Up the Dempster Highway for a Very Special Workshop Series Under the Midnight Sun

Following the success of our Digital Storytelling Workshop Series this past February with youth and elders in Dawson City, I was invited by Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in Education to join their Culture Camp out at Cache Creek on the territory of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in this past week.

The schedule was packed with incredible opportunities for youth and elders to learn from each other, eat traditional foods, hike Vista Ridge and Angel Comb, visit ancestral sites Blackstone City & Seela Pass (by helicopter!!!), learn bush skills, archery, how to cut caribou for dry meat, and how to made a Digital Story about their experience out at camp.

The camp was held out at Cache Creek, an important place for TH events and gatherings 131 kms up the Dempster Highway, or about 2 hours from Dawson City, Yukon. The setting is off-the-grid and without cell or internet service, which made for a great workshop experience. — turns out that when you don’t have access to the internet for a digital project like this, you need to get creative! Without the distraction of phones or notifications either, we were also really able to connect with each other & the land around us.

We had enough iPads for everyone to have their own for the week, and we used generators to charge them each night. Cabins made for sound booths, all the fun events & workshops made for great photo & video opportunities, and we certainly made use of many pairs of headphones to help with concentration.

A total of ten Digital Stories were completed by youth and elders for our Group Screening on the last night of camp: stories about their experience out at camp, interviewing elders & other students about what they valued most about on-the-land activities such as this, how life has gone so far, and even a sweet homage to special cat named Beans.

Thank you Ashley, the amazing TH Education Team, and everyone I got to work with on this incredible project.

This fall we will be expanding our Intergenerational Digital Storytelling Series to more communities across Turtle Island. If you are interested in learning more about how we can facilitate an experience such as this in your community, school, camp or youth centre, please send us a message and I would be happy to speak with you about how we can work together.