Springtime Turkey Days
By MASHKODE-BIZHIKIGAHBAW, BENJI SAM
Springtime brings wonders that simply no other time of year can compete with. As the cold, dreary, dark, long days fade into spring it brings a wonderous time to be an outdoorsman. As we wrap up sugar camp and our piles of burning wood have dwindled, the sunlight sheds rays of joy into our lives and almost bring a new energy to the earth.
This time of year brings fish into the shallows, allowing our annual harvest of Ogaa and others to add to the annual foodbank that keeps our people fed. Green plants also begin to pop up across the region and soon we will be able to harvest leeks, mushrooms, fiddleheads, and many other spring new growth. But one of my favorite events this time of year that doesn’t get enough appreciation is hunting of the wild turkey. It wasn’t that long ago in our nation’s history that the wild turkey was on the endangered species list.
Today, the wild turkey population is thriving, and their home range has spread across the Northland to bring more diversity to the ecosystem and give hunters, both new and old, the opportunity to give chase to a truly incredible bird. This spring, as like many others before, we took to the woods in search of a spring thunder chicken – a term coined by many hunters due to their incredible gobble that often breaks the silence in the woods. These birds are keen and intelligent yet can be fooled into searching for a heartbreak, with eyes so sharp that they can spot even the slightest movement, and will spook into the next county if you aren’t watching your step.
The excitement of a turkey hunt is sometimes hard to describe. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, these birds can get a heart racing in a hurry. Unlike other wild game in our region, turkeys are incredibly vocal, and communicating with these birds from a distance of half a mile is not abnormal. To most people, I describe turkey hunting as a physical game of chess, where every move is incredibly strategic and it pays off to think one, two, three moves ahead. That moment where a mature gobbler walks in at full strut with his fan held high and breaks into a thunderous gobble is a moment that I believe every outdoorsman should experience at least once in their life.
My oldest nephew, Logan (12), joined me for his second turkey hunt ever. There are a thousand teaching moments when you share the woods with the next generation. Teachings about life, strategy, planning, execution, struggle, and even death can be experienced in the woods. It is important that we carry on these traditions and teachings to help build stronger, understanding young generations of people who know how and why it is important to provide for themselves.
Logan has yet to harvest his first turkey, but is beginning to understand how to approach the woods and plan for a turkey. In camouflage from head to toe, we escaped to the woods before light hit the horizon to try to sneak in close enough to find him a bird. We set up a pair of decoys on the trail about a hundred yards from where I spotted a tom the night before and set the trap. Unfortunately, this bird already had a hen at his side and flew down away from competition.
After hearing him gobble for the last 30 minutes on his roost tree, our excitement completely halted, as the next time we heard him he was well off the property. The morning wasn't a total bust though, as we saw dozens of whitetails in the fields and trail, and ducks, geese, sandhill cranes, and beavers all filled the air with their own languages until we decided to head home.
Fortunately for us, the turkey season is long and the birds will only become more aggressive and vocal as the sun brings new life to the Earth. If this is something you've never tried, put it on the list because without even taking a bird home we shared laughs, joy, and experienced the earth waking up — a time of day that our Elders believe is important to the Anishinaabe.
They say that experiencing the sun rise and physically touching the earth every day keeps us grounded and connected to the very place that gives us life. I don't know when I will be able to get my nephew back out in the woods this year, but it was great to be able to make that new memory and share some of what life has given me with the next generation.
