Organizers for Clearwater’s second annual Moose Hide campaign, which took place last week at the Dutch Lake Community Centre, said the event is catching on, seeing a substantial increase in attendees over last year’s event.
“It was awesome, absolutely—from last year to this year it was amazing. We had to put up extra tables; last year we had 59 people attend the dinner and we ended up with 81 this year, and a lot more youth showed up too,” said Cindy Wilgosh, co-organizer for the event, adding 95 people passed through in total.
The Moose Hide campaign works as a vehicle for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal men to stand against violence toward women and children while also creating awareness of domestic violence.
Seeing the community support and the higher number of youth showing interest this year were definite highlights, said Wilgosh, who also served as emcee for the day.
One of the activities of the Moose Hide campaign involves having community members speak to their personal experiences in an open mic setting, and this time round organizers said the stories that were shared were both interesting and profound, and the keynote speakers who were scheduled did amazing jobs at engaging the audience.
“It’s great because just having the moose hides and wearing them has people asking questions, and now they’re starting to support it and they’re starting to get involved,” Wilgosh said.
“We are trying to go for the walk next year; what we want to promote is you don’t have to stand by and be quiet, now’s your chance, and not only one day a year, let’s continue the conversations all year long.”
https://www.clearwatertimes.com/news/eighth-annual-moose-hide-campaign-marches-through-victoria/
This year organizers went with a “less is more approach” focusing on the open house, keynote and guest speakers as well as the awareness components of the campaign, but other activities include a group walk, as mentioned, and fasting, where male participants forgo eating for the day.
According to the campaign’s website, the Moose Hide campaign began in 2011 when founder Paul Lacerte and his daughter, Raven, were hunting along Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert, also known as the Highway of Tears due to the number of Indigenous women who have gone missing along that stretch of road.
The pair managed to find a moose early in the morning and while his daughter was preparing the animal, they began talking about the tragedies that have occurred on that particular highway.
A moment of inspiration struck and the father and daughter decided to tan the moose’s hide, cut it into little squares and give it to men to wear as a sign of their commitment to end violence against women and children.
As for the campaign in Clearwater, Wilgosh said it’s completely organized through volunteers, and this year also saw a dramatic increase in the amount of people signing up to lend a hand in next year’s event.
newsroom@clearwatertimes.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
