Chapters 7.19

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Mountain Goat, Enchantments Basin.jpg

Suggested citation for this chapter.

West-Colenutt,L. (2022) Mammals. In The Student Encyclopedia of Canadian Indigenous Foods. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.firstnationsfoods.org/

Introduction

The mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) is a mammal that originated from the cattle family (Geist 2011-2022). They entered through the western parts of North America before settling into the western mountains of Canada (Geist 2011-2022). Today, most mountain goats can be found in central Alaska and British Columbia. As seen in Figure 1, mountain goats have a lot of fur around their face and body to protect them from harsh weather and temperatures and have very distinctive black horns, both female and male, to defend themselves from predators (Hitchcock 2015-2022). Sticking in herds, mountain goats live an average of 9 to 12 years and are herbivores (Hitchcock 2015-2022). This paper will further educate Canadians about mountain goats, their origins, and how they have connections to Indigenous.

Figure 1: Descriptive image of a Mountain Goat. (Kuhnlein and Humphries 2017).

Historical Background

The mountain goat family has been around since the Ice Age which began approximately 2.4 million years ago. Originally from the cattle family, a family with hooves, mountain goats typically have thick fur in order to survive harsh weathers (Geist 2011). Mountain goats are constantly used in Indigenous tribal traditions and have a very powerful significance (Stanton 2021). Those with a spirit animal of a mountain goat were known to have a creative energy, desire to explore, tranquility, and faith (Stanton 2021). In some Indigenous tribes the mountain goat is considered a sacred animal, weaved into blankets and told in many stories due to the it being a fierce yet tranquil animal (Stanton 2021).

Geographic Origins

As stated in their names, mountain goats were first spotted in the mountains in the western regions of the United States. Steadily throughout the years they moved throughout the western regions and are now commonly found in the western mountain regions of Canada such as British Columbia (Geist 2011). Till this day mountain goats are consistently spotted all over British Columbia in the Rocky Mountains surviving the difficult weather patterns of mountain living (Geist 2011).

Figure 2: Map of mountain goat origins. Red Showing off the location of mountain goats and white is where they are not located (Kuhnlein and Humphries, 2017)

Associated Indigenous Peoples

Mountain goats were primarily hunted by the upper-class tribes from British Columbia such as the Kwakiutl people (Kuhnlein & Humphries 2017). Cured meat, wool, horns, and fat are three items that are produced from mountain goats and that are beneficial for these Indigenous groups since they can use these products as trading items (Kuhnlein & Humphries 2017). Additionally, these animals were extremely important with many tribes’ ceremonial events, such as songs, dances, and stories (Ogden 2022). As important as the mountain goat meat was, their fur and horns were even more important since Indigenous could use them to create clothes, blankets, carpets, dog sleds, snares, tools, and many more, which allowed them to hunt more and survive in drastic weathers (Kuhnlein & Humphries 2017).

Symbolization

Referring to their historical background, mountain goats have a big impact on Indigenous tribunal events, which means they have a great significance in many of their religions. Many ceremonies mountain goats are given out as spirit animals giving the person the power and significance of the mountain goat. Getting a mountain goat as a spirit animal allows insight in the future and shows that there is always a guardian always watching over (Stanton 2021). Also, the mountain goat allowed a steady and sure-footed approach in life and creative energy which manifest the outcomes envisioned by one (Stanton 2021). In totems, the animals’ powers are embodied. Having a mountain goat in your totem allowed perseverance of the future, manifestation of life, and faith to fall upon the group (Stanton 2021). It is commonly known as a good luck talisman due to them overcoming any challenges that passed by (Stanton 2021). In general, mountain goats are very intelligent, tranquil, and explorative animals which connected with the Indigenous because they were inspired by the explorative and intelligence of these animals, which allowed them to create these symbolic meanings behind them. Finally, when given a mountain goat as a spirit animal it means that the person is a sure-footedness, desired, tranquil, aspirational, creative energy, and faithful person who will explore without hesitation and achieve any goals (Stanton 2021).

