As Leaf River caribou numbers plunge in northern Quebec, Indigenous leaders are grappling with the hard choice between hunting the herd or pausing the harvest to help the population recover.

At a three-day conference in Montreal last week, Cree, Naskapi and Inuit leaders met with Quebec officials to weigh hunting limits, habitat protection and other measures to slow caribou declines, while balancing Indigenous rights and traditions.

“We have … hunting rights to continue our culture, but we need to work together, find an agreement that works for both sides, and to realize the caribou are declining,” said Linden Spencer, the Deputy Grand Chief of Eeyou Istchee.

The Leaf River caribou’s range overlaps with Eeyou Istchee, the traditional territory of northern Quebec Cree, and community members have long hunted the herd.

Recent declines prompted The Cree Nation Government (CNG) to issue territory-wide call to pause caribou hunting in December, urging Cree not to harvest across Eeyou Istchee.

The Hunting, Fishing, and Trapping Coordinating Committee (HFTCC) — a co-management body of Cree, Inuit, and Naskapi representatives — also passed a resolution earlier this year calling for a moratorium on caribou hunting in Eeyou Istchee below the 55th parallel.

Spencer says more must be done to protect the herd.

“We just need more of our people to stand with us and think about how they hunt, and limit themselves. It is something that is very important for the future generations,” Spencer said.

The Leaf River population numbered roughly 136,000 caribou in 2025 — a drastic dip of 12 per cent since 2024 — according to an update from the Government of Quebec.

The herd has declined more than 75 per cent since the early 2000s, when there were over 600,000 caribou in the herd.

Spencer says that Cree are not only hunters, they are also guardians of the land.

“We know how to harvest, but also know how to limit. We need to show the next generation that we still have these practices, and be the frontrunners on how we preserve caribou,” he said.

Cree tallymen were also present at the conference. Matthew Rabbitskin was one of them. The Leaf River caribou herd sometimes passes through his family’s trapline at M01, which sits over 100 kilometres north by plane from Mistissini, a northern Quebec Cree community.

“For me, I stopped hunting. We’re not starving,” he said.

He reflected on a lesson from the past, when the beaver nearly vanished.

“In the 50s, during the fur trade, there was a time where the Cree had to manage trapping because they almost wiped out the beaver,” Rabbitskin said.

Rabbitskin says the Cree didn’t trap the beaver for four to five years, and the population recovered. After that, the Cree allowed themselves to trap again.

Drawing a direct parallel to today’s caribou, Rabbitskin hopes others follow this lesson.

“If they could do it, we could do it. So that’s how I look at it,” said Rabbitskin.

But not everyone agrees with the hunting moratorium.

For some at the conference, teaching younger generations to hunt, butcher and provide remains essential.

“We understand people that want us to put in restrictions or a moratorium. There’s a lot of differing views and people feel that it’s infringing on their right to provide food for their families,” said Adamie Delisle Alaku.

Alaku is the vice-president of the department of environment, wildlife and research with the Makivvik Corporation, which represents Inuit in Nunavik.

“A limited harvest is still something we feel very strongly about to ensure food security. But for certain, we cannot have everyone harvest from the herds when they’re in a major decline,” he said.

While halting the hunt is one way to help caribou, Rabbitskin says restoring and protecting the herd’s habitat is just as critical.

Leaf River female caribou calves weigh less in winter, likely due to poor habitat, long migrations, and higher risks from disease and extreme weather, according to recent data from the Quebec government.

Predation by wolves and black bears is unavoidable, and in 2023, wildfires wiped out much of the herd’s habitat and lichen, a key source of food.

“The hard truth is you do not rebuild the herd by just focusing on the animal. You rebuild it by fixing the land first, because that’s [the] caribou’s home,” Rabbitskin said.

He says that means limiting further industrial development, like mining and logging roads.

“Let’s protect the areas that are not disturbed. For the caribou, that means no more money, no more roads. Let’s leave them alone, let them grow,” he said.

Should Indigenous leaders decide that a hunting moratorium is the best path forward, the responsibility of implementing and enforcing it falls to the Quebec government.

In a statement to CBC News, the Quebec Ministry of Environment said it received the Hunting, Fishing, and Trapping Coordinating Committee’s resolution supporting a caribou harvest moratorium in Eeyou Istchee and is reviewing what actions to take.