Degree
Master of Arts
Program
Anthropology
Supervisor
Adriana Premat
Abstract
This thesis follows a group of hunters in the town of Hearst in Northern Ontario, as they move through space—from the town, to the hunting ground, and back to the home. The analysis presented draws on research that took place over a six-month period during the summer and fall of 2016 and involved a combination of library research, participant observation, 28 interviews, and numerous informal conversations. The analysis presented explores how hunting in Hearst is linked to 1) a sense of place and community membership, 2) local knowledge of, and attachment to, the surrounding “natural” environment and the regional fauna, 3) feelings of connection to family, friends, and local food sources, 4) and a regional identity built on antagonistic relationships with “distant” others (the state and residents of Southern Ontario). Hunting and related practices in Hearst—from butchering to feasting on wild meat—constitute a good starting point to reflect on how people in communities of Northern Ontario like Hearst may relate to each other, their towns, their region, the forested environment and wildlife around them, and the food they consume.
Recommended Citation
Gagnon, Daphné, "Hunting for (dis)connections in Northern Ontario: "nature," wild meat, and community in Hearst" (2017). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5054.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5054