WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.510 align:middle line:90% 00:00:00.510 --> 00:00:03.810 align:middle line:84% --Will be Ann Sylvester, David Dominguez, Carol Ebbecke, 00:00:03.810 --> 00:00:04.800 align:middle line:90% and Jason Ott. 00:00:04.800 --> 00:00:10.720 align:middle line:90% 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:13.960 align:middle line:84% For 30 years, Richard Nelson has apprenticed himself 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:16.720 align:middle line:84% to the north, to the relationships 00:00:16.720 --> 00:00:19.180 align:middle line:84% between native peoples and their environments 00:00:19.180 --> 00:00:22.970 align:middle line:84% and to the other creatures that share the land. 00:00:22.970 --> 00:00:25.050 align:middle line:84% Beginning as a cultural anthropologist, 00:00:25.050 --> 00:00:27.470 align:middle line:84% he wrote Hunters of the Northern Forest, 00:00:27.470 --> 00:00:30.530 align:middle line:84% Hunters of the Northern Ice, and Make Prayers 00:00:30.530 --> 00:00:35.210 align:middle line:84% to the Raven, all published by the University of Chicago Press. 00:00:35.210 --> 00:00:37.940 align:middle line:84% He has also written Shadow of the Hunter, a collection 00:00:37.940 --> 00:00:41.810 align:middle line:84% of stories tracking a group of hunters and their families 00:00:41.810 --> 00:00:44.610 align:middle line:90% through the arctic year. 00:00:44.610 --> 00:00:49.620 align:middle line:84% The Island Within moved his concerns closer to home, 00:00:49.620 --> 00:00:52.800 align:middle line:84% eloquently telling the story of his family living 00:00:52.800 --> 00:00:56.700 align:middle line:84% in the Pacific Northwest through the lens of his deep knowledge 00:00:56.700 --> 00:00:59.280 align:middle line:90% of Koyukon teachings. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:03.360 align:middle line:84% His new book, one that his admirers have long and eagerly 00:01:03.360 --> 00:01:07.680 align:middle line:84% anticipated, and so has he, I'm sure, 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:11.400 align:middle line:84% is Heart and Blood: Living With Deer in North America, 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:14.860 align:middle line:84% to be published by Knopf in the fall. 00:01:14.860 --> 00:01:19.540 align:middle line:84% We are all by now sorely aware of the wounding upon which 00:01:19.540 --> 00:01:23.380 align:middle line:84% our culture has been founded, the terrible wounding 00:01:23.380 --> 00:01:28.230 align:middle line:84% of the land and other species that our progress has exacted, 00:01:28.230 --> 00:01:31.170 align:middle line:84% aware that had the meeting of Europeans 00:01:31.170 --> 00:01:35.460 align:middle line:84% and Native Americans on this continent been conducted 00:01:35.460 --> 00:01:38.700 align:middle line:84% with more respect on the part of the newcomers, 00:01:38.700 --> 00:01:43.980 align:middle line:84% we might find ourselves living in a more balanced relationship 00:01:43.980 --> 00:01:46.470 align:middle line:90% with the natural world. 00:01:46.470 --> 00:01:48.260 align:middle line:84% Another way to say this is that there 00:01:48.260 --> 00:01:50.930 align:middle line:84% are lessons to be learned from the land 00:01:50.930 --> 00:01:53.540 align:middle line:84% and that native people have had more time here 00:01:53.540 --> 00:01:55.630 align:middle line:90% in which to learn them. 00:01:55.630 --> 00:01:58.300 align:middle line:84% The importance of Richard Nelson's work 00:01:58.300 --> 00:02:01.330 align:middle line:84% is that he reveals to us that it is not 00:02:01.330 --> 00:02:06.970 align:middle line:84% too late to integrate the knowledge of long and respectful 00:02:06.970 --> 00:02:13.060 align:middle line:84% learning in place with our own moral and spiritual sense. 00:02:13.060 --> 00:02:17.620 align:middle line:84% He is a writer of vision, conscience, and great heart. 00:02:17.620 --> 00:02:20.906 align:middle line:84% I'm honored to introduce to you Richard Nelson. 00:02:20.906 --> 00:02:27.850 align:middle line:90% [APPLAUSE] 00:02:27.850 --> 00:02:28.600 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:02:28.600 --> 00:02:31.780 align:middle line:90% 00:02:31.780 --> 00:02:33.230 align:middle line:90% It's really great to be here. 00:02:33.230 --> 00:02:35.170 align:middle line:84% Anita and I haven't been here for very long. 00:02:35.170 --> 00:02:37.930 align:middle line:84% We just hopped off the plane this afternoon 00:02:37.930 --> 00:02:42.017 align:middle line:84% into what seems to us sort of blazing heat of Tucson. 00:02:42.017 --> 00:02:43.600 align:middle line:84% I don't know what it feels like to you 00:02:43.600 --> 00:02:47.300 align:middle line:84% guys, maybe sort of like a cool day. 00:02:47.300 --> 00:02:49.420 align:middle line:84% But to us, it was kind of a shock, 00:02:49.420 --> 00:02:54.850 align:middle line:84% and Alison had to turn up the air conditioner in her car. 00:02:54.850 --> 00:02:57.310 align:middle line:84% It really feels very, very hot to us 00:02:57.310 --> 00:02:59.920 align:middle line:84% who just came from Alaska where we've 00:02:59.920 --> 00:03:02.740 align:middle line:90% had a pretty serious winter. 00:03:02.740 --> 00:03:05.260 align:middle line:84% And we live on the coast of Alaska 00:03:05.260 --> 00:03:07.900 align:middle line:84% in the Tongass National Forest, an area 00:03:07.900 --> 00:03:12.370 align:middle line:84% where it really doesn't get very cold by Alaskan standards, 00:03:12.370 --> 00:03:17.870 align:middle line:90% but it's still-- 00:03:17.870 --> 00:03:21.708 align:middle line:84% I don't even know how you, you know, by Tucson standard time, 00:03:21.708 --> 00:03:23.750 align:middle line:84% there was no point in even discussing it I guess. 00:03:23.750 --> 00:03:25.820 align:middle line:84% The other thing is that where we live-- 00:03:25.820 --> 00:03:28.790 align:middle line:84% where we live, the annual precipitation mostly rain 00:03:28.790 --> 00:03:30.470 align:middle line:90% is 100 inches. 00:03:30.470 --> 00:03:37.320 align:middle line:84% And there are somewhere like maybe 25 sunny days a year. 00:03:37.320 --> 00:03:40.820 align:middle line:84% So by staying here in Arizona, we're 00:03:40.820 --> 00:03:43.790 align:middle line:84% going to at least double our annual intake 00:03:43.790 --> 00:03:46.610 align:middle line:84% of sunny days between now and Easter, at least 00:03:46.610 --> 00:03:47.690 align:middle line:90% we're counting on that. 00:03:47.690 --> 00:03:50.150 align:middle line:84% And if it is cloudy, we really don't care anyway. 00:03:50.150 --> 00:03:53.300 align:middle line:84% It'll probably be all the better for us. 00:03:53.300 --> 00:03:57.620 align:middle line:84% Anyway, I'm really honored to be here. 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:00.140 align:middle line:84% The one other reading I attended here 00:04:00.140 --> 00:04:03.080 align:middle line:84% previously was Ofelia Zepeda reading 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:05.630 align:middle line:90% wonderful pieces of her work. 00:04:05.630 --> 00:04:09.260 align:middle line:84% And I came with my good friend and brother Gary Nabhan who's 00:04:09.260 --> 00:04:11.810 align:middle line:84% sitting in right here and for whom 00:04:11.810 --> 00:04:17.302 align:middle line:84% I have to thank for bringing in these plants, whatever they are. 00:04:17.302 --> 00:04:19.760 align:middle line:84% Who cares, you know, you've seen one, you've seen them all. 00:04:19.760 --> 00:04:22.148 align:middle line:90% 00:04:22.148 --> 00:04:23.690 align:middle line:84% That's for his benefit, the botanist. 00:04:23.690 --> 00:04:27.680 align:middle line:90% 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:32.270 align:middle line:84% And thanks too so much to my dear friend, Alison Deming, 00:04:32.270 --> 00:04:35.720 align:middle line:84% and to the Poetry Center for making all this possible 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:38.060 align:middle line:84% and especially to all of you for coming out 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:39.500 align:middle line:90% on such a brutal night as this. 00:04:39.500 --> 00:04:42.170 align:middle line:90% 00:04:42.170 --> 00:04:46.640 align:middle line:84% Finally, I want to acknowledge, as always, 00:04:46.640 --> 00:04:51.410 align:middle line:84% my deep gratitude to the Alaskan Native people, 00:04:51.410 --> 00:04:54.770 align:middle line:84% Eskimo and Koyukon and Gwich'in and Athabascan people who have 00:04:54.770 --> 00:04:57.980 align:middle line:84% been my teachers over the years and who I always hope will be 00:04:57.980 --> 00:05:02.690 align:middle line:84% patient with the limitations and failings in my knowledge. 00:05:02.690 --> 00:05:07.605 align:middle line:84% And tonight, the things that I would like to read are not-- 00:05:07.605 --> 00:05:10.130 align:middle line:90% 00:05:10.130 --> 00:05:12.610 align:middle line:84% well, a lot of what I will read is from Heart and Blood, 00:05:12.610 --> 00:05:13.645 align:middle line:90% the new book about deer. 00:05:13.645 --> 00:05:17.160 align:middle line:90% 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:21.170 align:middle line:84% A lot of this book is not really explicitly 00:05:21.170 --> 00:05:26.800 align:middle line:84% about my own experiences in Native American communities. 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:31.680 align:middle line:84% But I want to really emphasize that everything that I do 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:35.130 align:middle line:84% and every way that I would look at or try 00:05:35.130 --> 00:05:40.320 align:middle line:84% to understand anything is profoundly affected by what 00:05:40.320 --> 00:05:42.600 align:middle line:84% little bit I managed to learn during the years 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:46.830 align:middle line:84% I was living in Native Alaskan communities. 00:05:46.830 --> 00:05:50.070 align:middle line:84% I'll touch here and there on specific teachings, 00:05:50.070 --> 00:05:54.180 align:middle line:84% especially of Koyukon Indians in Alaska, 00:05:54.180 --> 00:05:58.020 align:middle line:84% but it's important for me to make that point about everything 00:05:58.020 --> 00:06:00.480 align:middle line:84% that I write is very much affected that way. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:03.130 align:middle line:90% 00:06:03.130 --> 00:06:08.380 align:middle line:84% I want to start with an opening part from one chapter, 00:06:08.380 --> 00:06:11.130 align:middle line:84% the last chapter of Heart and Blood, the deer book. 00:06:11.130 --> 00:06:13.630 align:middle line:84% Most of what I'll read tonight will be in one way or another 00:06:13.630 --> 00:06:14.140 align:middle line:90% about deer. 00:06:14.140 --> 00:06:16.270 align:middle line:84% And a lot of it, forgive me, please, 00:06:16.270 --> 00:06:18.220 align:middle line:90% is going to be about hunting. 00:06:18.220 --> 00:06:20.770 align:middle line:84% And I suppose I better excuse myself to begin with. 00:06:20.770 --> 00:06:22.390 align:middle line:84% I know that for some people, hunting 00:06:22.390 --> 00:06:25.720 align:middle line:84% is not only a subject of a fairly passionate feeling 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:30.190 align:middle line:84% but also a subject that is flat out too nasty to discuss at all. 00:06:30.190 --> 00:06:32.620 align:middle line:84% And I'm afraid that if you feel that way, 00:06:32.620 --> 00:06:34.525 align:middle line:84% this might not be your favorite evening. 00:06:34.525 --> 00:06:42.580 align:middle line:90% 00:06:42.580 --> 00:06:44.770 align:middle line:84% I think there's an incredible amount 00:06:44.770 --> 00:06:49.630 align:middle line:84% to learn by thinking about and talking about hunting no matter 00:06:49.630 --> 00:06:50.810 align:middle line:90% how you feel about it. 00:06:50.810 --> 00:06:52.390 align:middle line:84% And I want to emphasize that I'm not 00:06:52.390 --> 00:06:54.760 align:middle line:84% a person who would ever proselytize 00:06:54.760 --> 00:06:56.290 align:middle line:90% that anybody should hunt. 00:06:56.290 --> 00:06:59.330 align:middle line:84% If I'm interested in proselytizing for anything, 00:06:59.330 --> 00:07:02.290 align:middle line:84% it's that everybody ought to grow a garden, 00:07:02.290 --> 00:07:05.740 align:middle line:84% but whatever it takes, as long as somebody-- 00:07:05.740 --> 00:07:08.020 align:middle line:84% as long as you do something that helps 00:07:08.020 --> 00:07:11.800 align:middle line:84% you to understand how it is that you are absolutely and totally 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:12.970 align:middle line:90% connected with the earth. 00:07:12.970 --> 00:07:15.940 align:middle line:84% And the things that I want to read about hunting really 00:07:15.940 --> 00:07:17.290 align:middle line:90% are about that subject. 