Inside the world of the gleaners | The Woodsman Hut | Forums

mountainedic, is there that many dead bison laying around?

With their long beards, plaid shirts and timeless surroundings, they could be part of a folksy fashion shoot for a hip magazine. If it weren't for all the blood.

These are what photographer Matt Hamon calls "the gleaners" -- a group of people living partially "off-grid" in rural Montana, sustaining themselves at least part-time by scavenging meat from bison carcasses left by hunters.

Hamon, a hunter himself, was scouring the Internet for butchery tips when he came across a member of the group discussing primitive skills and practices.
Intrigued by their tough lifestyle, he sought them out in the dead of winter, when they join the annual buffalohunt on the edge of Yellowstone National Park to harvest animal parts left by Native American hunters.

At first, he said, they were reluctant to be photographed, as most have left behind urban lifestyles to pursue a more natural existence.

"They were somewhat skeptical, I have to say, and guarded," Hamon said.

Fueling that skepticism was the fact that Hamon's arrival came on the heels of numerous television producers hoping to document their curious way of living.

more http://www.krtv.com/.....d-butchers