Mi’kmaw fishermen thrust a rake-like spear deep into a hole cut in the ice on a river in Antigonish, N.S., during a cold February afternoon, hoping to catch an adult eel and honour the legacy of their ancestors in the process.
“The main thing is to feed our people — the elderly, the sick,” said Terry Denny. “It’s important you’re doing something that you are not getting a cash reward.”
Eel, or katew, is a traditional food source for the Mi’kmaq. Ceremonially significant, they’re often eaten in a broth as a baby’s first meal upon arriving from the spirit world and as an elder’s final meal before their