00:07:17.290 --> 00:07:21.400 align:middle line:84% And hunting is just a vehicle for discussing it. 00:07:21.400 --> 00:07:26.300 align:middle line:84% I'm also really into predation, you'll understand quickly here. 00:07:26.300 --> 00:07:29.910 align:middle line:84% So this is from a chapter called "Heart of the Hunter." 00:07:29.910 --> 00:07:33.720 align:middle line:84% The deer's hoof prints keen edged in wet black sand 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:36.810 align:middle line:84% couldn't be more than a couple hours old, 00:07:36.810 --> 00:07:40.757 align:middle line:84% but the brown bear's tracks look even fresher. 00:07:40.757 --> 00:07:42.090 align:middle line:90% I'll let that rest for a minute. 00:07:42.090 --> 00:07:45.690 align:middle line:84% I have to tell you that this story is set in Southeast 00:07:45.690 --> 00:07:48.240 align:middle line:90% Alaska very near our home. 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:53.550 align:middle line:84% And we live in a place that has lots of bears. 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:55.020 align:middle line:90% We do not have black bears. 00:07:55.020 --> 00:07:57.480 align:middle line:84% We only have brown bears or grizzly bears. 00:07:57.480 --> 00:07:59.220 align:middle line:84% And just for perspective, the island 00:07:59.220 --> 00:08:03.150 align:middle line:84% that we live on, which is about 100 miles long and 25 miles wide 00:08:03.150 --> 00:08:07.620 align:middle line:84% has an estimated population of 1,000 brown bears, which 00:08:07.620 --> 00:08:10.560 align:middle line:84% is larger than the total estimated population of grizzly 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:14.530 align:middle line:84% bears in the entire lower 48 states. 00:08:14.530 --> 00:08:16.840 align:middle line:90% I better start again. 00:08:16.840 --> 00:08:19.510 align:middle line:84% The deer's hoof prints keen edged in wet black sand 00:08:19.510 --> 00:08:21.520 align:middle line:84% couldn't be more than a couple hours old, 00:08:21.520 --> 00:08:25.060 align:middle line:84% but the brown bear's tracks look even fresher. 00:08:25.060 --> 00:08:27.910 align:middle line:84% Deeply dished indentations of its hind feet 00:08:27.910 --> 00:08:31.420 align:middle line:84% 12 inches from splayed heel to scimitar claws 00:08:31.420 --> 00:08:35.409 align:middle line:84% obliterate several of the deer's imprints, proving the bear 00:08:35.409 --> 00:08:37.900 align:middle line:90% came afterward. 00:08:37.900 --> 00:08:40.150 align:middle line:84% Pushing her muzzle into each depression, 00:08:40.150 --> 00:08:43.750 align:middle line:84% Keta savors a feral scent as dense and pungent 00:08:43.750 --> 00:08:47.730 align:middle line:84% for her as burnt toast would be for me. 00:08:47.730 --> 00:08:52.230 align:middle line:84% I unshoulder the rifle and kneel down to put my nose beside hers 00:08:52.230 --> 00:08:57.200 align:middle line:84% but detect nothing except the salty tang of kelp and tide. 00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:00.020 align:middle line:84% Then hunkered shoulder to shoulder with the dog, 00:09:00.020 --> 00:09:02.990 align:middle line:84% I carefully scrutinize the way ahead, 00:09:02.990 --> 00:09:06.440 align:middle line:84% a lazy curve of beach ending in a bedrock point 00:09:06.440 --> 00:09:09.560 align:middle line:84% heaped at its edges with seaweed. 00:09:09.560 --> 00:09:12.350 align:middle line:84% But I see no trace of shaggy flank, 00:09:12.350 --> 00:09:14.780 align:middle line:84% no furred hillock of shoulder and back, 00:09:14.780 --> 00:09:17.930 align:middle line:84% no glint or blink of eye, only a batch 00:09:17.930 --> 00:09:20.600 align:middle line:84% of crows above the tide's reach, pecking 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:23.900 align:middle line:90% and flapping and gabbling. 00:09:23.900 --> 00:09:28.250 align:middle line:84% The long window of seaweed 5 feet deep and 30 feet wide 00:09:28.250 --> 00:09:32.000 align:middle line:84% washed ashore in massive swells kicked up by our latest North 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:33.890 align:middle line:90% Pacific storm. 00:09:33.890 --> 00:09:37.370 align:middle line:84% Clambering onto it, I find a series of broad pits 00:09:37.370 --> 00:09:42.440 align:middle line:84% dug into the snarl of composting eel grass and kelp with the post 00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:46.700 align:middle line:84% hole depressions of bears' feet leading from one excavation 00:09:46.700 --> 00:09:48.540 align:middle line:90% to the next. 00:09:48.540 --> 00:09:50.640 align:middle line:84% Beside the last and biggest crater 00:09:50.640 --> 00:09:54.990 align:middle line:84% is a pile of droppings the diameter of a medium pizza, 00:09:54.990 --> 00:09:58.320 align:middle line:90% bright tan, moist and gleaming. 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:01.350 align:middle line:84% It looks something like dog scat but appropriately 00:10:01.350 --> 00:10:04.590 align:middle line:84% scaled for a creature weighing 600 to 800 pounds. 00:10:04.590 --> 00:10:07.300 align:middle line:90% 00:10:07.300 --> 00:10:10.840 align:middle line:84% I make no claim to fastidiousness or refinement, 00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:14.410 align:middle line:84% having occasionally eaten things most people from my own culture 00:10:14.410 --> 00:10:16.660 align:middle line:84% wouldn't touch with a long stick. 00:10:16.660 --> 00:10:19.750 align:middle line:84% Yet when I lean close to inspect these droppings, 00:10:19.750 --> 00:10:22.150 align:middle line:84% their feculent curdling aroma takes 00:10:22.150 --> 00:10:24.430 align:middle line:90% the breath right out of me. 00:10:24.430 --> 00:10:26.350 align:middle line:84% The odor, which outclasses anything 00:10:26.350 --> 00:10:28.150 align:middle line:84% of this sort I've ever encountered, 00:10:28.150 --> 00:10:32.380 align:middle line:84% does eloquent justice to an immense churning digestive 00:10:32.380 --> 00:10:33.740 align:middle line:90% tract. 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:36.800 align:middle line:84% Its contents-- I don't know why I got so graphic about this. 00:10:36.800 --> 00:10:40.160 align:middle line:90% 00:10:40.160 --> 00:10:43.760 align:middle line:90% Maybe I'll revise it. 00:10:43.760 --> 00:10:45.560 align:middle line:90% Its contents include a goulash-- 00:10:45.560 --> 00:10:48.680 align:middle line:84% I'm going to go on about this a little more. 00:10:48.680 --> 00:10:52.340 align:middle line:84% Its contents include a goulash of plant seeds, grass, 00:10:52.340 --> 00:10:55.790 align:middle line:84% and mulch seaweed along with bits of gravel and shell, 00:10:55.790 --> 00:11:00.000 align:middle line:84% evidence of the bear's shoreline foraging. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:02.860 align:middle line:84% To find out if this scat is as fresh as it looks, 00:11:02.860 --> 00:11:08.130 align:middle line:84% I poked two fingers far down into the glutinous melange. 00:11:08.130 --> 00:11:11.760 align:middle line:84% And sure enough, from the surface to the very core, 00:11:11.760 --> 00:11:14.310 align:middle line:90% there's not a hint of cooling. 00:11:14.310 --> 00:11:17.820 align:middle line:84% In fact, a thermometer inserted where I've just stuck my fingers 00:11:17.820 --> 00:11:21.150 align:middle line:84% would probably register close to a brown bear's normal body 00:11:21.150 --> 00:11:23.220 align:middle line:90% temperature. 00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:25.950 align:middle line:84% Information like this should never be taken lightly. 00:11:25.950 --> 00:11:29.730 align:middle line:90% 00:11:29.730 --> 00:11:32.370 align:middle line:84% I fasten my eyes on the shoreside forest 00:11:32.370 --> 00:11:35.790 align:middle line:84% just beyond a batch of driftwood logs about 40 feet away, 00:11:35.790 --> 00:11:40.050 align:middle line:84% the direction in which Keta is presently sniffing and peering. 00:11:40.050 --> 00:11:42.540 align:middle line:84% I suspect the animal saw us coming, 00:11:42.540 --> 00:11:45.990 align:middle line:84% hesitated just long enough to deposit this organic calling 00:11:45.990 --> 00:11:49.730 align:middle line:84% card and then took off at a dead run. 00:11:49.730 --> 00:11:51.740 align:middle line:84% On the other hand, it's only prudent to assume 00:11:51.740 --> 00:11:54.350 align:middle line:84% the bear is lurking back among those shadows 00:11:54.350 --> 00:11:57.410 align:middle line:90% deciding what to do about us. 00:11:57.410 --> 00:11:59.660 align:middle line:84% Perhaps we should get out of here, 00:11:59.660 --> 00:12:02.780 align:middle line:84% but I choose, instead, to follow Keta up toward the trees, 00:12:02.780 --> 00:12:05.690 align:middle line:84% pausing for long intervals to watch and listen, 00:12:05.690 --> 00:12:09.560 align:middle line:84% trying to ignore the heartbeats thrumming in my ears. 00:12:09.560 --> 00:12:11.660 align:middle line:84% This is not blind foolishness, however, 00:12:11.660 --> 00:12:14.390 align:middle line:90% because I trust Keta's judgment. 00:12:14.390 --> 00:12:16.460 align:middle line:84% If she sensed the bear nearby, she'd 00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:19.010 align:middle line:84% fix a burning border collie's stare 00:12:19.010 --> 00:12:22.100 align:middle line:84% on one spot in the underbrush and her whole body 00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:24.110 align:middle line:90% would tremble excitedly. 00:12:24.110 --> 00:12:26.330 align:middle line:84% But now, although on full alert, she 00:12:26.330 --> 00:12:29.780 align:middle line:84% acts like the place has been abandoned. 00:12:29.780 --> 00:12:31.790 align:middle line:84% As we ease into the forest, I can't 00:12:31.790 --> 00:12:34.820 align:middle line:84% stop thinking of what we found in this same place 00:12:34.820 --> 00:12:37.050 align:middle line:90% a few months back. 00:12:37.050 --> 00:12:40.440 align:middle line:84% Beneath an enormous spruce in a game trail worn raw 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:42.510 align:middle line:84% by the previous winter's deer traffic 00:12:42.510 --> 00:12:45.990 align:middle line:84% lay a bloodstained shoulder blade neatly punctured 00:12:45.990 --> 00:12:48.980 align:middle line:90% with a single tooth hole. 00:12:48.980 --> 00:12:51.890 align:middle line:84% Not far away, we found a patch of matted grass 00:12:51.890 --> 00:12:55.250 align:middle line:84% and trampled earth 10 feet in diameter thickly 00:12:55.250 --> 00:13:02.290 align:middle line:84% strewn with gray-brown hair plucked from a deer's hide. 00:13:02.290 --> 00:13:04.870 align:middle line:84% Then we discovered the fore scattered legs, 00:13:04.870 --> 00:13:08.860 align:middle line:84% their bones still articulated, hide and meat stripped away, 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:12.460 align:middle line:90% tendons shredded, hooves intact. 00:13:12.460 --> 00:13:14.710 align:middle line:84% A wafting smell of decay indicated 00:13:14.710 --> 00:13:17.560 align:middle line:84% several days had passed since the black tail, 00:13:17.560 --> 00:13:20.500 align:middle line:84% a full grown adult, had been killed or scavenged 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:23.050 align:middle line:90% by a brown bear. 00:13:23.050 --> 00:13:26.440 align:middle line:84% I imagined the bear feeding just outside-- 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:27.190 align:middle line:90% I'm sorry. 00:13:27.190 --> 00:13:31.120 align:middle line:84% I imagined the deer feeding just outside the woods and the bear 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:33.610 align:middle line:84% stalking meticulously into the wind, 00:13:33.610 --> 00:13:37.750 align:middle line:84% hunching behind bedrock mounds much the same color as its fur, 00:13:37.750 --> 00:13:40.600 align:middle line:84% lifting its head to watch when the deer leaned down 00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:43.150 align:middle line:84% to nibble seaweed, then cringing back when 00:13:43.150 --> 00:13:47.650 align:middle line:84% she snapped to alertness and the bear drawing shallow breaths, 00:13:47.650 --> 00:13:50.650 align:middle line:84% neurons flaring in the maelstrom of its brain, 00:13:50.650 --> 00:13:52.930 align:middle line:90% muscles coiling and hardening. 