Life On The Trapline

A set of 47 photographs on various aspects of life on the trapline. -p01: The cabin is the heart of life on the trapline. -p02: This is John and Mary Anne McKay's cabin near the Churchill River. -p03: It is on a point near Birch Rapids on Black Bear Island Lake. -p04: John is busy on a project outside the cabin. -p05: Mary Anne is inside making bannock. -p06: In summer an outside stove is used for much of the cooking. -p07: Fish nets hang out on a pole to dry and keep from tangling. -p08: The snowmobiles have been stored away for the summer. -p09: And so have the toboggans. -p10: A workshop is used to make and repair equipment as it is a long way to the nearest community. -p11: At another trapline, trapper Moses Ratt catches fish in a net to feed the family and the dogs. -p12: His son Jackie helps with the fishing. -p13: Here, fish are being cleaned at the family trapline of Napthelie and Lydia McKenzie near Stanley Mission. -p14: Napthelie hangs the fillets on a rack for smoking. -p15: Martin Rediron of Pinehouse smokes fish and meat. -p16: Scraping and smoking a moose hide is a long and complex occupation at the trapline. -p17: Summer travel was mostly by 18-foot freighter canoes with outboard motors - this is David and Ida Ballantyne at Deschambault Lake. -p18: On the west side, hand-built skiffs were commonly used for summer travel. -p19: Families often set up a seasonal camp at a good place for fishing - this one is at Meeyamoot Bay on Lac La Ronge. -p20: The wood-and-canvas canoes sometimes had to have the canvas replaced. -p21: This canoe needs repair and so a new canvas is wetted and stretched over the wooden frame. -p22: Then it is nailed into place. -p23: People used to plant gardens at their cabins - potatoes were the most common crop. -p24: In winter the trapping gets into full swing - this trapline cabin is at Lower Foster Lake. -p25: The children show off the fur catch. -p26: Gilbert McKay holds up a fine wolf pelt at the family trapline near Birch Narrows. -p27: Winter travel on the trapline was traditionally by dogteam - this is Isaac McKenzie and his sister Annie on their trapline at Rapid River. -p28: Or the trappers walked the trapline on their snowshoes. -p29: Then snowmobiles appeared - this is an early version called an 'Autoboggan'. -p30: Snowmobiles were used to pull the toboggans with carioles that were formerly pulled by dogs. -p31: Checking the traps at Cyril Mahoney's trapline at Lower Foster Lake. -p32 to -p33: Setting a trap at Lower Foster Lake. -p34: Cyril Mahoney carries a bale of fur down to the plane on the ice. -p35: Fur is loaded on, and supplies for the trapline are unloaded. -p36: Equipment is prepared for setting and checking traps at a trapline on Wapawekka Lake. -p37: The various traps are selected for the trip. -p38: The two-way radio sits in the cabin for communicating with other trappers and the outside world. -p39: A trapper skins an animal and puts the hide on a stretcher. -p40: The hides on the stretchers. -p41: Tents are often used for overnight stops around the trapline. -p42: In the spring, ice is put up for keeping fish, meat, and other foods fresh for the summer. -p43: The blocks of ice are hauled off to the ice-house. -p44 to -p46: Fishing with nets under the ice provides food through the winter. -p47: Throughout the seasons, the cabin provides a comfortable home base for the family's trapline life.

Historical note:

Photographs taken on various aspects of trapline life in northern Saskatchewan during the 1970s by staff of the Department of Northern Saskatchewan, including Lois Dalby of the Academic Education Branch and various information officers of the Extension Services Branch.
Author/Creator
Lois Dalby (photographer)
Open Access
Yes
Primary Source
Yes
Publication Date
1970s
Credit
Northern Saskatchewan Archives, DNS Academic Education Branch, DNS-Shelf A3-Binder#16-LifeOnTheTrapline 1 - 47; records from Our Legacy site, http://scaa.sk.ca/ourlegacy
Resource Type
Images -- Photographs
Format
Image
Language
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