Waterfowl Harvest by Slave Indians in Northern Alberta

Abstract

The consumption of waterfowl by a small band of Slave Indians was monitored from May to September of 1966 and 1967 at Habay in northern Alberta. The Indians killed waterfowl by two main methods: with shotguns when birds were on the wing, and with clubs when flightless. In 1966 this food formed the major source of protein for the Indians over the spring-to-fall period; in August they consumed an average of 0.6 of a pound of flesh per day per person. In 1967 the amount fell to about one-quarter of this amount when the band relied more heavily on an alternative food source. The responses shown by Indian hunters to changing waterfowl densities are compared with those shown by predators to changing prey densities.