I was delighted to interview Jason and Jerry Belcourt from Hunting the Rez, on behalf of the ISE Show. The ISE Show will be in Phoenix February 23rd -26th and are excited about their line-up of great speakers this year. If you’ve never been to an ISE Show, you just gotta. The guys over at Hunting the Rez are going to have a real interesting presentation!
1)For folks who haven’t heard of “Hunting the Rez” – what are you guys all about?
Here’s part of our mission statement that sums up the core of mission and purpose of
Hunting The Rez:
The mission of Hunting The Rez is to promote the vast hunting, fishing, and outdoor
recreational opportunities that exist in Indian Country for all outdoors sports enthusiasts
while respecting the traditions, cultures and sovereignty of Indian Nations.
2) What are people going to learn about at your ISE show presentations? Tell us a bit about what they are going to hear.
Visitors are going to learn that there are hunting, fishing and outdoor recreational opportunities available on Indian Reservations throughout the U.S. and Canada on the 55 million acres that are designated as Indian Reservations or “Indian Country.” These opportunities are something that they may have never considered before, didn’t know existed or thought were off limits to non-tribally enrolled members (non-Indian). During our first-ever auction at ISE Phoenix, attendees will have a chance to bid on hunting and fishing packages from throughout U.S. and Canadian Indian Reservations.
3) Can you talk a bit about reservation hunting opportunities in Arizona ?
Some of the best elk and deer hunting in the country is available on Arizona Indian Reservations. Some of the biggest trophies ever taken came from Arizona reservations. Arizona tribes such as White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, Navajo Nation, Hualapai and Havasupai have excellent hunting opportunities and well established fish and game programs.
4) Your site talks about the opportunities that 52 million extra acres of Native American grounds provides for sportsmen and women. Clearly some of these hunting opportunities come at a premium price, but looking through your magazine I saw some pretty economical hunts, too. Can you talk about what hunters should expect when shopping for these hunts?
One of the main reasons that Hunting The Rez exists is to act as a bit of a liaison between the different tribes and the outdoor enthusiasts, hunters and anglers who are interested in hunting and fishing on Tribal lands but don’t know how to go about it or if it’s even possible. One of the objectives of Hunting The Rez is to be able to provide information on each individual Tribal Fish & Game Department’s offerings to the general public along with pricing and additional information.
There are various stages of development of each Tribe’s Fish & Game Departments and their hunting and fishing programs. Some, like White Mountain Apache and Navajo Nation have well established programs, offer trophy animals and charge accordingly (premium pricing). Other tribes have recently passed ordinances that allow for non-member hunting and fishing and are just starting their programs, aren’t as established and offer better prices. We’ve observed that some programs have underpriced their offerings and these are where non-enrolled/non-Indian outdoor sportsmen can get some real bargains on hunting and fishing opportunities.
However, not all reservations, tribes or Fish & Game Departments allow non-enrolled members to hunt, fish or access their properties.
Since there are many variations in tribes, their cultures and traditions as well as their programs, some of the programs are experiencing growing pains. Therefore, there will be situations that will call for the hunter and angler to be tolerant and patient while they are hunting and fishing in Indian Country.
5) What are your plans while in Arizona at the show? Will all of your time be spent at the show, or do you have some other plans?
The Hunting The Rez team will be at the ISE show the whole time networking with tribal representatives, hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts, as well as building relationships with potential strategic alliance, joint-venture partners and potential advertisers who would benefit by advertising in Hunting The Rez magazine and on its upcoming television series.
