Pemmican

Two weeks ago, I was talking with my son about the possibility of a catastrophic emergency. Recently, he told me that he believes we will have a financial collapse and a regime change in our country within the next 2 years, so this is a topic we visit periodically. He pointed out that if the worst happens, he’ll have to stop working out because I won’t be able to provide enough protein to fuel his muscles. Of course, that got me thinking. If we lose the power grid, life will require all family members working hard from sun up to sundown just to survive, like in the Pioneer Days. We will need my son’s muscle and it would be in our family’s best interest to be able to supplement his food allotment with additional protein. With that in mind, I began researching high protein sources.

I believe I’ve mentioned before that my father’s family were pioneers in the part of northern Alberta where they settled. They were the only non-Indians in that area. The Tribe that peopled that area were the Cree. My grandfather, his father, and my father (and most of his siblings) were fluent in Cree. About 10 years or so before his death, my father was invited to go on a Mission to the Cree with an old high school friend of his. They would be staying on the Cree Reservation very near my father’s hometown. Oh, the stories when he came home. He discovered that the Chief had given up his Role. Daddy spent quite some time with him, discussing the Cree culture and asking why the Tribe was no longer practicing their heritage. The young Braves were no longer hunting; the Tribe was not providing for the Elderly and Widows; no one spoke the language any longer. A beautiful, rich culture had been lost. 

One funny story Daddy told was about speaking to the Chief. He asked Daddy’s name and argued with my father when told. He said, “You can’t POSSIBLY be Wilfred Hunt. He died many years ago!” Daddy responded to him in fluent Cree and he went absolutely white. “You MUST be Wilfred,” he yelled, “if you can speak our language! None of our Tribe even speak it!” Daddy explained that he WAS Wilfred Hunt; not Wilfred James Hunt, his father, but Wilfred Charles Hunt, the oldest son, raised in Kinuso beside the Cree. From that point forward, he was accepted as an Elder Advisor to the Tribe. The Chief agreed to retake his position and begin to teach the Cree language and culture. It was an amazing mission trip for my father, and stirred many memories of his childhood.

Sometime after that Mission, I remember my father telling me that they often ate “pemmican”. I had heard the term before, probably from cowboy movies, but I asked a few questions. Daddy would often go hunting for many days. During the time away, unless he had a fresh catch of wild meat, he ate pemmican. He always kept it with his pack. During the summer months, my grandfather worked for the forestry. He watched for forest fires, built new watch towers, and cleared paths between towers. My daddy often worked with him. They ate pemmican if they were in a hurry or to fuel their bodies midday so they didn’t have to stop and build a fire. I found this piece of information very interesting and filed it away in the recesses of my brain.

Fast-forward to the current issue of adding additional protein into out diet. I did a little research into what the Indians ate as survival food while away from the tribe, and what did I find but PEMMICAN! A little additional research and I discovered that the Cree Indians were well-known for pemmican. No wonder my father ate it. He had to have learned from the Cree! I researched recipes. It’s actually quite easy to make and can be altered easily with simple additives.

The basic recipe for pemmican is to grind beef jerky down to a powder. You then melt beef tallow (which solidifies when it’s cool and is pure beef fat) and mix in the jerky powder, coating thoroughly. While still liquified, pour into a parchment-lined pan with edges. Allow to cool, then cut into squares. If put in air proof bags (like my seal-a-meal), pemmican has been known to stay good for 10 years. Some hikers and backpackers even claim it will last 50 years if kept dry! You can add spices, salt and pepper, and/or dried fruit and berries to the mixture before it hardens to change or enhance the flavor and to make it sweeter or more savory. The Cree typically added dried Saskatoon berries which grew along the creek on my mother’s family’s farm. She and I once walked the railroad out to the Blonsky Farm when my uncle lived on it, picked the trees along the creek, brought the buckets back to Grandma’s house in town, and I made Saskatoon pies. These recipes rang true to the Cree!

On a whim, I contacted one of my cousins on my father’s side of the family. His mother was the youngest of my father’s siblings and she recently died. I asked him if he knew of any family members that made pemmican or might have a family recipe. He thought so, but all the leads have led to dead ends. I contacted his older brother’s ex-wife, who is part Indian. She said that few people practice the Old Ways any longer and couldn’t think of anyone who might have what I was looking for. At least I have the basic recipe I found online, attributed to the Cree.

I ordered jerky and beef tallow from Amazon. It should arrive this week. I bought half a pound of teriyaki-flavored jerky and half a pound of plain. I plan to make a small batch of savory with the teriyaki jerky and a small batch of sweet with the plain. I’ll add a touch of sugar and some dried berries. It will be a good experience to try to make this and practice it. One thing I have learned the hard way, these skills need to be practiced before they are needed.

If it works out and we like our pemmican, I can add the basic ingredients needed to make it into our Stores to be used when needed. Beef tallow lasts a very long time, as does jerky, due to the lack of moisture. My research, plus my father’s historical accounts, indicate that people can survive for many months on pemmican alone. In fact, a 2.2 oz. bar contains 293 calories and 20 percent protein. Add a couple of squares per day to our regular meals, and we should be able to provide enough protein for my son to fuel his body sufficiently. It seems like it will cost me very little for a huge return.

Pemmican. Something to consider! You read it here first, folks!