00:13:52.930 --> 00:13:57.040 align:middle line:84% And the bear, unleashed like a boulder on a steep slope, 00:13:57.040 --> 00:14:00.790 align:middle line:84% pitching against the deer's late flight, and the collision 00:14:00.790 --> 00:14:04.150 align:middle line:84% of muscle and bone, the shearing of flesh, the two 00:14:04.150 --> 00:14:07.540 align:middle line:84% animals twisting together and becoming still, 00:14:07.540 --> 00:14:11.680 align:middle line:84% the unraveling violence lapsing to serene quiet broken 00:14:11.680 --> 00:14:15.820 align:middle line:84% by the bear's heaving chest and fog bursting from the bear's 00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:19.360 align:middle line:84% nostrils, warm blood rivering down its tongue, 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:22.360 align:middle line:84% and the deer's body yielding and relaxing, 00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:26.200 align:middle line:84% its heartbeats subsiding, its eyes staring absently 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:31.390 align:middle line:84% into the sky as night came down and down. 00:14:31.390 --> 00:14:34.180 align:middle line:84% I trust these imaginings because I've 00:14:34.180 --> 00:14:37.330 align:middle line:84% stalked deer in this same place and watched them 00:14:37.330 --> 00:14:41.800 align:middle line:84% with the same predatory intent, drawing from the part of my mind 00:14:41.800 --> 00:14:45.820 align:middle line:84% that is purely and passionately a hunter. 00:14:45.820 --> 00:14:49.720 align:middle line:84% In this sense, the bear and I differ little from each other 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:53.920 align:middle line:84% or from our fellow island predators, flicker and robin, 00:14:53.920 --> 00:14:57.940 align:middle line:84% mink and shrew, marten and river otter, great blue heron 00:14:57.940 --> 00:15:00.530 align:middle line:90% and bald eagle. 00:15:00.530 --> 00:15:04.040 align:middle line:84% We all have the gifts of cunningness and guile. 00:15:04.040 --> 00:15:07.340 align:middle line:84% We share a common hunger, and our bodies 00:15:07.340 --> 00:15:11.050 align:middle line:84% are made from the flesh that feeds us. 00:15:11.050 --> 00:15:13.930 align:middle line:84% And here on this wild island at the continent's 00:15:13.930 --> 00:15:18.400 align:middle line:84% far western edge, a human hunter must accept the possibility 00:15:18.400 --> 00:15:22.330 align:middle line:90% of also being hunted. 00:15:22.330 --> 00:15:27.610 align:middle line:84% My experiences with hunting are kind of unusual, 00:15:27.610 --> 00:15:34.150 align:middle line:84% I think, for an ordinary Norwegian type 00:15:34.150 --> 00:15:39.100 align:middle line:84% of a guy who grew up in Wisconsin in that I never hunted 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:41.710 align:middle line:90% at all as I was growing up. 00:15:41.710 --> 00:15:44.410 align:middle line:84% And I was adamantly opposed to hunting. 00:15:44.410 --> 00:15:46.540 align:middle line:84% I thought it was one of the purest forms 00:15:46.540 --> 00:15:49.990 align:middle line:84% of unconscionable behavior toward animals. 00:15:49.990 --> 00:15:54.520 align:middle line:84% And had there been animal rights and anti-hunting protests 00:15:54.520 --> 00:15:59.240 align:middle line:84% at that time, I certainly would have been right in the front. 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:03.130 align:middle line:84% However, then I went and lived with Inupiaq Eskimos 00:16:03.130 --> 00:16:05.080 align:middle line:84% in northern Alaska and found myself 00:16:05.080 --> 00:16:08.860 align:middle line:84% in a society that hunted for a living. 00:16:08.860 --> 00:16:11.530 align:middle line:84% And my work as an anthropologist was 00:16:11.530 --> 00:16:15.170 align:middle line:84% to learn the skills of subsistence and survival. 00:16:15.170 --> 00:16:17.320 align:middle line:84% And so I had that unusual opportunity 00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:19.960 align:middle line:84% to learn hunting from people whose traditions have 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:21.790 align:middle line:84% been embedded in it for thousands 00:16:21.790 --> 00:16:25.480 align:middle line:90% and thousands of years. 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:30.450 align:middle line:84% This is a little bit later in the same day and just about 00:16:30.450 --> 00:16:32.010 align:middle line:90% in the same place. 00:16:32.010 --> 00:16:34.110 align:middle line:84% After setting up the tent, I skewer 00:16:34.110 --> 00:16:37.050 align:middle line:84% chunks of last year's venison on an alder 00:16:37.050 --> 00:16:41.980 align:middle line:84% stick to roast over the campfire. 00:16:41.980 --> 00:16:44.770 align:middle line:84% The skiff rides at anchor, secure 00:16:44.770 --> 00:16:48.340 align:middle line:84% on slick water inside our cove while lazy swells 00:16:48.340 --> 00:16:51.100 align:middle line:90% roll against offshore rocks. 00:16:51.100 --> 00:16:54.340 align:middle line:84% I've kept an eye out for seals or sea otters that often haunt 00:16:54.340 --> 00:16:56.290 align:middle line:84% these waters, but the place seems 00:16:56.290 --> 00:16:59.320 align:middle line:84% abandoned except for the occasional flight of cormorants 00:16:59.320 --> 00:17:01.470 align:middle line:90% and circling gulls. 00:17:01.470 --> 00:17:03.810 align:middle line:84% At last, I slice pieces of venison 00:17:03.810 --> 00:17:07.650 align:middle line:84% from the stick, browned on the outside, scarlet inside, 00:17:07.650 --> 00:17:11.650 align:middle line:84% sizzling, tender, and exquisitely tasty. 00:17:11.650 --> 00:17:14.260 align:middle line:84% While relaxing against the driftwood log afterward, 00:17:14.260 --> 00:17:17.710 align:middle line:84% I hear a faint rushing sound from high overhead. 00:17:17.710 --> 00:17:21.700 align:middle line:84% And purely by luck, I pick out a dark projectile 00:17:21.700 --> 00:17:25.220 align:middle line:84% hurtling under the torn remnants of cloud. 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:27.500 align:middle line:84% It must be a peregrine falcon diving 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:32.170 align:middle line:84% after some hapless seabird, I think, grabbing the binoculars. 00:17:32.170 --> 00:17:34.180 align:middle line:84% But within seconds, I realize it's 00:17:34.180 --> 00:17:37.930 align:middle line:84% a bald eagle, much higher than I thought, descending 00:17:37.930 --> 00:17:40.720 align:middle line:84% at a sheer angle, wings half folded, 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:44.540 align:middle line:84% feathers shuddering in the gale of its own descent. 00:17:44.540 --> 00:17:47.570 align:middle line:84% The bird dilates like the pupil of a cat's eye 00:17:47.570 --> 00:17:51.110 align:middle line:84% and in the final moments unfurls its wings to break the fall, 00:17:51.110 --> 00:17:54.350 align:middle line:84% dangles its legs, flexes its golden feet, 00:17:54.350 --> 00:17:57.200 align:middle line:84% turns its gaze and beak downward and shapes 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:02.490 align:middle line:84% an inverted arc that intersects the water 100 yards offshore. 00:18:02.490 --> 00:18:06.450 align:middle line:84% At the precise moment of impact, it reaches out and down 00:18:06.450 --> 00:18:08.940 align:middle line:84% and jerks through the shattered surface of fish 00:18:08.940 --> 00:18:12.090 align:middle line:84% the length of my forearm then labors upward, 00:18:12.090 --> 00:18:16.350 align:middle line:84% water trailing from its pinions while the gasping fish strokes 00:18:16.350 --> 00:18:19.060 align:middle line:90% its tail against the air. 00:18:19.060 --> 00:18:21.160 align:middle line:84% The eagle finally regains altitude 00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:23.410 align:middle line:84% and flies back toward the forest where 00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:26.630 align:middle line:90% it lands atop a huge spruce. 00:18:26.630 --> 00:18:30.260 align:middle line:84% Swaying from side to side, still folding its wings, 00:18:30.260 --> 00:18:33.920 align:middle line:84% the bird bends down to fill its beak with living flesh. 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:36.770 align:middle line:90% 00:18:36.770 --> 00:18:39.470 align:middle line:84% How many meetings between predator and prey 00:18:39.470 --> 00:18:42.590 align:middle line:84% take place along this shore during the passage 00:18:42.590 --> 00:18:44.960 align:middle line:90% of a single day? 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:48.350 align:middle line:84% How many along the 1,000 mile reach of the North Pacific 00:18:48.350 --> 00:18:49.790 align:middle line:90% coast? 00:18:49.790 --> 00:18:52.520 align:middle line:84% How many over the entire North American 00:18:52.520 --> 00:18:56.540 align:middle line:84% continent with its sprawls of forest and desert, farm field 00:18:56.540 --> 00:18:59.000 align:middle line:84% and marsh, sea coast and river valley, 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:03.770 align:middle line:84% scrubland and prairie all aswarm with hunters and prey? 00:19:03.770 --> 00:19:07.220 align:middle line:84% Owl snatching mouse, snake seizing frog, 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:12.290 align:middle line:84% spider snaring fly, fox grabbing chipmunk, trout striking minnow, 00:19:12.290 --> 00:19:15.530 align:middle line:84% shrew nipping beetle, toad snagging cricket, 00:19:15.530 --> 00:19:19.400 align:middle line:84% raccoon digging clam, dragonfly capturing moth, 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:24.020 align:middle line:84% bear biting marmot, swallow taking mosquito, weasel touching 00:19:24.020 --> 00:19:27.910 align:middle line:84% vole, mountain lion ambushing deer. 00:19:27.910 --> 00:19:30.700 align:middle line:84% During every moment of every day on earth, 00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:35.860 align:middle line:84% there are billions of predatory encounters, life changing hands, 00:19:35.860 --> 00:19:39.460 align:middle line:84% creatures of every description devouring and digesting 00:19:39.460 --> 00:19:41.680 align:middle line:84% shaping themselves through the deaths that 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:44.610 align:middle line:90% sustain their existence. 00:19:44.610 --> 00:19:48.030 align:middle line:84% Here on this island where I hunt and fish and gather, 00:19:48.030 --> 00:19:53.270 align:middle line:84% I can best comprehend my own place in this living family. 00:19:53.270 --> 00:19:57.110 align:middle line:84% Like the eagle, my blood is made from fish. 00:19:57.110 --> 00:20:00.140 align:middle line:84% Like the bear, my flesh is made from deer. 00:20:00.140 --> 00:20:04.230 align:middle line:90% 00:20:04.230 --> 00:20:06.240 align:middle line:84% I guess carrying on along these lines 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:15.060 align:middle line:84% and perhaps getting a tiny bit grittier, 00:20:15.060 --> 00:20:18.390 align:middle line:84% this is a short little thing from The Island Within. 00:20:18.390 --> 00:20:25.550 align:middle line:84% And it has to do with a day when I had taken a deer. 00:20:25.550 --> 00:20:29.570 align:middle line:84% And this was a number of years ago, 00:20:29.570 --> 00:20:31.730 align:middle line:84% and I don't know if anything needs explanation. 00:20:31.730 --> 00:20:35.500 align:middle line:84% It's probably fairly evident what I'm talking about. 00:20:35.500 --> 00:20:37.570 align:middle line:84% I carry the deer inside the cabin 00:20:37.570 --> 00:20:40.030 align:middle line:90% and hang it from a low beam. 00:20:40.030 --> 00:20:43.060 align:middle line:84% The animal is dimly lit by a kerosene lantern 00:20:43.060 --> 00:20:46.230 align:middle line:84% and a blush of daylight through the windows. 00:20:46.230 --> 00:20:49.740 align:middle line:84% I feel strange in its presence as if it still watches, 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:52.260 align:middle line:84% still glows with something of its life, 00:20:52.260 --> 00:20:55.320 align:middle line:84% still demands that nothing be done carelessly 00:20:55.320 --> 00:20:59.540 align:middle line:84% and no offensive words be spoken in its presence. 00:20:59.540 --> 00:21:02.000 align:middle line:84% Grandpa William, my Koyukon teacher, 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:03.860 align:middle line:84% told me that a hunter should never 00:21:03.860 --> 00:21:08.990 align:middle line:84% let himself be diluted by pride or a false sense of dominance. 