater way. They see the connection between plants, animals, wind, water and sun that earlier generations always knew. It helps us understand our natural environment and take care of our land so that it can continue to take care of us.
[Translation] They learn how to trap and this is the way our ancestors survived. There are a lot of them that don’t have time to be out in the bush, so it is good that they’re learning how to trap and be on the land. If they are able to learn to trap, then they will be able to learn how to survive. They also would know how to live on the land safely and it also exposes them to a healthy life.
When they learn how to survive on the land, they learn how to trap. It’s also a healthy way of life, so it’s good that they’re learning to do this out-in-the-land program.