However, I do prepare it’s meat for my family and I to eat. Deer have very lean meat that is much better for your body than beef. My fussy little daughter will only eat deer meat! Although I’m not into hunting yet, I decided to take my hunter’s safety course with my son this past summer to have something to do together, just the two of us. We quizzed each other and took the exam together. He had previous knowledge of guns and shooting through experience with my husband at the gun range and sitting with him while he was hunting. I had shot a few types of guns before; but always had them loaded for me and ready to go. I was the inexperienced one here. I was nervous about the gun handling part of the test; my son was nervous about the writing part of the test. But we talked about it the whole drive to the exam and celebrated the whole way home, both of us excited to tell dad/hubby we had both passed with flying colours! I probably won’t hunt anytime soon, but possibly when my two other children get a little older. Right now it’s for dad and son to spend quality time together. Being Metis, we have more time to hunt and more animals to tag than a non-Aboriginal person. Now that my son can hunt and people are finding out that we are Metis, there have been a lot of noses turned up about it (even though we only tag one deer like everyone else!!) and even my own friends commenting “well, if you’re Metis, then I am definitely Metis,” because their skin is darker and they have dark hair and eyes, while I am blue eyed and have blond hair. It is funny how even the smartest of people are so ignorant when it comes to this kind of stuff. I have read on ebrandon (an online chat forum) that there are less deer this year because there are so many people with Metis Harvester’s cards. What a load of crap! People take it upon themselves to believe what they “think” is true to actually be true. There are laws and regulations regarding the Metis Harvester’s card. It has to be paid for yearly to be valid and tags are issued and must be returned if not filled. Metis cannot hunt all year round whenever our hearts desire and tags are limited. We can tag a caribou…but obviously won’t in southern Manitoba, so we do not take those tags. Metis Laws of the Harvest handbook is easily accessible online for anyone to read through at www.mmf.mb.ca/…/Metis%20Laws%20of%20the%20Harvest%20Web.p.. Conservation is a top priority for the Manitoba Metis Federation as well as informing people of our harvesting rights. I’m hoping that people continue to be informed about Metis and Aboriginal rights and can accept it in stride.