00:21:08.990 --> 00:21:11.990 align:middle line:84% It's not through his own power that a person takes life 00:21:11.990 --> 00:21:14.360 align:middle line:84% in nature but through the power of nature 00:21:14.360 --> 00:21:17.310 align:middle line:90% that life is given to him. 00:21:17.310 --> 00:21:20.010 align:middle line:84% After sharpening the knife, I slit the deer's skin 00:21:20.010 --> 00:21:22.110 align:middle line:84% along the whole length of its underside 00:21:22.110 --> 00:21:25.260 align:middle line:90% and down each leg to the hoof. 00:21:25.260 --> 00:21:28.590 align:middle line:84% Then I peel the soft hide away, using the blade 00:21:28.590 --> 00:21:30.780 align:middle line:84% to separate it from the muscles underneath, 00:21:30.780 --> 00:21:35.320 align:middle line:84% gradually revealing the inner perfection of the deer's body. 00:21:35.320 --> 00:21:38.860 align:middle line:84% When the skinning is finished, I follow an orderly sequence, 00:21:38.860 --> 00:21:42.280 align:middle line:84% cutting through crisp cartilage, severing the leg joints, 00:21:42.280 --> 00:21:45.040 align:middle line:84% brisket, ribs, vertebrae and pelvis, 00:21:45.040 --> 00:21:50.400 align:middle line:84% following the body's own design to disarticulate bone from bone. 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:55.380 align:middle line:84% Everything comes apart smoothly and easily as deer becomes meat, 00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:59.160 align:middle line:84% animal becomes food, the most vital and fundamental 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:03.230 align:middle line:84% transformation in all of living existence. 00:22:03.230 --> 00:22:06.890 align:middle line:84% There is no ugliness in it, only hands 00:22:06.890 --> 00:22:11.400 align:middle line:84% moving in concert with the beauty of an animal's shape. 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:14.670 align:middle line:84% While I work with the deer, it's as if something has already 00:22:14.670 --> 00:22:17.400 align:middle line:90% begun to flow into me. 00:22:17.400 --> 00:22:20.260 align:middle line:84% I couldn't have understood this when I was younger 00:22:20.260 --> 00:22:24.060 align:middle line:84% and had yet to experience the process of one life being 00:22:24.060 --> 00:22:26.630 align:middle line:90% passed on to another. 00:22:26.630 --> 00:22:29.690 align:middle line:84% Before I lived with the Eskimo people, I had never hunted 00:22:29.690 --> 00:22:32.510 align:middle line:84% and had never seen how game is prepared. 00:22:32.510 --> 00:22:35.360 align:middle line:84% But I was immediately fascinated by their skill 00:22:35.360 --> 00:22:38.860 align:middle line:84% at taking an animal into its component parts. 00:22:38.860 --> 00:22:40.800 align:middle line:84% The Eskimos always watched me closely 00:22:40.800 --> 00:22:43.850 align:middle line:84% and found my mistakes entertaining. 00:22:43.850 --> 00:22:46.460 align:middle line:84% If I did something uncharacteristically well, 00:22:46.460 --> 00:22:50.200 align:middle line:84% someone was likely to look bemused and declare, accident. 00:22:50.200 --> 00:22:53.150 align:middle line:90% 00:22:53.150 --> 00:22:56.570 align:middle line:84% They were passionate hunters and incredibly hard workers. 00:22:56.570 --> 00:22:59.030 align:middle line:84% When they hunted walrus, it took only a short while 00:22:59.030 --> 00:23:02.630 align:middle line:84% to stalk the animals but many hours to butcher them. 00:23:02.630 --> 00:23:05.240 align:middle line:84% As we pulled the skin covered boat onto the ice, 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:08.660 align:middle line:84% someone was sure to say, well, the excitement is over. 00:23:08.660 --> 00:23:11.560 align:middle line:90% Now it's time for the real work. 00:23:11.560 --> 00:23:14.380 align:middle line:84% But somehow, it never seemed like work to me, 00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:16.720 align:middle line:84% this deeply engaged process of learning 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:20.110 align:middle line:84% about animals from the inside and out, 00:23:20.110 --> 00:23:23.110 align:middle line:84% of binding my own existence more closely 00:23:23.110 --> 00:23:26.380 align:middle line:90% to the lives that sustained me. 00:23:26.380 --> 00:23:28.930 align:middle line:84% By the time I went to live with Koyukon people, 00:23:28.930 --> 00:23:30.790 align:middle line:84% I could skin and butcher animals, 00:23:30.790 --> 00:23:32.920 align:middle line:84% but I knew little about the delicate matter 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:36.860 align:middle line:84% of keeping a right mind while working with them. 00:23:36.860 --> 00:23:38.990 align:middle line:84% Sarah and Joe Stevens were especially 00:23:38.990 --> 00:23:42.590 align:middle line:84% scrupulous about treating each animal as a sentient being 00:23:42.590 --> 00:23:45.740 align:middle line:84% and butchering it according to the traditional pattern, which 00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:50.140 align:middle line:84% was not only a technique but also a ritual of respect. 00:23:50.140 --> 00:23:53.230 align:middle line:84% They made certain that no unusable part was wasted 00:23:53.230 --> 00:23:56.410 align:middle line:84% or tossed carelessly aside, that the meat was covered 00:23:56.410 --> 00:23:58.600 align:middle line:84% to keep dogs and scavengers away, 00:23:58.600 --> 00:24:02.840 align:middle line:84% and that it was well cast so nothing would spoil. 00:24:02.840 --> 00:24:05.390 align:middle line:84% Once, I met Sarah carrying a platter of meat 00:24:05.390 --> 00:24:08.870 align:middle line:84% to her neighbor's house with a piece of cloth over it. 00:24:08.870 --> 00:24:11.450 align:middle line:84% She explained, it wouldn't be right to leave 00:24:11.450 --> 00:24:15.550 align:middle line:84% this open to the air like it doesn't mean anything. 00:24:15.550 --> 00:24:17.470 align:middle line:84% In this and other ways, she treated meat 00:24:17.470 --> 00:24:22.660 align:middle line:84% as a sacred substance, a medium of interchange between herself 00:24:22.660 --> 00:24:25.600 align:middle line:84% and the empowered world in which she lived. 00:24:25.600 --> 00:24:27.460 align:middle line:84% It seemed to me that everything she 00:24:27.460 --> 00:24:29.590 align:middle line:84% did in relationship to nature was 00:24:29.590 --> 00:24:31.465 align:middle line:90% both an activity and a prayer. 00:24:31.465 --> 00:24:38.640 align:middle line:90% 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:41.940 align:middle line:84% Well, during the altogether about two years that I lived 00:24:41.940 --> 00:24:44.850 align:middle line:84% with Koyukon people, I tried to learn 00:24:44.850 --> 00:24:52.620 align:middle line:84% about the spiritual and ethical and moral aspect of people's 00:24:52.620 --> 00:24:54.360 align:middle line:90% relationship to the world. 00:24:54.360 --> 00:24:59.340 align:middle line:84% And, excuse me, it was a tremendous life-changing 00:24:59.340 --> 00:25:04.020 align:middle line:84% experience for me, not in the sense that I have ever 00:25:04.020 --> 00:25:06.480 align:middle line:90% entertained anything-- 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:11.910 align:middle line:84% an idea of being anything except exactly what I am or have ever 00:25:11.910 --> 00:25:15.200 align:middle line:84% aspired to take on a culture other 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:17.660 align:middle line:84% than the one that is mined by my own inheritance, 00:25:17.660 --> 00:25:22.370 align:middle line:84% but I think the principles that Koyukon people teach 00:25:22.370 --> 00:25:25.610 align:middle line:84% are of universal significance to all of humankind 00:25:25.610 --> 00:25:27.920 align:middle line:84% as are the similar principles that have guided 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:29.870 align:middle line:84% Native American people and traditional people 00:25:29.870 --> 00:25:32.240 align:middle line:84% all over the world for so many thousands of years 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:35.120 align:middle line:84% in their relationship to the earth 00:25:35.120 --> 00:25:39.410 align:middle line:84% and that guided humankind on earth for so long. 00:25:39.410 --> 00:25:42.860 align:middle line:84% And perhaps the dwindling or change 00:25:42.860 --> 00:25:45.710 align:middle line:84% or disappearance of those principles account, 00:25:45.710 --> 00:25:49.527 align:middle line:84% as Alison was suggesting, for the deep shit 00:25:49.527 --> 00:25:50.360 align:middle line:90% we're in these days. 00:25:50.360 --> 00:25:54.260 align:middle line:90% 00:25:54.260 --> 00:25:57.380 align:middle line:84% Anyway, from Koyukon people, I became 00:25:57.380 --> 00:26:02.210 align:middle line:84% very interested in animal rights and the ethics 00:26:02.210 --> 00:26:04.280 align:middle line:84% of our relationship to the world because here 00:26:04.280 --> 00:26:08.060 align:middle line:84% were people whose philosophy of animal rights 00:26:08.060 --> 00:26:12.050 align:middle line:84% was so extraordinarily complex and sophisticated that I don't 00:26:12.050 --> 00:26:16.730 align:middle line:84% think in Western culture we have yet come anywhere close to it. 00:26:16.730 --> 00:26:18.620 align:middle line:84% In any case, in my work with deer, 00:26:18.620 --> 00:26:20.387 align:middle line:84% I was very interested in hunting. 00:26:20.387 --> 00:26:22.220 align:middle line:84% And I went back to Wisconsin where I grew up 00:26:22.220 --> 00:26:23.660 align:middle line:84% and for the first time in my life 00:26:23.660 --> 00:26:26.330 align:middle line:84% went out with hunters there and went to Texas 00:26:26.330 --> 00:26:28.760 align:middle line:84% and went out with hunters there and not hunting myself 00:26:28.760 --> 00:26:32.270 align:middle line:84% but my own hunting I prefer to only do at home, 00:26:32.270 --> 00:26:34.610 align:middle line:84% but just to learn from them what they do. 00:26:34.610 --> 00:26:38.840 align:middle line:84% And after one fall going out with a group of hunters 00:26:38.840 --> 00:26:41.780 align:middle line:84% on opening day of the deer season in Wisconsin 00:26:41.780 --> 00:26:45.008 align:middle line:84% in the company of 600,000 other hunters that 00:26:45.008 --> 00:26:46.550 align:middle line:84% were out in the woods on opening day, 00:26:46.550 --> 00:26:50.070 align:middle line:84% it's one of those days when you really are sort 00:26:50.070 --> 00:26:51.320 align:middle line:90% of looking over your shoulder. 00:26:51.320 --> 00:26:54.060 align:middle line:90% 00:26:54.060 --> 00:26:55.740 align:middle line:84% The next winter or the next fall, 00:26:55.740 --> 00:26:57.960 align:middle line:84% I went back to Wisconsin and went out with a group 00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:04.860 align:middle line:84% of anti-hunting protesters to experience more of-- 00:27:04.860 --> 00:27:07.590 align:middle line:84% to learn more of their philosophy 00:27:07.590 --> 00:27:09.210 align:middle line:84% and to get to know them as people 00:27:09.210 --> 00:27:14.820 align:middle line:84% and to see what it was like to participate in one of those 00:27:14.820 --> 00:27:18.660 align:middle line:84% protests where people meet hunters and try 00:27:18.660 --> 00:27:21.510 align:middle line:84% to suggest to them that it might be nicer 00:27:21.510 --> 00:27:23.370 align:middle line:90% to do something else that day. 00:27:23.370 --> 00:27:26.877 align:middle line:84% And so it was a really interesting-- 00:27:26.877 --> 00:27:28.710 align:middle line:84% I mean, that is sort of funny, but in truth, 00:27:28.710 --> 00:27:33.330 align:middle line:84% that is exactly what the folks I was with were doing. 00:27:33.330 --> 00:27:35.520 align:middle line:84% And it was a really fascinating experience for me. 00:27:35.520 --> 00:27:38.783 align:middle line:84% Of course, they knew that I myself am a hunter, 00:27:38.783 --> 00:27:40.200 align:middle line:84% but I think they also knew that we 00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:44.370 align:middle line:84% shared many views in common about the way we 00:27:44.370 --> 00:27:45.600 align:middle line:90% should treat animals. 00:27:45.600 --> 00:27:49.560 align:middle line:84% But I made strange company for them, and I made-- 00:27:49.560 --> 00:27:53.580 align:middle line:84% it was a very odd experience for all concerned but also for me 00:27:53.580 --> 00:27:54.330 align:middle line:90% kind of wonderful. 00:27:54.330 --> 00:27:56.670 align:middle line:84% And this little bit that I'm going to read to you 00:27:56.670 --> 00:28:00.750 align:middle line:84% is out of a chapter called "In Search of Eden" 00:28:00.750 --> 00:28:03.340 align:middle line:90% from Heart and Blood. 00:28:03.340 --> 00:28:08.620 align:middle line:84% I was with three women and a television-- a news television 00:28:08.620 --> 00:28:10.310 align:middle line:90% crew. 00:28:10.310 --> 00:28:12.635 align:middle line:84% And the leader of the group was named Darcy. 00:28:12.635 --> 00:28:15.330 align:middle line:90% 00:28:15.330 --> 00:28:17.580 align:middle line:84% We had already met one group of hunters 00:28:17.580 --> 00:28:19.260 align:middle line:90% and done our thing with them. 00:28:19.260 --> 00:28:22.110 align:middle line:84% And there are some funny parts in this, 00:28:22.110 --> 00:28:24.450 align:middle line:90% but please don't misunderstand. 