Rooted in Gwekwaadziwin: Season 2, Episode 7 - Corey McDonald

Rooted in Gwekwaadziwin: Season 2, Episode 7 - Corey McDonald

From Gwekwaadziwin Miikan by Gwekwaadziwin Miikan

December 9, 2025 · 1h 1m · Season 2 · Episode 7

About this episode

Corey MacDonald shares his journey of reconnecting with land-based living and the teachings of honesty in food systems.

In this episode of Rooted in Gwekwaadziwin , we sit down with Corey MacDonald , Land-Based Lead Facilitator with Noojmowin Teg . Corey shares his journey growing up on Manitoulin, leaving home to explore the world — including a memorable season working as an au pair in Switzerland — and eventually returning to the Island with a renewed connection to hiking, harvesting, and land-based living. We talk about learning food systems through experience rather than theory, his transition from vegetarian ethics into hunting and harvesting, and the teachings that come with taking a life, preparing meat, and feeding community. Corey reflects on buck fever, breaking down his first deer, trapline stories, beaver tail experiments, and teaching youth through hands-on land-based programming — from Nerf-gun deer targets to full deer breakdowns in the classroom. Throughout the conversation, we return to the teaching of gwekwaadziwin — honesty . Honesty with ourselves, with the land, and with those we teach.

People in this episode

Guest: Corey MacDonald

Topics covered

  • land-based living
  • hiking
  • harvesting
  • food systems
  • hunting
  • education

Keywords

  • gwekwaadziwin
  • buck fever
  • deer hunting
  • youth education
  • land-based programming

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Rooted in Gwekwaadziwin

Places: Manitoulin, Switzerland, Island

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