If you think defending our hunting heritage is difficult today, just wait another 30 years.
According to a 2011 U.S. Fish and Wildlife report, 93% of hunters in the U.S. are white. Couple that statistic with a 2012 U.S. Census Bureau population race projection, by the year 2043, whites will be a minority to an amalgam of minorities for the first time since the nation’s founding. For those willing to read, the writing is on the wall. To ensure our rights and resources as hunters, we’re going to need a big tent approach to hunter recruitment.
If it hasn’t already, this is where your guard goes up and you begin anticipating conclusions based on your worldview.
My friends on the left will say, “Aha! Another example of institutional racism! Social justice!” My friends on the right may say, “Racism doesn’t exist anymore, just look in the Oval Office! ”
Do I believe there is a cabal of powerful old white guys somewhere scheming tactics to keep guns and bows out of the hands of minorities? No. Do I think that people no longer use race or culture as a determining factor in how they’ll treat others? Unfortunately, no.
Am I tired of asking myself questions? Yes.
The demographics are stark, apolitical and demand attention, but it needs to be established that welcoming more individuals into their God-given roles as apex predators is simply the right thing to do, regardless of legislative utility. We’re going to need more advocates and allies as our country continues to grow and change. If the citizenry perceives hunting as an antiquated blood sport reserved only for whites, instead of the primary engine for conservation that it is, they’ll be less likely stand up for it. The stakes are high and the following two questions are worth considering:
1. What are the causes for the lack of minority participation in hunting?
2. What can be done to make these experiences more accessible to minorities?
The same 2012 Census Bureau report sheds some light on question one, why so few minorities are involved in hunting and it centers on geographic distribution. Most minorities live in urban centers while most whites live in rural or suburban locales. It stands to reason that access to hunting ground could be an obstacle, especially if a person isn’t familiar with outlying areas where public land exists.
The other factor is based in heritage. The USFW report indicates the primary method in the recruitment of new hunters is favorable childhood exposures to hunting with an adult family member. The bottom line: If hunting is not in your family’s history, it will likely not be in its future.
Regarding question two, what can be done, I was a little stuck. I don’t think a person has to be all aspects of the thing they’re considering to understand it. “You’re not __X__, so how can you relate!?” (Think of all the male obstetricians that’d be out of work.) I do recognize people in a particular group can have unique perspectives that I may not naturally consider. To get another angle, I went to Eric Morris, founder of Black Wolf Hunting Club (BWHC). BWHC is open to any ethnicity, though has the expressed goal of increasing African-American participation in hunting activities.
One of my assumptions was that he and his club have probably been met with some skepticism or prejudice. On the contrary says Eric, “We haven’t really had any opposition. In fact, we’ve been welcomed with open arms. State conservation agencies, people who understand the lack of diversity in the outdoors…there’s no shortage of agencies willing to help. Sure, there may be a percentage of people who are racist and don’t want to see blacks hunting, but I think that number is low.”
Eric believes that access to hunting areas and the sometimes high cost of gear may keep some minorities away, but he points primarily to a few perspectives about hunting held by blacks that he feels ought to be re-examined.
“There’s a perception of guns in the black community that they’re bad. That black people, plus guns equals bad. In some low income areas guns are seen as plain evil. Guns are a tool, nothing more. How they’re used is what matters.”
“There are also perceived racial barriers. Lots of potential black hunters perceive that someone’s going to get them if they go afield, so they won’t venture out. That fear is unfounded. I’ve never had a problem and I’ve been the only black guy on many hunts.”
I didn’t expect Eric’s response when I asked about what can be done to get more minorities involved in hunting. Instead of focusing on racially diversifying outdoor media or securing subsidies from federal grants, he levied a challenge to blacks who are already hunting.
“Lots of black guys in the south hunt alone. We need to get more blacks who hunt to help get others hunting, rather than hunting just for themselves. They seem to be the least willing to help. They don’t see the big picture. They’re still too focused on themselves.
Eric cites the typical hunter maturity continuum for some of this inwardness; where a beginning hunter is happy to harvest any animal, then wants to harvest numbers, then focuses on chasing only trophy animals and finally reaches the “giving back” phase where they’re bringing others afield.
“Some of these guys haven’t reached that final stage yet. We need to get the next generation involved too.”
After the interview Eric and I chatted about deer we killed this past season and how we both felt out of place in this modern society; like we wish we could be out living off the land somewhere. We have a kinship, though we’ve only talked on the phone. Ever see someone in public with camo on and feel like you probably share a few things in common with them? Outdoorsmen share a powerful bond nurtured by close calls, frozen extremities, adrenaline spikes and successful kills.
We also talked about the importance of being able to really talk with one another. How we should give people room to say the wrong thing and still be gracious enough to discuss what made it wrong. Political correctness has done much to separate us in that regard. Instead of having a conversation about perspectives, an interaction becomes a game of “Operation” where the parties are only trying to avoid setting off the buzzer, both knowing there’s probably no coming back for another try and never really getting why the red light came on in the first place. We have to be able to listen, forgive and seek to understand.
Our hunting family needs to grow. It can’t be artificially (even if unintentionally) reserved for those of us who had parents willing to take us out as kids. Imagine the influence we’ll have when people from dissimilar backgrounds unite on issues of conservation or land access or gun laws. As hunters, encouraging people from minority groups to participate and appreciate this heritage is the best way to ensure it exists for generations to come…which is something we all want.
Interested in learning more about Black Wolf Hunting Club? Follow them on Facebook and visit their website.
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