00:28:24.450 --> 00:28:27.510 align:middle line:84% I am not making fun of these people. 00:28:27.510 --> 00:28:30.840 align:middle line:84% I am not at all because I really like them and I respect them 00:28:30.840 --> 00:28:34.890 align:middle line:84% enormously, but it was kind of a funny experience. 00:28:34.890 --> 00:28:36.600 align:middle line:90% I can't help that. 00:28:36.600 --> 00:28:38.850 align:middle line:84% Once we got back out on the road-- we were in our car. 00:28:38.850 --> 00:28:41.190 align:middle line:84% Once we got back on the road, it didn't take long 00:28:41.190 --> 00:28:42.750 align:middle line:90% to find more hunters. 00:28:42.750 --> 00:28:45.000 align:middle line:84% A weary looking sedan, faded brown, 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:47.400 align:middle line:84% crammed with people pulled on to the shoulder 00:28:47.400 --> 00:28:49.470 align:middle line:90% as we approached from behind. 00:28:49.470 --> 00:28:51.420 align:middle line:84% The occupants sat inside for what 00:28:51.420 --> 00:28:54.180 align:middle line:84% seemed like forever perhaps looking out the rearview 00:28:54.180 --> 00:28:56.970 align:middle line:84% mirror to see what our group would do. 00:28:56.970 --> 00:28:59.130 align:middle line:84% Finally, the entire crowd, three men 00:28:59.130 --> 00:29:01.860 align:middle line:84% and two women all dressed in brilliant orange 00:29:01.860 --> 00:29:04.320 align:middle line:90% piled out and opened the trunk. 00:29:04.320 --> 00:29:06.090 align:middle line:84% Showing no particular haste, they 00:29:06.090 --> 00:29:09.240 align:middle line:84% sorted through rifles packs and other gear then surveyed 00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:12.960 align:middle line:84% the terrain as if they weren't sure where to go. 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:16.500 align:middle line:84% We watched the proceedings intently, silently, almost 00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:17.880 align:middle line:90% hypnotically. 00:29:17.880 --> 00:29:21.300 align:middle line:84% Once again, I'm muddled about my divided loyalties. 00:29:21.300 --> 00:29:24.450 align:middle line:84% I felt an odd allegiance to my activist companions 00:29:24.450 --> 00:29:27.750 align:middle line:84% but knew my deeper sympathies, in this context at least, 00:29:27.750 --> 00:29:30.300 align:middle line:90% rested with the hunters. 00:29:30.300 --> 00:29:34.020 align:middle line:84% To my amazement, I felt electrified with the chase, 00:29:34.020 --> 00:29:37.170 align:middle line:90% having lost my earlier anxiety. 00:29:37.170 --> 00:29:39.540 align:middle line:84% Did my companions recognize, I wondered, 00:29:39.540 --> 00:29:42.100 align:middle line:84% the similarity between their pursuit and the hunter 00:29:42.100 --> 00:29:44.600 align:middle line:90% stalking prey? 00:29:44.600 --> 00:29:47.420 align:middle line:84% Meanwhile, the target group didn't look terribly serious 00:29:47.420 --> 00:29:49.880 align:middle line:84% about hunting given that they'd come so late 00:29:49.880 --> 00:29:51.380 align:middle line:84% and acted as if they were preparing 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:53.780 align:middle line:90% for a stroll or a picnic. 00:29:53.780 --> 00:29:55.850 align:middle line:84% At last, they strung out along a footpath 00:29:55.850 --> 00:29:58.640 align:middle line:84% that climbed a grassy hillside toward promising woods 00:29:58.640 --> 00:30:01.720 align:middle line:84% a few hundred yards from the road. 00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:03.910 align:middle line:84% Without a word from Darcy, everyone 00:30:03.910 --> 00:30:06.470 align:middle line:90% launched out after the hunters. 00:30:06.470 --> 00:30:08.690 align:middle line:84% Their leader was a slightly built man 00:30:08.690 --> 00:30:10.730 align:middle line:84% probably in his mid 50s accompanied 00:30:10.730 --> 00:30:13.700 align:middle line:84% by his two daughters and their respective boyfriends 00:30:13.700 --> 00:30:15.620 align:middle line:90% all in their 20s. 00:30:15.620 --> 00:30:18.740 align:middle line:84% Only the three men carried weapons. 00:30:18.740 --> 00:30:21.440 align:middle line:84% Taken completely by surprise, they 00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:24.200 align:middle line:84% accepted the intrusion with remarkable calm 00:30:24.200 --> 00:30:26.270 align:middle line:84% as if it wasn't altogether welcome 00:30:26.270 --> 00:30:28.580 align:middle line:84% but might prove interesting, like an encounter 00:30:28.580 --> 00:30:33.210 align:middle line:84% with door to door salespeople or survey takers. 00:30:33.210 --> 00:30:36.480 align:middle line:84% As soon as the television camera started rolling, 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:38.640 align:middle line:84% our three women repeated their suggestion 00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:43.140 align:middle line:84% that it might be a nice day for some other outdoors activity. 00:30:43.140 --> 00:30:48.780 align:middle line:84% This led to a short now familiar and not terribly informative 00:30:48.780 --> 00:30:51.870 align:middle line:84% debate with the older man concerning the evils or virtues 00:30:51.870 --> 00:30:54.400 align:middle line:90% of what he had come to do. 00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:57.022 align:middle line:84% Wouldn't you rather be out with a camera? 00:30:57.022 --> 00:30:58.730 align:middle line:84% Well, it's kind of hard to eat a picture. 00:30:58.730 --> 00:31:01.660 align:middle line:90% 00:31:01.660 --> 00:31:04.250 align:middle line:84% Yeah, yeah, but between the three of you guys, 00:31:04.250 --> 00:31:06.890 align:middle line:84% you could each legally get five deer. 00:31:06.890 --> 00:31:08.510 align:middle line:90% That's 15 deer altogether. 00:31:08.510 --> 00:31:11.110 align:middle line:90% Doesn't that bother you? 00:31:11.110 --> 00:31:14.800 align:middle line:84% We'd be lucky if we get one, really, the man responded. 00:31:14.800 --> 00:31:17.890 align:middle line:84% He didn't mention that hunters cannot legally take five deer 00:31:17.890 --> 00:31:18.910 align:middle line:90% in Wisconsin. 00:31:18.910 --> 00:31:20.530 align:middle line:84% A person who worked all the angles 00:31:20.530 --> 00:31:22.780 align:middle line:84% hunting both the firearms and both seasons 00:31:22.780 --> 00:31:25.120 align:middle line:84% and also holding a special bonus permit 00:31:25.120 --> 00:31:28.660 align:middle line:84% could take as many as four and in certain management units. 00:31:28.660 --> 00:31:30.620 align:middle line:84% Officials say this rarely happens 00:31:30.620 --> 00:31:34.650 align:middle line:84% and that most successful hunters take a single deer. 00:31:34.650 --> 00:31:36.030 align:middle line:84% Don't you worry about the message 00:31:36.030 --> 00:31:39.720 align:middle line:84% it gives to younger kids telling that hunting is an OK thing 00:31:39.720 --> 00:31:41.140 align:middle line:90% to do? 00:31:41.140 --> 00:31:42.610 align:middle line:90% What's wrong with that message? 00:31:42.610 --> 00:31:45.840 align:middle line:84% Hunting has been going on since the beginning of time. 00:31:45.840 --> 00:31:49.860 align:middle line:84% Yeah, but I mean, slavery went on for a long time too. 00:31:49.860 --> 00:31:52.057 align:middle line:84% The hunter had a question of his own, 00:31:52.057 --> 00:31:53.640 align:middle line:84% how are you going to deal with the car 00:31:53.640 --> 00:31:57.180 align:middle line:84% collisions, the agricultural damage, the urban deer wrecking 00:31:57.180 --> 00:32:00.840 align:middle line:84% people's gardens and all the other problems from high deer 00:32:00.840 --> 00:32:02.740 align:middle line:90% populations? 00:32:02.740 --> 00:32:05.250 align:middle line:84% Well, that's very simple, Darcy replied, 00:32:05.250 --> 00:32:06.840 align:middle line:84% collisions won't happen if people 00:32:06.840 --> 00:32:10.500 align:middle line:84% put deer whistles on their cars and if you've 00:32:10.500 --> 00:32:12.750 align:middle line:84% got special reflectors along the highways 00:32:12.750 --> 00:32:16.230 align:middle line:84% and if you mow a certain way along the roadsides. 00:32:16.230 --> 00:32:18.000 align:middle line:84% Also with firearms, you just plant 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:20.400 align:middle line:84% a couple of extra rows of corn around the field which 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:25.680 align:middle line:84% the deer eat and then they leave the rest of the corn alone. 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:28.500 align:middle line:84% If deer come in your backyard and eat your red tulips, 00:32:28.500 --> 00:32:32.460 align:middle line:84% well, you might find out they don't like yellow tulips. 00:32:32.460 --> 00:32:35.040 align:middle line:84% I'm sorry, this is a tape recorded conversation. 00:32:35.040 --> 00:32:38.070 align:middle line:90% I didn't make this up. 00:32:38.070 --> 00:32:41.110 align:middle line:84% These are cost-effective measures, 00:32:41.110 --> 00:32:44.020 align:middle line:84% Darcy added-- and this is a very good critique, I think. 00:32:44.020 --> 00:32:46.690 align:middle line:84% Darcy added, then you've got the Department of Natural Resources 00:32:46.690 --> 00:32:49.630 align:middle line:84% over the last decade managing deer populations for more 00:32:49.630 --> 00:32:53.800 align:middle line:84% and more and more trying to get the maximum deer yield per acre. 00:32:53.800 --> 00:32:55.750 align:middle line:84% They kill off the bucks every fall 00:32:55.750 --> 00:32:58.390 align:middle line:84% and then you get does having two or three fawns. 00:32:58.390 --> 00:33:01.540 align:middle line:84% When you follow a hands-off approach allowing nature 00:33:01.540 --> 00:33:05.260 align:middle line:84% to take her course, the deer population averages out. 00:33:05.260 --> 00:33:09.010 align:middle line:84% We just want the deer left alone instead of having atrocities 00:33:09.010 --> 00:33:11.120 align:middle line:90% committed against them. 00:33:11.120 --> 00:33:13.970 align:middle line:84% The elder hunter countered each point with a firmness that 00:33:13.970 --> 00:33:15.410 align:middle line:90% equaled Darcy's. 00:33:15.410 --> 00:33:19.760 align:middle line:84% He was calm, steadfast, and unfazed, if a bit impatient. 00:33:19.760 --> 00:33:21.800 align:middle line:84% For their part, the protesters tempered 00:33:21.800 --> 00:33:25.190 align:middle line:84% their strident assertiveness with flawless courtesy, 00:33:25.190 --> 00:33:27.280 align:middle line:90% and so it went. 00:33:27.280 --> 00:33:30.280 align:middle line:84% One of the couples kept to the background during all this 00:33:30.280 --> 00:33:32.590 align:middle line:84% but the other stayed close, listening intently 00:33:32.590 --> 00:33:35.470 align:middle line:84% while casting an occasional glance toward the television 00:33:35.470 --> 00:33:36.700 align:middle line:90% camera. 00:33:36.700 --> 00:33:38.470 align:middle line:84% At one point, the young man sidled over 00:33:38.470 --> 00:33:41.180 align:middle line:84% to ask the reporter which station he came from 00:33:41.180 --> 00:33:43.420 align:middle line:84% and if we'd all be on the evening news 00:33:43.420 --> 00:33:47.320 align:middle line:84% and if we'd get paid something for doing this. 00:33:47.320 --> 00:33:50.200 align:middle line:84% At last, the father announced, I respect your right 00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:52.570 align:middle line:84% to say your piece, and it's been nice talking to you, 00:33:52.570 --> 00:33:55.310 align:middle line:90% but we're going hunting. 00:33:55.310 --> 00:33:58.610 align:middle line:84% Not without our company, Darcy let him know. 00:33:58.610 --> 00:34:00.980 align:middle line:84% Well, I guess that's fine, he responded. 00:34:00.980 --> 00:34:04.430 align:middle line:84% And all three men unloaded their rifles slipping the ammunition 00:34:04.430 --> 00:34:05.960 align:middle line:90% into their pockets. 00:34:05.960 --> 00:34:08.510 align:middle line:84% Judging by the heavy blaze coveralls each of them wore, 00:34:08.510 --> 00:34:10.670 align:middle line:84% I figured they wouldn't hike far. 00:34:10.670 --> 00:34:12.170 align:middle line:84% The television guys said they'd have 00:34:12.170 --> 00:34:14.900 align:middle line:84% to stay behind keeping their equipment dry inside the car 00:34:14.900 --> 00:34:17.060 align:middle line:90% until the protesters returned. 00:34:17.060 --> 00:34:19.969 align:middle line:84% Everyone else trekked up the narrow soggy trail, 00:34:19.969 --> 00:34:23.630 align:middle line:84% a single file procession of flaming orange outfits that 00:34:23.630 --> 00:34:26.710 align:middle line:90% looked like a Halloween parade. 