Figure 3: Symbolic image of mountain goat. Showing off how they are sacred and special (Stanton 2021)

Consumptions and Uses

One of the most common uses of mountain goats is its meat. The meat was commonly eaten after it was boiled, steamed, dried, and the excess skin was used for seasoning and flavoring for other foods. The grease that comes from the meat after its boiled is considered a delicacy due to its richness in flavoring and would be used to cook other foods (Kuhnlein & Humphries 2017). The stomach fat from the goats were commonly used as a marriage gift to the chief to propose to his daughter. Furthermore, the fat was also used as a skin protector since it prohibited the wind and cold from reaching the skin (Kuhnlein & Humphries 2017). Mountain goats were used as traditional foods for many of these tribes since they were not as commonly hunted as other animals, due to the hunt usually lasting a few days, which meat no quick food for the families. Also, the fat from the mountain goat was used to apply to faces before painting them during ceremonies, hunting’s, etc. (Kuhnlein & Humphries 2017).

Health and survival Benefits

Mountain goat fat helped in many ways with Indigenous tribes, the fat was used as rubs and medicine preparation. It was commonly used to protect skin from extreme cold weathers or hot weathers (Kuhnlein & Humphries 2017). Using the leftover kidney fat and boiling it till melted and letting it sit to get a creamier texture was their way of making sunscreen from which they would take the melted fat and rub it on the skin that they wanted to protect (Kuhnlein & Humphries 2017). To further protect the skin, they would chew the fat before applying to the skin to create a thicker sealant from which the wind or heat could not enter (Kuhnlein & Humphries 2017).

Limitations

In general mountain goats are extremely difficult to hunt due to their living environments. As specified in their name, these goats live in the mountains which can be hard for a hunter since they must climb these Rocky Mountains to reach them (Rinella 2018). When planning a mountain goat hunt it is necessary to plan and make sure there is enough time associated to the hunt since the trip could take a few days. Having decent hiking skills is a must since during the hunt the ability to endure the cold, wet, and sometimes icy weather is important, due to the weather being difficult to read (Rinella 2018). Back in the day, many Indigenous from British Columbia would go off on mountain goat hunting trips, where they would go off on a hunt for a few days to a week (Kuhnlein et Humphries 2017). When going on these long trips they usually had help from dogs who would round the herd closer to the hunters and the Indigenous would wait with spears until they caught one (Kuhnlein et Humphries 2017). Usually, arrows were used and spears due to it being the most accessible to them and their learnings and religion (Kuhnlein et Humphries 2017). The limitation to just spears and arrows creates a longer wait period to hunt these animals since they can’t shoot at long ranges and have to be closer to the animal which could be very difficult since its harder to get closer to wild animals especial during bad weather and bad conditions (Kuhnlein et Humphries 2017).

References

1.Geist. V (2011). Mountain Goat. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mountain-goat#:~:text=3-,The%20mountain%20goat%20(Oreamnos%20americanus)%20is%20an%20even%2Dtoed,ancestral%20to%20sheep%20and%20goats.

2.Hitchcock. T (2015). Mountain Goat. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/mountain-goat

3.Ogden. L (2022). Culturally Prized Mountain Goat may be Vanishing from Indigenous Land in Canada. Science News. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/mountain-goats-vanishing-indigenous-land-culture-canada

4.Kuhnlein, H et Humphries, M (2017). Traditional Animal Foods of Indigenous Peoples of Northern North America: Mountai Goat. McGill. http://traditionalanimalfoods.org/mammals/hoofed/page.aspx?id=6361

5.Rinella, S (2018). Hunting Mountain Goats. MEATEATER. https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/mountain-goat/mountain-goat

6.Stanton. K (2021). Goat meaning & Symbolism & the Goat Spirit Animal. Goat meanings and symbolism include sure-footedness, desire, creative energy, revelry, tranquility, aspiration, and faith. https://www.uniguide.com/goat-meaning-symbolism-spirit-animal