'Social media blew up' when these women planned 1st Indigenous women's deer hunt

Dozens of Indigenous women with a desire to learn how to hunt and to use traditional methods to prepare the animal will meet this weekend for the first-ever all-female deer hunt on Oneida Nation of the Thames territory.

Up to 50 women have signed up for that hunt organized by 13 Moons Land-Based Learning, a community group from the First Nation that helps people reconnect with the land.

"Social media just blew up," organizer Dayna McDougall said. "Women are messaging and calling, and they're like, 'You know, it's good to feel included!'"

Traditionally, McDougall said hunting is more of a male responsibility in this area, but she said it shouldn't be broken down according to gender roles.

"We want to empower our women to learn both roles so that they can teach their sons," McDougall said.

She notes that the entire animal will be used, with the women butchering and skinning the deer after the hunt and preparing the meat for the community. The hide is preserved and later used to teach leather-making skills.

For this first outing, many young people showed interest, including Tia Kennedy, who had hunted before with her boyfriend. She explains that she feels connected to the land when she's out before dawn, hiking the hills and listening to the natural world.

"It's around sustainability. It's around caretaking of Mother Earth. There's a reciprocity and respect associated with it," Kennedy said. "I love being out there and just building that relationship with Mother Earth."

She adds it's also a workout, and everyone will come home sweaty, and hopefully with a deer.

"I think it's important that our women feel included, especially in hunting, because it really helps us understand our full potential with our responsibility as caretakers," McDougall said.

Organizers said they were surprised by how many women wanted to take part and have arranged a shuttle bus from Oneida to the hunt camp.

One young participant had a tip for all the newbies heading out this weekend, a piece of advice she learned from her dad, who is a skilled hunter on Oneida.

"Keep all of your negative energy away," Orianna Elijah Brown said. "We have a saying that the deer can feel our negative energy. And so when we have bad thoughts, they will know and stay away."