00:34:26.710 --> 00:34:29.110 align:middle line:84% When we topped the ridge a quarter mile from the road, 00:34:29.110 --> 00:34:31.920 align:middle line:84% the older man called a halt. From here, 00:34:31.920 --> 00:34:35.580 align:middle line:84% we looked into an exquisite little valley, broad swathes 00:34:35.580 --> 00:34:39.780 align:middle line:84% of Auburn meadow, sumac thickets with clinging scarlet leaves 00:34:39.780 --> 00:34:43.020 align:middle line:84% and a surrounding forest dominated by ivory trumped birch 00:34:43.020 --> 00:34:44.520 align:middle line:90% and aspen. 00:34:44.520 --> 00:34:46.560 align:middle line:84% The place had an ethereal quality 00:34:46.560 --> 00:34:49.409 align:middle line:84% wreathed as it was in mist and drifting rain 00:34:49.409 --> 00:34:53.190 align:middle line:84% like a romantic painter's version of paradise. 00:34:53.190 --> 00:34:56.340 align:middle line:84% I could hardly imagine a less appropriate venue 00:34:56.340 --> 00:34:58.770 align:middle line:84% for political wrangling, yet here we 00:34:58.770 --> 00:35:02.890 align:middle line:84% were ready for a standoff amid the wilds. 00:35:02.890 --> 00:35:04.840 align:middle line:84% I hadn't heard a shot that morning, 00:35:04.840 --> 00:35:07.060 align:middle line:84% perhaps because of the noisy gale. 00:35:07.060 --> 00:35:08.980 align:middle line:84% But now somewhere in the distance, 00:35:08.980 --> 00:35:13.280 align:middle line:84% a blue jay's call surged and faded on the wind. 00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:15.710 align:middle line:84% I longed to see that bird flinging over 00:35:15.710 --> 00:35:19.610 align:middle line:84% the treetops like blue satin torn from the sky's edge. 00:35:19.610 --> 00:35:22.700 align:middle line:84% But the bird, having its own desires and the freedom 00:35:22.700 --> 00:35:27.210 align:middle line:84% to pursue them, never came within our sight. 00:35:27.210 --> 00:35:28.960 align:middle line:84% I guess we'll sit right here on this hill, 00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:32.350 align:middle line:84% said the elder man, looks like a pretty good place to hunt. 00:35:32.350 --> 00:35:34.690 align:middle line:84% The shy couple talked softly for a few minutes 00:35:34.690 --> 00:35:37.090 align:middle line:84% then hiked off to hunt or wait elsewhere. 00:35:37.090 --> 00:35:40.720 align:middle line:84% But the other two sat on the grass beside our circle. 00:35:40.720 --> 00:35:44.260 align:middle line:84% They seemed more interested in the debate or perhaps the event 00:35:44.260 --> 00:35:46.000 align:middle line:90% than in hunting. 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:48.940 align:middle line:84% While continuing his discourse with Bart, Darcy, Penny, 00:35:48.940 --> 00:35:52.690 align:middle line:84% and Mary, the man took a small bottle from his pocket 00:35:52.690 --> 00:35:55.690 align:middle line:90% and dabbed a stick into it. 00:35:55.690 --> 00:36:00.820 align:middle line:84% Instantly, the whole area was saturated with dense lurid skunk 00:36:00.820 --> 00:36:03.270 align:middle line:90% scent. 00:36:03.270 --> 00:36:07.011 align:middle line:84% We use this to mask human odor, he explained, you know, 00:36:07.011 --> 00:36:09.700 align:middle line:90% so the deer won't smell us. 00:36:09.700 --> 00:36:12.310 align:middle line:84% Despite his placid businesslike demeanor, 00:36:12.310 --> 00:36:17.380 align:middle line:84% I sensed a little gesture of retaliation here 00:36:17.380 --> 00:36:21.620 align:middle line:84% and caught an impish glint in his eyes. 00:36:21.620 --> 00:36:24.230 align:middle line:84% But the saboteurs seemed unperturbed; 00:36:24.230 --> 00:36:26.300 align:middle line:84% perhaps they appreciated this forthright 00:36:26.300 --> 00:36:28.850 align:middle line:84% and uncomplicated fellow as much as I did, 00:36:28.850 --> 00:36:33.860 align:middle line:84% an ordinary man altogether equal to this extraordinary situation. 00:36:33.860 --> 00:36:36.560 align:middle line:84% In fact, I was impressed with every performer 00:36:36.560 --> 00:36:38.780 align:middle line:90% in this little melodrama. 00:36:38.780 --> 00:36:41.210 align:middle line:84% Unfortunately, given the clatter of voices, 00:36:41.210 --> 00:36:43.880 align:middle line:84% one player certain not to make an appearance 00:36:43.880 --> 00:36:47.090 align:middle line:90% was the white-tailed deer. 00:36:47.090 --> 00:36:49.170 align:middle line:84% Much of the dialogue had become familiar, 00:36:49.170 --> 00:36:51.740 align:middle line:84% so I chatted with the daughter and her mate. 00:36:51.740 --> 00:36:54.050 align:middle line:84% Both said they'd hunted before but neither had yet 00:36:54.050 --> 00:36:55.550 align:middle line:90% taken a deer. 00:36:55.550 --> 00:36:58.280 align:middle line:84% To assuage my guilt, I mentioned that I'd 00:36:58.280 --> 00:37:01.430 align:middle line:84% come not to protest but to watch and report. 00:37:01.430 --> 00:37:04.640 align:middle line:84% At this, the young man beamed like a lottery winner. 00:37:04.640 --> 00:37:06.360 align:middle line:90% Oh, you're a writer. 00:37:06.360 --> 00:37:07.985 align:middle line:84% Do you think we'll make it into a book? 00:37:07.985 --> 00:37:13.487 align:middle line:90% 00:37:13.487 --> 00:37:16.070 align:middle line:84% Does it make you angry having these folks interrupt your hunt, 00:37:16.070 --> 00:37:16.640 align:middle line:90% I asked. 00:37:16.640 --> 00:37:19.760 align:middle line:84% Heck no, he said, eyes widening, I want to get on TV. 00:37:19.760 --> 00:37:22.940 align:middle line:90% 00:37:22.940 --> 00:37:25.340 align:middle line:84% About this time, Darcy played another card, 00:37:25.340 --> 00:37:27.800 align:middle line:84% warning the father that we'd stay around until they all 00:37:27.800 --> 00:37:29.480 align:middle line:90% abandon the woods. 00:37:29.480 --> 00:37:30.860 align:middle line:90% That's fine, he parried. 00:37:30.860 --> 00:37:32.690 align:middle line:84% We'd like to get a deer, but we'll 00:37:32.690 --> 00:37:35.570 align:middle line:84% have a nice day outdoors no matter what happens. 00:37:35.570 --> 00:37:37.700 align:middle line:84% The young guy leaned toward me and whispered, 00:37:37.700 --> 00:37:39.920 align:middle line:84% I figure you're going to have to leave pretty soon. 00:37:39.920 --> 00:37:41.540 align:middle line:84% But I'd rather you didn't, at least 00:37:41.540 --> 00:37:45.030 align:middle line:84% not if the TV guys come out here and take some pictures. 00:37:45.030 --> 00:37:49.360 align:middle line:84% Back in the main arena, Darcy probed for a different nerve. 00:37:49.360 --> 00:37:51.160 align:middle line:84% I wish I could tap into your brain 00:37:51.160 --> 00:37:55.150 align:middle line:84% to understand how hunting can be fun, seeing the life go out 00:37:55.150 --> 00:37:57.540 align:middle line:90% of a deer's eyes. 00:37:57.540 --> 00:38:01.260 align:middle line:84% Well, I can't say I don't enjoy hunting, the elder responded, 00:38:01.260 --> 00:38:03.510 align:middle line:90% and also, I love venison. 00:38:03.510 --> 00:38:05.790 align:middle line:84% Of course, we're not starving, but we still 00:38:05.790 --> 00:38:07.770 align:middle line:84% like to get our deer for the meat. 00:38:07.770 --> 00:38:10.650 align:middle line:84% I'm not after a trophy buck, even though, unfortunately, 00:38:10.650 --> 00:38:12.720 align:middle line:84% all we have this year are buck tags. 00:38:12.720 --> 00:38:16.162 align:middle line:84% We sent in for doe permits but we didn't get any. 00:38:16.162 --> 00:38:18.950 align:middle line:84% You might decide later in life to just look at deer 00:38:18.950 --> 00:38:22.310 align:middle line:84% or take up the camera instead, Penny suggested. 00:38:22.310 --> 00:38:24.800 align:middle line:84% I probably will when I can't manage to walk up the hills 00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:26.600 align:middle line:84% or get to the places where I hunt. 00:38:26.600 --> 00:38:29.760 align:middle line:84% You know, I love being out here in the woods. 00:38:29.760 --> 00:38:32.610 align:middle line:84% I could sit here for a week and just watch and I'd be happy, 00:38:32.610 --> 00:38:33.600 align:middle line:90% said Darcy. 00:38:33.600 --> 00:38:36.150 align:middle line:84% We'd probably agree with you on 90% of this, 00:38:36.150 --> 00:38:39.440 align:middle line:90% but it's just the killing. 00:38:39.440 --> 00:38:41.810 align:middle line:84% After about half an hour, Darcy checked her watch, 00:38:41.810 --> 00:38:44.180 align:middle line:90% sighed, and threw in the towel. 00:38:44.180 --> 00:38:46.510 align:middle line:84% Time for us to get along, she announced. 00:38:46.510 --> 00:38:48.260 align:middle line:84% And I guess we'll get on with our hunting, 00:38:48.260 --> 00:38:49.940 align:middle line:90% the older man replied. 00:38:49.940 --> 00:38:53.120 align:middle line:84% Everybody swapped amicable goodbyes, 00:38:53.120 --> 00:38:55.910 align:middle line:84% and then Darcy's crew marched back down the trail, 00:38:55.910 --> 00:38:58.220 align:middle line:90% ponchos flailing in the wind. 00:38:58.220 --> 00:39:02.810 align:middle line:84% All three women seemed delighted with the way things had gone. 00:39:02.810 --> 00:39:06.240 align:middle line:84% So was I. It was a really great experience. 00:39:06.240 --> 00:39:10.040 align:middle line:84% In the beginning of it, I was absolutely catatonic. 00:39:10.040 --> 00:39:14.690 align:middle line:84% I was so nervous about it, and I was really scared. 00:39:14.690 --> 00:39:19.040 align:middle line:84% All of the protesters were scared, I mean, 00:39:19.040 --> 00:39:22.970 align:middle line:84% confronting armed people and on the most sacred day of the year 00:39:22.970 --> 00:39:24.200 align:middle line:90% for those folks. 00:39:24.200 --> 00:39:28.310 align:middle line:84% But it amazed me that every hunter we met and talked 00:39:28.310 --> 00:39:31.700 align:middle line:84% with, if their rifle was loaded, they immediately unloaded. 00:39:31.700 --> 00:39:35.360 align:middle line:84% And they were either polite or they pretty much 00:39:35.360 --> 00:39:38.720 align:middle line:90% ignored the protesters. 00:39:38.720 --> 00:39:41.500 align:middle line:84% It was a really interesting experience. 00:39:41.500 --> 00:39:43.720 align:middle line:84% And as I said, I ended up having a lot of admiration 00:39:43.720 --> 00:39:45.760 align:middle line:84% for everyone, including, certainly, 00:39:45.760 --> 00:39:50.890 align:middle line:84% the folks who had invited me along on the protest. 00:39:50.890 --> 00:39:56.030 align:middle line:84% Something related to that same day, 00:39:56.030 --> 00:39:59.510 align:middle line:84% after I left the group of protesters, everybody went home. 00:39:59.510 --> 00:40:01.070 align:middle line:84% We'd gotten up at 2:30 in the morning 00:40:01.070 --> 00:40:04.280 align:middle line:84% to drive out and be there when the first light came. 00:40:04.280 --> 00:40:08.240 align:middle line:84% And after the protest ended, which was around midday, 00:40:08.240 --> 00:40:10.910 align:middle line:90% it was like it was in a typhoon. 00:40:10.910 --> 00:40:12.950 align:middle line:84% It was blowing and raining so hard, 00:40:12.950 --> 00:40:15.350 align:middle line:84% and it wasn't a great day for a protest. 00:40:15.350 --> 00:40:18.740 align:middle line:84% It wasn't a great day for hunting either. 00:40:18.740 --> 00:40:22.850 align:middle line:84% I was driving back to Madison, Wisconsin. 00:40:22.850 --> 00:40:24.650 align:middle line:84% I saw a group of hunters out in a field, 00:40:24.650 --> 00:40:26.400 align:middle line:84% and they were obviously working on a deer. 00:40:26.400 --> 00:40:28.230 align:middle line:84% So I stopped and walked out to them. 00:40:28.230 --> 00:40:29.270 align:middle line:90% And it was really funny. 00:40:29.270 --> 00:40:30.848 align:middle line:84% The first thing they said is, geez, 00:40:30.848 --> 00:40:32.390 align:middle line:84% you made us nervous walking out here. 00:40:32.390 --> 00:40:34.515 align:middle line:84% We thought you might have been one of those hunting 00:40:34.515 --> 00:40:36.230 align:middle line:90% protesters or something. 00:40:36.230 --> 00:40:37.340 align:middle line:90% I said, are you kidding? 00:40:37.340 --> 00:40:40.430 align:middle line:90% 00:40:40.430 --> 00:40:43.370 align:middle line:84% I can hardly wait to eat fresh venison, said one of the hunters 00:40:43.370 --> 00:40:45.770 align:middle line:84% I met on the opening day protest. 