Step 27. Trade with the locals.

I was going to put 'trade with the natives' but I thought that might be kind of racist.

“Bee shoo why an” is Cree for lynx hide. And ever since I started seeing pictures of trap lines up around McKay, I have wanted one. What for, you may ask? That is not important. If I want my nieces to prance around in animal skins that is my own business. So here is my step by step guide on how to acquire one.

1. Get a job on a reserve. I am the Recreation Administrator for the Fort McKay First Nation. I run an arena, fitness center, community programs, and various special events. I work with kids, seniors, and everyone in between. It is a pretty sweet job that lets me play around and work out and plan whatever fun things I want. Sometimes it is SUPER frustrating to work on the rez and for the first few months I fired someone every week. I only hire locals so it is a situation of my own making. Meaningful employment, though, means a lot to the young people who do last here.

This is a stock shot of the rez.

This is the fancy band hall. Being on top of oil sands has benefits for the community.

And the ice arena where my office is.

2. Shoot a moose. It better be a good one. Pairs work best and leave meat for trading. And make sure you get sausages made. They are very popular with the locals.

3. Find a local trapper who will trade with you. Simply look for the sign:

4. Bring 20 pounds of assorted moose meats. Must be good quality

5. Find the hide you want. This will involve going through a great big stack in someones garage. Be sure to check the quality of the coat (winter coat is best) and check they tanned hide for tears.

6. Make the trade and revel in your new animal skin. Lynx hide is SO warm! Be sure to get some of the lynx meat too. It cooks like chicken and tastes pretty similar. It is a white meat.