Ozten Shebahkeget · CBC News

· Posted: Sep 10, 2025 5:39 PM EDT | Last Updated: 12 hours ago

With hunting season set to open Monday, leaders of Bloodvein First Nation say they're not backing down from their goal to stop licensed hunters from entering their community in eastern Manitoba.

No-trespassing signs were put up near Bloodvein, which is just over 200 kilometres north of Winnipeg along Lake Winnipeg's eastern shore, in late August due to concerns about overhunting.

Chief Lisa Young said at the time that non-Indigenous hunters who tried to enter the area would be turned away at the community checkpoint, where one of the signs is stationed.

The move was condemned by the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, a conservation organization that represents the interests of hunters, and the Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters Association, with both organizations describing the checkpoint as a "blockade."

Young said First Nations hunters have a constitutionally protected right to harvest animals on their traditional territory.

"Imposing a ban at this time will allow us to gain more information on the current state of the moose population in our traditional territories," she said at a Wednesday news conference that was attended by about a dozen chiefs and grand chiefs in support of Bloodvein.

"We need to ensure there are moose to harvest in the future."

This year, the province issued 175 moose tags in game hunting areas 17, 17A and 17B, which overlap with Bloodvein, a provincial spokesperson told CBC News. A 26 per cent harvest success rate means a total of 41 moose are expected to be harvested in those areas.

Two hunters who said they wanted to scout places to hunt moose were turned away from Bloodvein's checkstop in August, but no one else has been turned away as the hunting season has yet to begin, Young said.

Bloodvein's checkstop predates the no-trespassing signs and was set up in May to prevent drugs and alcohol from entering Bloodvein, she said.

"In no way are we trying to create a blockade. We're just simply providing safety and stability."

Moose hunting season in the region begins on Sept. 15 and runs until Oct. 12, Manitoba's 2025 hunting guide says.

The moose population in one game hunting area that overlaps with Bloodvein — 17A — has been relatively stable since 2000, according to a 2024 aerial survey report recently released by the province.

But Young worries that stability won't last long, as the report also found critically low populations in some nearby areas.

The province previously closed a large swath of game-hunting areas in western Manitoba due to low population concerns. Multiple Interlake game-hunting areas also remain closed to moose hunting.

Young said the closures pushed non-Indigenous hunters farther into Bloodvein's territory, which gives her community less of a chance to harvest moose. Community members were only able to harvest one moose there last year, she said.

Elder Frank Young, Chief Young's father, said there was no problem finding a moose when he was growing up in Bloodvein.

"It's just not like it was anymore. It's dead," he said.

'Pretty shaken up'

The province is in talks with Bloodvein and the hunting community, Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie said.

"Our commitment is to continue working in partnership with Indigenous communities and hunters to support the long-term sustainability of moose," he said in a statement to CBC News.

Don Lamont, executive director of the Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters Association, said his hope is that the province sits down with all of the First Nations communities in the province to discuss the issue.

"We really think that our premier needs to lead on this, because this is only going to be one of many cases," he told CBC News, after the news conference.

"A lot of what we do as outfitters and operators is in jeopardy, so we need some stability and some guarantee."

Manitoba's wildfire season has already impacted some outfitters, with some losing money or not opening at all this year, he said. His concern is that out-of-province hunters will stop coming to Manitoba.

"This billion-dollar industry is, I think, pretty shaken up this year."

Chris Heald, senior policy advisor at the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, said his organization still believes Bloodvein's checkstop is illegal, if it prevents licensed hunters from accessing Crown land.

He's also concerned about licensed anglers being turned away from the checkstop.

"If you're turning away somebody at a checkstop, essentially [that's] blocking access for licensed hunters," he told CBC News after the news conference.

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said Manitoba must recognize First Nations' responsibility to manage animal populations in their communities.

"We don't go into your backyards and tell you how to manage your own property," she said at the news conference.

The news conference was a chance for First Nations leaders in Manitoba to stand up and show support for Bloodvein, as some communities consider imposing their own hunting restrictions, she said.

"The province [and] any organization that believes that they have the right to speak on our nations, you do not," Wilson said. "You do not have the right to issue licences in our traditional lands and territories."