00:40:45.770 --> 00:40:47.630 align:middle line:84% His partners nodded their agreement 00:40:47.630 --> 00:40:51.620 align:middle line:84% and so did I. This brought to mind the countless times I'd 00:40:51.620 --> 00:40:55.070 align:middle line:84% worked on deer as he was doing and the satisfaction it 00:40:55.070 --> 00:40:57.380 align:middle line:84% gave me preparing food that I would enjoy over 00:40:57.380 --> 00:40:59.640 align:middle line:90% the following year. 00:40:59.640 --> 00:41:01.980 align:middle line:84% Regardless of my Euro-American roots, 00:41:01.980 --> 00:41:05.040 align:middle line:84% I felt sure this satisfaction reflected, more than anything 00:41:05.040 --> 00:41:07.350 align:middle line:84% else, the fact that I'm an animal 00:41:07.350 --> 00:41:09.450 align:middle line:84% and that I am driven by the same hungers that 00:41:09.450 --> 00:41:12.630 align:middle line:84% motivate any other creature, the squirrel in the forest, 00:41:12.630 --> 00:41:15.120 align:middle line:84% the vole in the meadow, the bear on the mountainside, 00:41:15.120 --> 00:41:17.460 align:middle line:90% the deer in the valley. 00:41:17.460 --> 00:41:20.730 align:middle line:84% What could I learn by keeping constantly 00:41:20.730 --> 00:41:23.610 align:middle line:84% in mind the fundamental encompassing fact 00:41:23.610 --> 00:41:26.910 align:middle line:84% that I am an animal and by remembering 00:41:26.910 --> 00:41:29.520 align:middle line:84% that I share with every other creature on earth 00:41:29.520 --> 00:41:34.870 align:middle line:84% the need to sustain my life by eating other organisms? 00:41:34.870 --> 00:41:38.260 align:middle line:84% This biological need reveals that I am not just one 00:41:38.260 --> 00:41:43.260 align:middle line:84% of the earth's living creatures but also one with them. 00:41:43.260 --> 00:41:48.290 align:middle line:84% At the deepest level, all forms of life are interchangeable. 00:41:48.290 --> 00:41:51.740 align:middle line:84% Animals eat plants, and plants are nourished in turn 00:41:51.740 --> 00:41:52.700 align:middle line:90% by animals. 00:41:52.700 --> 00:41:56.900 align:middle line:84% There is only one kind of life, shared equally, identically, 00:41:56.900 --> 00:42:00.200 align:middle line:84% and universally among every organism on earth. 00:42:00.200 --> 00:42:04.220 align:middle line:84% We pass life back and forth, the fire that burns inside us 00:42:04.220 --> 00:42:09.030 align:middle line:84% all, creating a spectacular network of interdependence. 00:42:09.030 --> 00:42:11.820 align:middle line:84% Nowhere is our membership in the earth's living community 00:42:11.820 --> 00:42:15.240 align:middle line:84% more evident than at meal time when our table 00:42:15.240 --> 00:42:18.720 align:middle line:90% is arrayed with organisms. 00:42:18.720 --> 00:42:23.580 align:middle line:84% Listen to their names, corn, wheat, rice, potato, carrot, 00:42:23.580 --> 00:42:27.510 align:middle line:84% radish, celery, broccoli, tomato, lettuce, rhubarb, 00:42:27.510 --> 00:42:30.610 align:middle line:84% blueberry, banana, pear, strawberry, orange, cherry, 00:42:30.610 --> 00:42:35.130 align:middle line:84% apple, salmon, halibut, red snapper, perch, chicken, turkey, 00:42:35.130 --> 00:42:39.620 align:middle line:84% duck, cow, pig, sheep, elk, deer. 00:42:39.620 --> 00:42:44.120 align:middle line:84% We veil these organisms with euphemisms, green, fruit, 00:42:44.120 --> 00:42:47.660 align:middle line:84% vegetable, cereal, herb, condiment, relish, source, 00:42:47.660 --> 00:42:50.270 align:middle line:90% beverage, poultry, meat, fillet. 00:42:50.270 --> 00:42:53.090 align:middle line:84% We further conceal them by mixing, dicing, whipping, 00:42:53.090 --> 00:42:56.450 align:middle line:84% coloring, leavening, mashing, dressing, dehydrating, stewing, 00:42:56.450 --> 00:43:00.590 align:middle line:84% boiling, smoking, roasting, frying, boxing, and wrapping. 00:43:00.590 --> 00:43:04.730 align:middle line:84% Yet at every breakfast, lunch, dinner, banquet, picnic, 00:43:04.730 --> 00:43:09.470 align:middle line:84% and snack, each of us is fed by other lives passed along 00:43:09.470 --> 00:43:12.890 align:middle line:90% to us as our daily bread. 00:43:12.890 --> 00:43:17.700 align:middle line:84% The supermarket is an agent of our forgetfulness. 00:43:17.700 --> 00:43:21.060 align:middle line:84% Organisms we buy in stores and array on the table 00:43:21.060 --> 00:43:26.130 align:middle line:84% are our makers, the creators and nurturers of our bodies 00:43:26.130 --> 00:43:30.930 align:middle line:84% until eventually we die and nourish other organisms in turn. 00:43:30.930 --> 00:43:34.230 align:middle line:84% As a society, we could benefit enormously 00:43:34.230 --> 00:43:37.800 align:middle line:84% by finding ways to remember, acknowledge, and celebrate 00:43:37.800 --> 00:43:40.560 align:middle line:84% this process, to accept with gratitude 00:43:40.560 --> 00:43:44.100 align:middle line:84% and respect the plants and animals who keep us alive, 00:43:44.100 --> 00:43:48.860 align:middle line:84% who weave us into the living tapestry of earth. 00:43:48.860 --> 00:43:53.960 align:middle line:84% The thing that I think is taught so importantly 00:43:53.960 --> 00:43:58.490 align:middle line:84% in Native American traditions as at least I 00:43:58.490 --> 00:44:03.710 align:middle line:84% have tried to understand them is that all kinds of life 00:44:03.710 --> 00:44:07.700 align:middle line:84% are gifted with spirit and power and awareness. 00:44:07.700 --> 00:44:10.220 align:middle line:84% And the simple and perhaps simplistic 00:44:10.220 --> 00:44:13.130 align:middle line:84% division between plants and animals 00:44:13.130 --> 00:44:16.730 align:middle line:84% or between animals with consciousness and animals 00:44:16.730 --> 00:44:18.920 align:middle line:84% without consciousness, I don't think you 00:44:18.920 --> 00:44:22.490 align:middle line:84% would find a lot of support for that idea, at least 00:44:22.490 --> 00:44:25.370 align:middle line:84% in the Native American communities 00:44:25.370 --> 00:44:29.600 align:middle line:90% where I have been a student. 00:44:29.600 --> 00:44:32.450 align:middle line:84% And so that kind of a division, that sort 00:44:32.450 --> 00:44:40.580 align:middle line:84% of an escape from the great psychological and moral 00:44:40.580 --> 00:44:43.310 align:middle line:84% and ethical responsibilities involved 00:44:43.310 --> 00:44:48.320 align:middle line:84% with taking life that is kind of on an equal plane with your own, 00:44:48.320 --> 00:44:51.560 align:middle line:84% you can't escape from that, whether you're 00:44:51.560 --> 00:44:56.030 align:middle line:84% eating my buddy Nabhan's hot chilies 00:44:56.030 --> 00:45:00.170 align:middle line:84% or whether you're eating venison or whatever it is. 00:45:00.170 --> 00:45:07.380 align:middle line:84% It's all living, empowered, conscious, aware life. 00:45:07.380 --> 00:45:10.950 align:middle line:84% And that's one of the reasons why that philosophy seems 00:45:10.950 --> 00:45:14.460 align:middle line:84% to me more sophisticated than the one 00:45:14.460 --> 00:45:17.745 align:middle line:84% that I inherited in the culture of my birth. 00:45:17.745 --> 00:45:20.710 align:middle line:90% 00:45:20.710 --> 00:45:24.190 align:middle line:84% Well, OK, so now we've come this far. 00:45:24.190 --> 00:45:31.620 align:middle line:84% We might as well just go all the way with the gritty stuff. 00:45:31.620 --> 00:45:34.890 align:middle line:84% This is the day after the day that I 00:45:34.890 --> 00:45:39.570 align:middle line:90% came across the bear sign. 00:45:39.570 --> 00:45:41.110 align:middle line:84% And actually earlier in this day, 00:45:41.110 --> 00:45:46.050 align:middle line:84% I had also come across the maker of that sign in one of the most 00:45:46.050 --> 00:45:49.950 align:middle line:84% terrifying experiences of my entire life 00:45:49.950 --> 00:45:53.402 align:middle line:84% in which along about dusk walking out of the muskeg-- 00:45:53.402 --> 00:45:55.110 align:middle line:84% the day before walking out of the muskeg, 00:45:55.110 --> 00:45:59.820 align:middle line:84% this great huge animal stood up right in front of the dog and I 00:45:59.820 --> 00:46:06.530 align:middle line:84% and really renovated my whole way of thinking in a hurry. 00:46:06.530 --> 00:46:08.870 align:middle line:84% In any case, as you can see, we all got out of it 00:46:08.870 --> 00:46:13.130 align:middle line:84% alive without any major damage there. 00:46:13.130 --> 00:46:16.070 align:middle line:84% Still a torrent of whitecaps, the offshore islands 00:46:16.070 --> 00:46:22.140 align:middle line:84% half lost in rain squalls, thick strata surging overhead, 00:46:22.140 --> 00:46:25.320 align:middle line:84% I turn my face toward the sky, let the raindrops 00:46:25.320 --> 00:46:27.840 align:middle line:84% prickle my skin and feel grateful to be 00:46:27.840 --> 00:46:31.820 align:middle line:84% alive in this saturated kingdom of clouds. 00:46:31.820 --> 00:46:33.590 align:middle line:84% After months of tranquil weather, 00:46:33.590 --> 00:46:37.160 align:middle line:84% the whole world seems caught up in a boisterous celebration 00:46:37.160 --> 00:46:41.810 align:middle line:84% as if the season isn't just turning, it's doing handsprings. 00:46:41.810 --> 00:46:44.150 align:middle line:84% I'm exalted by the wildness of it all, 00:46:44.150 --> 00:46:48.390 align:middle line:84% ready for the cold and fire and passion of winter. 00:46:48.390 --> 00:46:50.730 align:middle line:84% At times, the gale blows so hard that the rhythm 00:46:50.730 --> 00:46:54.240 align:middle line:84% of my tired footsteps seems almost inconsequential, 00:46:54.240 --> 00:46:57.120 align:middle line:84% but I still try to keep quiet staying 00:46:57.120 --> 00:46:59.610 align:middle line:84% on the highest least spongy ground 00:46:59.610 --> 00:47:02.670 align:middle line:84% as we trek along the muskeg's edge. 00:47:02.670 --> 00:47:04.920 align:middle line:84% Little time remains before nightfall, 00:47:04.920 --> 00:47:08.730 align:middle line:84% so there's not much chance we'll come across any more deer. 00:47:08.730 --> 00:47:11.640 align:middle line:84% And yet, judging by the abundance of tracks, 00:47:11.640 --> 00:47:13.800 align:middle line:84% droppings, and clipped vegetation, 00:47:13.800 --> 00:47:16.080 align:middle line:84% more than one black tail would hear the sound 00:47:16.080 --> 00:47:19.280 align:middle line:90% if I clapped my hands. 00:47:19.280 --> 00:47:22.430 align:middle line:84% All around us is lovely park-like heath 00:47:22.430 --> 00:47:27.020 align:middle line:84% scattered with bonsai pines veiled in mist and rain. 00:47:27.020 --> 00:47:29.300 align:middle line:84% It's as if everything had been set perfectly 00:47:29.300 --> 00:47:33.230 align:middle line:84% in place according to some meticulous yet whimsical design. 00:47:33.230 --> 00:47:36.470 align:middle line:84% And even I, a man freshly rooted here, 00:47:36.470 --> 00:47:40.550 align:middle line:84% feel myself a part of it, a single voice in a deafeningly 00:47:40.550 --> 00:47:42.500 align:middle line:90% beautiful chorus. 00:47:42.500 --> 00:47:46.970 align:middle line:84% I am an animal moving among other animals surrounded 00:47:46.970 --> 00:47:50.900 align:middle line:84% by plants, wrapped in a cloak of rain, breathing wind, 00:47:50.900 --> 00:47:56.720 align:middle line:84% feet sunken into the moss, the great earth plunging away below. 00:47:56.720 --> 00:48:00.230 align:middle line:84% With the approach of dusk, I have no choice but to head back 00:48:00.230 --> 00:48:01.790 align:middle line:90% toward the cove. 00:48:01.790 --> 00:48:04.490 align:middle line:84% We haven't come across fresh bear sign today, 00:48:04.490 --> 00:48:08.450 align:middle line:84% but I don't care to grope through the woods in darkness. 00:48:08.450 --> 00:48:11.420 align:middle line:84% Retracing our earlier route, Keta and I 00:48:11.420 --> 00:48:15.320 align:middle line:84% approach the spot where we saw the first doe this morning. 00:48:15.320 --> 00:48:19.040 align:middle line:84% It's fairly calm and quiet under the leaning brow of trees, 00:48:19.040 --> 00:48:24.350 align:middle line:84% so I move along slowly and pause every few steps to look around. 00:48:24.350 --> 00:48:28.370 align:middle line:84% But just ahead is a broad, open meadow, not 00:48:28.370 --> 00:48:31.460 align:middle line:84% the sort of place where I'd expect to see deer, especially 00:48:31.460 --> 00:48:34.140 align:middle line:90% during a storm. 00:48:34.140 --> 00:48:36.990 align:middle line:84% Keta grabs a stick and begs me to play, 00:48:36.990 --> 00:48:39.360 align:middle line:90% but I motion her to settle down. 00:48:39.360 --> 00:48:42.750 align:middle line:84% If nothing else, stepping along quietly and silently 00:48:42.750 --> 00:48:44.970 align:middle line:84% will keep my senses alert, heightening 00:48:44.970 --> 00:48:47.070 align:middle line:84% my awareness of the wind, the rain, 00:48:47.070 --> 00:48:49.970 align:middle line:90% and the softly dwindling light. 00:48:49.970 --> 00:48:51.980 align:middle line:84% I pick my way through a patch of deer 00:48:51.980 --> 00:48:56.590 align:middle line:84% cabbage then look up to scan the area ahead. 