The Jewish people experience a lot of anxiety about keeping our traditions and languages alive among young people - but for most Jewish people, losing these skills doesn’t mean going hungry. For many Indigenous communities, keeping culture alive and keeping food on the table cannot be separated. That’s why MAZON is sponsoring a brand-new traditional food harvest pilot project at Cold Lake First Nation, where about three times the national average of households go hungry.
Two experienced hunters will take two youth out on the land at a time for 3 week trips to teach them hard skills (like animal tracking, gun safety, camping/survival skills, land management, Denesųłiné language and hunting law) and soft skills (like personal and collective responsibility, self-esteem and knowing one’s place in history).
The meat they collect will be brought back to feed the community. Part will be packaged as easy-cook family meal portions and stored in community chest freezers for distribution as emergency rations; part will be distributed fresh among food insecure community members with their own freezers. As Jewish people, we know the fear and pain of losing our culture to discrimination and the joy of preserving it - and MAZON Canada is proud share that joy with Cold Lake First Nation in the form of a hearty, healthy meal.
Learn more about Mazon's impact on Indigenous communities at WWW.MAZONCANADA.CA/INDIGENOUS-PARTNERS