The Kalispel likely ate weasels, while the Chipewyan and Mistissini Cree are reported to have hunted it for its fur [1-3]. The Coast Salish, Tlingit, Sahtu Hare, Vunta Kutchin (Gwich’in), Koyukon, Alaskan Copper River Delta Eyak are other cultures reported to have trapped weasel [3-10]. Faunal remains excavated at a Tlingit site suggest that they used weasels [11].
In particular, ermine, also known as stoats or short-tailed weasels, were eaten as an emergency food by the Peel River Kutchin (Gwich’in), Crow River Kutchin, Tahltan, Attawapiskat Cree and Mistissini Cree [12-16]. The Kalispel, Ingalik and Inupiat (Kotzebue Sound, Point Barrow and Nuiqsut) trapped ermine [17-20], which were also present in Chipewyan and Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw) territories [21, 22]. The Nuiqsut trapped ermine in December [18].
Deadfalls, snares, and, in more recent times, steel traps were used to trap weasels, likely to have included ermine, least weasels and, in central North America, long-tailed weasels. The Kalispel, Tahltan and Kotzebue Sound Inupiat used deadfalls; the Tahltan baited theirs with fish [1, 13, 17]. The Mistissini used small steel traps [23], which they set primarily for mink, but occasionally caught weasels [3]. The Coast Salish caught weasels in snares placed near known drinking areas [4]. The Kalispel caught weasels in deadfalls [1] and Inuit sometimes shot weasels with shotguns or rifles [9]. The Alaska Copper River Delta Eyak trapped weasels in box traps hidden in the ground: a small plank was set up so that the weasel would walk on it and fall into the box [6].
Ermine, in particular, were trapped for their fur by the Peel River Kutchin, Crow River Kutchin and Tahltan [13, 14]. The Micmac (Mi'kmaq) of Richibucto are also reported to have trapped ermine for its fur [24]. Point Barrow Inupiat sometimes wore ermine skins as amulets or trimmings, while the Kotzebue Sound Inupiat showcased ermine tails on the back center of their outer belts, which they fastened around their outer parkas [17, 19].
The Tahltan were superstitious about ermines; shamans would wear their skins during chants [13].
References
1. Lahren SL, Jr.: Kalispel. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 12: Plateau. edn. Edited by Walker DE, Jr. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1998: 283-288.
2. Raby S, Bone RM, Shannon EN: An Historic and Ethnographic Account to the 1920's. In: The Chipewyan of The Stony Rapids Region; a study of their changing world with special attention focused upon caribou. Volume 1st edition, edn. Edited by Bone RM. Saskatoon: Institute for Northern Studies, University of Saskatchewan; 1973: 12-47.
3. Rogers ES: The Quest for Food and Furs: The Mistassini Cree, 1953-1954. Ottawa: Museums of Canada; 1973.
4. Ashwell R: Food, Fishing & Hunting; Cooking Methods. In: Coast Salish: Their Art, Culture and Legends. Volume 1st edition, edn. British Columbia: Hancock House Publishers Inc.; 1978: 28-55.
5. Balikci A: Game Distribution. In: Vunta Kutchin Social Change A Study of the People of Old Crow, Yukon Territory. edn. Ottawa: Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources; 1963.
6. Birket-Smith K, DeLaguna F. In: The Eyak Indians of the Copper River Delta, Alaska. edn. Kobenhavn: Levin & Munksgaard; 1938.
7. Hara HS: The Hare Indians and Their World. In. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada; 1980: 95-147.
8. McFadyen Clark A: Koyukon. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 6: Subarctic. edn. Edited by Helm J. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1981: 582-590.
9. Washburne H, Blackmore AF: Seal Hunting. In: Land of the good shadows: the life story of Anauta, an Eskimo woman. edn. Cornwall, N.Y.: The John Day Company, The Cornwall Press; 1940.
10. Oberg K: The Annual Cycle of Production. In: The Social Economy of the Tlingit Indians. edn.: University of Washington Press; 1973: 65.
11. de Laguna F: The Story of a Tlingit Community: A Problem in the Relationship between Archeological, Ethnological, and Historical Methods. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office; 1960.
12. Rogers ES: Subsistence. In: The Hunting Group-Hunting Territory Complex among the Mistassini Indians. edn. Ottawa: National Museum of Canada Bulletin No. 195; 1963: 32-53.
13. Emmons GT: The Tahltan Indians, vol. Anthropological Publications Vol. IV No. 1. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania: The Museum; 1911.
14. Osgood C: Material Culture: Food. In: Contributions to the Ethnography of the Kutchin. edn. New Haven: Yale University Press; 1936: 23-39.
15. Tanner A: Bringing Home Animals: Religious Ideology and Mode of Production of the Mistassini Cree Hunters, vol. 1st edition. London: C. Hurst & Company; 1979.
16. Rogers ES: Subsistence Areas of the Cree-Ojibwa of the Eastern Subarctic: A Preliminary Study. Contributions of Ethnology V 1967, No. 204:59-90.
17. Burch ES, Jr.: Kotzebue Sound Eskimo. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 5: Arctic. edn. Edited by Damas D. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1984: 303-311.
18. Hoffman D, Libbey D, Spearman G: Nuiqsut: Land Use Values Through Time in the Nuiqsut Area, vol. revised edition. Fairbanks: University of Alaska; 1988.
19. Murdoch AM: Mammals. In: Report of the International Polar Expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska. edn. Edited by Ray PH. Washington: Government Printing Office; 1885.
20. Snow JH: Ingalik. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 6: Subarctic. edn. Edited by Helm J. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1981: 602-607.
21. Government of British Columbia: Vol 1: Introduction to our Native Peoples. Victoria: British Columbia Department of Education; 1966.
22. Smith JGE: Chipewyan. In: Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 6: Subarctic. edn. Edited by Helm J. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution; 1981: 271-277.
23. Rogers ES: Equipment for Securing Native Foods and Furs. In: The Material Culture of the Mistassini. edn.: National Museum of Canada, Bulletin 218; 1967: 67-88.
24. Speck FG, Dexter RW: Utilization of animals and plants by the Micmac Indians of New Brunswick. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 1951, 41(8):250-259.
Weasels are small mammalian carnivores and regroup the smallest members of the mustelid family, including larger species like otters and the wolverine (Gulo gulo). In North America, weasels include the ermine (Mustela erminea), least weasel (M. nivalis), and long-tailed weasel (M. frenata), all closely related species within the same genus. The ermine is the most widespread member of the weasel family occurring throughout Canada and Arctic islands, in Alaska, and in northwestern and northeastern United States, while the least weasel do not occur in the High Arctic and Maritime Provinces. The long-tailed weasel has the most southern distribution occurring northward from southern Canada up to Mexico.
Like other member of the weasel family, weasels have dense fur, highly prized in the fur industry, long canines, rounded ears, short limbs, and a long, slender body adapted to pursue preys in long and narrow undergrounds tunnels. The least weasel is the smallest, typically weighing 43 g, and the long-tailed weasel is the largest, typically weighing 265 g, while the ermine is smaller than the long-tailed weasel, but larger than the least weasel with adults typically weighing 70 g. Males are most often larger, sometimes twice the size as females, except for the smaller least weasel. They all have light to dark brown pelage with paler whitish underparts, but only the least weasel has no black tip on their tail. The ermine, the least weasel, and the long-tailed weasel, but only in northern parts of their range, molt to an all white colour before the winter fur to better camouflage in the environment.
Reference
Wilson DE, Ruff S: The Smithsonian book of North American mammals. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press; 1999.