00:48:56.590 --> 00:49:00.970 align:middle line:84% In that fraction of a second, everything is changed. 00:49:00.970 --> 00:49:05.020 align:middle line:84% And I catch myself in mid step as the truth of it bolts 00:49:05.020 --> 00:49:06.810 align:middle line:90% through me. 00:49:06.810 --> 00:49:10.980 align:middle line:84% At the same instant, Keta sags into a half crouch, 00:49:10.980 --> 00:49:15.240 align:middle line:84% her neck leaning forward, her ears honed, her eyes riveted, 00:49:15.240 --> 00:49:21.100 align:middle line:84% her legs quivering, one fore paw lifted off the ground. 00:49:21.100 --> 00:49:26.080 align:middle line:84% They're standing atop a low rise about 20 yards ahead silhouetted 00:49:26.080 --> 00:49:29.170 align:middle line:84% above the crowns of two stunted pines. 00:49:29.170 --> 00:49:32.920 align:middle line:84% Hard edged against a faded hoary overcast 00:49:32.920 --> 00:49:37.510 align:middle line:84% is the chest and neck and head of a deer faced directly 00:49:37.510 --> 00:49:41.380 align:middle line:84% toward us, eyes shining, ears in a wide V 00:49:41.380 --> 00:49:46.200 align:middle line:84% and a beaming crescent of antlers bending above. 00:49:46.200 --> 00:49:48.990 align:middle line:84% Without hesitating and without conscious thought, 00:49:48.990 --> 00:49:52.800 align:middle line:84% I sink onto my knees, raise the rifle to my shoulder 00:49:52.800 --> 00:49:56.610 align:middle line:84% and brace it against the slender tree. 00:49:56.610 --> 00:50:02.090 align:middle line:84% During these seconds, I'm taken by a powerful sense of deja vu. 00:50:02.090 --> 00:50:04.460 align:middle line:84% At this same season a few years ago, 00:50:04.460 --> 00:50:06.630 align:middle line:84% a buck stood against the evening sky 00:50:06.630 --> 00:50:08.750 align:middle line:84% less than 100 yards from this spot, 00:50:08.750 --> 00:50:12.350 align:middle line:84% and I did exactly what I'm doing now. 00:50:12.350 --> 00:50:15.800 align:middle line:84% Perhaps this is why the outcome seems just as certain. 00:50:15.800 --> 00:50:19.460 align:middle line:84% There is no tingling apprehension, no pounding heart, 00:50:19.460 --> 00:50:21.350 align:middle line:90% no shaking hand. 00:50:21.350 --> 00:50:24.770 align:middle line:84% The rifle sights come to rest, unwavering. 00:50:24.770 --> 00:50:29.480 align:middle line:84% I breathe deeply and deeply again, eyes opened wide. 00:50:29.480 --> 00:50:31.790 align:middle line:84% It's as if everything were preordained 00:50:31.790 --> 00:50:35.270 align:middle line:84% and the animal had come, as Koyukon elders teach, 00:50:35.270 --> 00:50:37.770 align:middle line:90% to give itself. 00:50:37.770 --> 00:50:41.460 align:middle line:84% I feel absolutely jarringly predatory, 00:50:41.460 --> 00:50:45.690 align:middle line:84% like a cat splayed against the grass simmering in ambush, 00:50:45.690 --> 00:50:48.930 align:middle line:84% and utterly alive in a way that defies 00:50:48.930 --> 00:50:53.790 align:middle line:84% language, that scarcely renders itself in conscious thought. 00:50:53.790 --> 00:50:57.360 align:middle line:84% I am a living creature questing for its food. 00:50:57.360 --> 00:51:00.420 align:middle line:84% Whatever ambiguity I feel about the hunt, 00:51:00.420 --> 00:51:03.600 align:middle line:90% it now lies far beyond reach. 00:51:03.600 --> 00:51:09.300 align:middle line:84% And I say this, no tiller of soil, no herder of flocks, 00:51:09.300 --> 00:51:13.800 align:middle line:84% no gatherer of plants, no browser of grocery shelves 00:51:13.800 --> 00:51:18.760 align:middle line:84% will ever cross this same emotional terrain. 00:51:18.760 --> 00:51:22.570 align:middle line:84% As for me, I would rather be a rock on a hillside 00:51:22.570 --> 00:51:24.910 align:middle line:84% than exist without knowing in this way 00:51:24.910 --> 00:51:29.750 align:middle line:84% the animal who lives inside me and gives me life. 00:51:29.750 --> 00:51:32.060 align:middle line:84% The buck pumps his head up and down, 00:51:32.060 --> 00:51:34.550 align:middle line:90% telegraphing his uncertainty. 00:51:34.550 --> 00:51:38.030 align:middle line:84% Then he stands absolutely still, his shape 00:51:38.030 --> 00:51:41.150 align:middle line:84% incised above the curving cloud of branches 00:51:41.150 --> 00:51:45.170 align:middle line:84% as if the full truth of him had leapt into the fluid of my eye. 00:51:45.170 --> 00:51:47.730 align:middle line:90% 00:51:47.730 --> 00:51:50.550 align:middle line:84% Lightning flashes brightly in the blackness, 00:51:50.550 --> 00:51:53.520 align:middle line:84% and thunder pours away over the land's edge, 00:51:53.520 --> 00:51:57.380 align:middle line:84% tumbling and tumbling beneath the storm. 00:51:57.380 --> 00:52:00.740 align:middle line:84% There is a burst and a shock and a jarred half vision 00:52:00.740 --> 00:52:03.380 align:middle line:84% of the deer's fall as if he were completely 00:52:03.380 --> 00:52:06.140 align:middle line:84% released like a puppet whose strings have all 00:52:06.140 --> 00:52:08.540 align:middle line:90% been snipped at once. 00:52:08.540 --> 00:52:11.600 align:middle line:84% I stand, breathing heavily, and rush 00:52:11.600 --> 00:52:14.600 align:middle line:84% toward the empty space between the pines with Keta 00:52:14.600 --> 00:52:17.060 align:middle line:90% bounding alongside. 00:52:17.060 --> 00:52:20.390 align:middle line:84% She reaches the spot before me, circles and snuffles 00:52:20.390 --> 00:52:22.700 align:middle line:90% the soft edges of the buck. 00:52:22.700 --> 00:52:25.250 align:middle line:84% He lays on a mat of crowberry and bog 00:52:25.250 --> 00:52:28.460 align:middle line:84% laurel, soft and quiet and midnight still, 00:52:28.460 --> 00:52:32.850 align:middle line:84% as if the gale had instantly grown calm. 00:52:32.850 --> 00:52:36.270 align:middle line:84% At first, I hear only silence, then I 00:52:36.270 --> 00:52:39.060 align:middle line:84% hear my heart pounding and the ringing in my ears 00:52:39.060 --> 00:52:42.840 align:middle line:84% and finally Keta panting at my side, the swishing of wind 00:52:42.840 --> 00:52:47.150 align:middle line:84% and high boughs, the distant drum of surf. 00:52:47.150 --> 00:52:50.810 align:middle line:84% I kneel beside the deer and touch his warm silky eye 00:52:50.810 --> 00:52:53.360 align:middle line:84% to affirm the certainty of death, 00:52:53.360 --> 00:52:56.330 align:middle line:84% then I run my hand along his flank whispering 00:52:56.330 --> 00:53:00.920 align:middle line:84% words of thanks which seem inadequate and frail against 00:53:00.920 --> 00:53:04.520 align:middle line:84% what I've been given here, a life that will enter and sustain 00:53:04.520 --> 00:53:06.210 align:middle line:90% my own. 00:53:06.210 --> 00:53:12.260 align:middle line:84% Beaded raindrops roll down over the dry brittle fur. 00:53:12.260 --> 00:53:18.110 align:middle line:84% I am not a guiltless hunter, but neither do I hunt without joy. 00:53:18.110 --> 00:53:21.290 align:middle line:84% What fills me now is an incongruous mix of grief 00:53:21.290 --> 00:53:26.630 align:middle line:84% and satisfaction, excitement and calm, humility and pride 00:53:26.630 --> 00:53:28.820 align:middle line:84% and the recognition that death is 00:53:28.820 --> 00:53:33.570 align:middle line:84% the rain that fills the river of life inside us all. 00:53:33.570 --> 00:53:36.030 align:middle line:84% Keta prances back and forth excitedly 00:53:36.030 --> 00:53:38.400 align:middle line:84% looking in all directions for another deer 00:53:38.400 --> 00:53:41.100 align:middle line:84% as if animals only fascinate her when they're running, 00:53:41.100 --> 00:53:42.960 align:middle line:90% or might do so. 00:53:42.960 --> 00:53:47.670 align:middle line:84% I hold her by my side, rub her fur and nuzzle her wet face. 00:53:47.670 --> 00:53:51.240 align:middle line:84% The deer is a prime heavy thick-coated buck bearing 00:53:51.240 --> 00:53:53.730 align:middle line:84% modest but lovely antlers, their slender 00:53:53.730 --> 00:53:57.240 align:middle line:84% beams stained dark maroon at the base fading 00:53:57.240 --> 00:54:01.890 align:middle line:84% to polished gray on each of the six elegantly tapered points. 00:54:01.890 --> 00:54:04.540 align:middle line:90% I will leave them here. 00:54:04.540 --> 00:54:08.080 align:middle line:84% Keta nudges close, trying to lick the blood that drips down, 00:54:08.080 --> 00:54:11.290 align:middle line:84% but I shoo her away out of respect for the animal. 00:54:11.290 --> 00:54:12.970 align:middle line:84% Later on when we butcher the deer, 00:54:12.970 --> 00:54:16.560 align:middle line:84% Keta will have her share of scraps. 00:54:16.560 --> 00:54:20.400 align:middle line:84% I take some fat from inside the body plus a few slivers of meat 00:54:20.400 --> 00:54:24.190 align:middle line:84% and leave them with the viscera for the other animals. 00:54:24.190 --> 00:54:26.250 align:middle line:84% It's important, Koyukon people say, 00:54:26.250 --> 00:54:29.430 align:middle line:84% that wild creatures feed on remnants left in the woods 00:54:29.430 --> 00:54:31.140 align:middle line:90% by hunters. 00:54:31.140 --> 00:54:33.540 align:middle line:84% But other than small tidbits, nothing 00:54:33.540 --> 00:54:37.440 align:middle line:84% should be abandoned except parts we can't use ourselves. 00:54:37.440 --> 00:54:40.560 align:middle line:84% The eagles and ravens will come at first light tomorrow, 00:54:40.560 --> 00:54:42.240 align:middle line:84% and within an hour, they'll clean up 00:54:42.240 --> 00:54:46.170 align:middle line:84% everything but the skull bones and stomach contents. 00:54:46.170 --> 00:54:48.900 align:middle line:84% To make sure no dirt gets inside the carcass, 00:54:48.900 --> 00:54:51.480 align:middle line:84% I cut small holes through the skin around the belly 00:54:51.480 --> 00:54:55.110 align:middle line:84% and neck openings then lace them shut with cord. 00:54:55.110 --> 00:54:58.500 align:middle line:84% Next, I have to sever the four legs at their knee joints 00:54:58.500 --> 00:55:01.260 align:middle line:84% and toggle each front leg through a sliced opening 00:55:01.260 --> 00:55:04.050 align:middle line:84% in the hock of the corresponding rear leg. 00:55:04.050 --> 00:55:07.020 align:middle line:84% This makes it possible to carry a modest sized 00:55:07.020 --> 00:55:08.940 align:middle line:84% deer as if it were a pack, putting 00:55:08.940 --> 00:55:11.220 align:middle line:84% your arms through the fastened legs 00:55:11.220 --> 00:55:13.350 align:middle line:84% and hoisting it up so the animal's belly lays 00:55:13.350 --> 00:55:15.740 align:middle line:90% against your back. 00:55:15.740 --> 00:55:18.800 align:middle line:84% With darkness looming above mountains to the east, 00:55:18.800 --> 00:55:21.440 align:middle line:90% I start the final trudge. 00:55:21.440 --> 00:55:26.630 align:middle line:84% Keta dances alongside perhaps anticipating tonight's dinner. 00:55:26.630 --> 00:55:28.610 align:middle line:84% I'll cut a few pieces of fresh venison 00:55:28.610 --> 00:55:31.310 align:middle line:84% to fry in a skillet atop the wood burning stove, 00:55:31.310 --> 00:55:35.330 align:middle line:84% the most delicious and elemental feast I can imagine, 00:55:35.330 --> 00:55:38.150 align:middle line:90% making the deer a part of me. 00:55:38.150 --> 00:55:40.670 align:middle line:84% In the last stretch of muskeg, just before we'll 00:55:40.670 --> 00:55:42.770 align:middle line:84% enter the woods behind bear cove, 00:55:42.770 --> 00:55:46.370 align:middle line:84% I angle over to a small rain dappled lake, 00:55:46.370 --> 00:55:50.750 align:middle line:84% put my load on the ground and rest beside the water. 00:55:50.750 --> 00:55:54.360 align:middle line:84% Keta slumps against me, finally getting tired. 00:55:54.360 --> 00:55:56.390 align:middle line:84% But she perks up a few minutes later 00:55:56.390 --> 00:55:59.690 align:middle line:84% when a large doe ghosts out from the trees 00:55:59.690 --> 00:56:03.680 align:middle line:84% directly across the lake from us and steps to the water's edge, 00:56:03.680 --> 00:56:07.040 align:middle line:90% nervously switching her tail. 00:56:07.040 --> 00:56:10.520 align:middle line:84% She reaches down and touches her nose to the water, 00:56:10.520 --> 00:56:15.240 align:middle line:84% and it's as if I've drifted into a deer's dream. 00:56:15.240 --> 00:56:19.320 align:middle line:84% I slowly bend over, dip my hand beneath the ripples 00:56:19.320 --> 00:56:22.530 align:middle line:84% and fill it with the same chilled water. 00:56:22.530 --> 00:56:26.070 align:middle line:84% And there, embraced by the island and the sky, 00:56:26.070 --> 00:56:29.550 align:middle line:90% we drink each other down. 00:56:29.550 --> 00:56:30.750 align:middle line:90% Thank you very much. 00:56:30.750 --> 00:56:33.800 align:middle line:90% [APPLAUSE] 00:56:33.800 --> 00:56:48.000 align:middle line:90%