Fish

Students will:

• Appreciate fishing experiences as joyous and challenging. (K-6)

• Know the different fish and subspecies of fish found in the local area. (K-6)

• Know the life cycles of different species and their feeding habits. Fish run from little rivers to join main water bodies in the fall. In winter they say it is windy and they move to a warmer place in deep waters. They behave much like the Dene. In the early spring, the fish begin to move because the waters running from the smaller rivers into the main water bodies carry food for the fish. In mid to late summer, the fish return to the shore where the heat is. (DŽline) (K-3)

• Know that preferred fishing locations determined the movement of the Dene in the past. (4-6)

• Be familiar with traditional fishing techniques and technology. (4-6)

• Be able to help in the preparation of fish for eating (cleaning, cutting, open fire cooking, boiling, frying and baking). (K-4)

• Be able to help in the preservation and storing of fish (dryfish, semi-dry fish, stick fish, split fish, fish pemmican, cache). (K-6)

• Know the parts of the fish and their value to the Dene: which are considered edible, which are delicacies, medicinal uses, tools, etc. (K-6)

• Be able to prepare fish for dog food. (4-6)

• Be aware of how different commercial fishing enterprises work. (5-6)

• Know when and where to fish for different kinds of fish. (K-4)

  • Know where the different fish can be found seasonally.

  • Know locations where fish can be found year round.

  • Know the migration routes of fish.

• Be familiar with landmarks or markers left by Dene ancestors to indicate fishing locations. (4-6)

• Know the different techniques used to fish (ice fishing, ice hook fishing, spearing, netting, fishing weirs with sticks or poles). (5-6)

• Know that just as the Dene and the bear feed on fish, likewise, other living things live off the fish (i.e. worms in the outer flesh). They can be washed away before the fish is prepared. (5-6)

• Be able to help in the preparation for going hook fishing both in early spring and in late spring and fall. (K-6)

• Be familiar with how and where to fish with hooks in water and in ice. (K-6)

• Be able to make hooks and tools for fishing, make and mend a net. (4-6)

• Be able to set nets in different seasons. Know where nets are set and how to avoid these places. (4-6)

• Be able to prepare bait. (K-6)

• Know that fish have been and continue to be a main source of food for the Dene as well as for many other animals. (3-6)

• Be familiar with the concept of aboriginal fishing rights. (K-6)

• Know the importance of keeping all rivers and lakes pollution-free to avoid damaging fish stocks. Good fish come from good waters. (4-6)

• Know and respect the need to conserve fish: to take only what is needed. (5-6)

Experiences:

• When on the land, point out good fishing locations of different fish in different seasons. (K-6)

• Make, mend, set nets. (4-6)

• Make fishing hooks. (3-6)

• Make traditional fishing tools. (4-6)

• Go hook fishing. (K-6)

• Catch minnows and observe. (K-3)

• Go net fishing in fall. (3-6)

• Go net fishing in early winter. (5-6)

• Scale and clean fish. (K-6)

• Cook fish. (K-6)

• Make dry fish. (2-6)

• Make bannock with fish liver or fish eggs. (K-6)

• Dry back bone muscle and pound like dry meat. (4-6).

• Make fish combs. (K-3)

• Make fish bags. (4-6)

• Participate in making, setting and keeping a willow net. (5-6)

• Conduct field research in the community to learn how industrial waste, chemicals and pollution affect fish and life in the water.