Day 3 – Through the Porthole – The Moose Hide Campaign

I met Raven Lacerte, 20, as we approached the Canada C3 vessel in Montreal on foot, the day we joined Leg 2. I recognized her from the Canada C3 website “profiles” page, and also by the giant suitcase she was pulling.  We were both nervously excited as we chatted and walked down the wharf.

Photo by Christine Fitzgerald

Raven was one of the Youth Ambassadors for Leg 2, and as I got to know her I realized just how remarkable she is. She’s a member of the Carrier First Nation in British Columbia, and belongs to the Grizzly Bear Clan. At 16 years old, she and her father started the Moose Hide Campaign. “The Moose Hide Campaign is a grassroots movement of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Men who are standing up against violence towards women and children.” Raven and her dad, Paul, were hunting moose when they came up with the idea to start the campaign. They cleaned the moose they had harvested that day, tanned the hide, and cut the hide up into little squares. The idea was to give the squares out to members of their community, and to have them wear them as a symbol of their commitment to honour the women and children in their lives.

Raven offered everyone on the ship a Moose Hide pin, and told us the story behind the campaign. It’s not just about men beating on their wives and kids. It’s about the pain and the anger behind the violence.  The Residential Schools systematically taught indigenous people to hate, and violence became normalized. An entire population of people were damaged by these schools, and the damage was brought back to their communities, and was and is perpetuated. The Moose Hide Campaign is a gentle reminder to all who wear one of the pins that the damage has been done, but also that healing is possible.

The amazing thing about the Moose Hide Campaign, is that anyone can request a pin, or as many pins as you like, and Raven will send them to you free of charge. You can learn more about the campaign and request your pins here. So far, she has distributed around half a million pins! Can you believe that?!?!

The C3 communications team has put together this short video about Raven and the campaign, so you can see for yourself how awesome she is.

Some of it was filmed the night that she formally presented the Moose Hide Campaign to the ship, after we had spent the day at Kahnawa:ke learning firsthand about some of the issues surrounding indigenous communities and Reconciliation. It was a very raw and emotional discussion, and I’m so glad I was a part of it. After we broke up for the night, a small group of us headed for the Legacy Room where Andrea Menard offered to do a smudging. Andrea taught us about this cleansing/spiritual ritual, and then she and Raven offered us the gift of smudging. Raven smudged me, my first ever. I am so grateful for that, and I will never forget how strong and at peace I felt afterwards.

UPDATE: My supply of Moose Hide pins arrived today! If anyone in the Maritimes would like one or a few, please let me know!