Tao Stocker, our youngest participant (age 17), created a sophisticated short piece with images that he found and then manipulated in photoshop. The piece is a surreal contemplation on change. Tao also created a magnificent soundtrack from scratch in Garageband.

We were very fortunate to be working with the Xaad Kihlgaa Hi Suu.u Society (Speak Haida Society) through Lucille Bell to help with the translations for the six films. With help from Northern Credit Savings Union, we were able to work with language experts for four days.  Elder Ts’inni Steven Brown meticulously translated and narrated all 6 pieces and even starred in two of the films! With the help of Lisa White, Jordon Seward and Primrose ‘Bipsy’ Adams, we were able to have simultaneous transcription take place for eventual Haida subtitles of the films.

Lisa White, Jordan Seward, Ts’inni Steven

Ts’inni Steven + Brandon Brown

For each film, the young filmmaker would sit with the language experts and help explain what he or she was trying to evoke. It proved to be a really great learning experience for the youth, and was a unique way in which they could be giving back to the community.  Two of the youth even spoke in their pieces -and I’m sure if there was more time they would have narrated their entire films. (Next time!)

Lisa, Ts’inni Steven and grandson, Curtis Brown

Ts’inni Steven and granddaughter, Kristy Bell

Bipsy helped with translation!

In October 2008, Lisa Jackson I made a preliminary visit to Old Masset to meet with youth to discuss story ideas and to talk about the “Our World” project.  Thanks to Nate Jolley who already does video workshops in Old Masset, we were able to access talented youth that were already well-versed in filmmaking processes.

Old Masset is located on the Northern tip of Haida Gwaii, home of the Haida First Nation. The language that will be used in their pieces is the Haida language. According to the Unesco Map of endangered languages, there are only 55 fluent speakers of Haida - I do not know about the accuracy of this, and how many speak the northern dialect and how many the southern. We were lucky enough to collaborate with the Haida Speak society up there who hooked us up with Chinni Steven Brown (a fluent Haida elder) and transcribers.

We had a very productive couple of days workshopping ideas with the youth for their 250 word stories.
Most of them had a clear idea of what they wanted to do by the end of day 1. On day two we wrapped up the writing and even had time to do an animation exercise in ‘pixilation’.

Each of the six youth involved were artistic, talented and had a great sense of filmmaking already. The participants are Kiefer Collison, Brandon Brown, Curtis Brown, Kristy Bell, Gwaliga Hart, and Tow Stocker. Because Nate is a resident of Masset, doing media workshops already, it meant that not only were we building on the youths’ skills, but he was also there to continue working with them after we left. We felt we were part of a continuum, which was great. 

Brandon who helped us organize the Old Crow trip, and who also created his own film, Caribou Fence, is also a really talented writer. He has given me permission to post some of his writing here -

The Taste Of Convenience

When I think about Old Crow one prevailing thought exists – convenience is bitter sweet. Things happen at a different speed here. It’s not because we’re slow, it’s a matter of convenience. If you’re a carpenter in Old Crow that’s short on supplies for instance, and the plane doesn’t land, you won’t have the necessary supplies to finish your work that day. If the river is low in the summer and fall you might not be able to get your firewood for the winter. Add that to the ever looming thought that a shadow will be cast over us in mid November and we will have to relearn how to survive in a cold, dark, vitamin D less winter. It’s a bit of a shock to the body after 24 hours of daylight all summer long. I know what you’re thinking, here comes nine months of despair and mood swings, and if you are, you’re partially right, but innovation is what keeps us from going more insane then we already are – it’s what makes this town fun.

We are constantly using our ingenuity to find new ways of doing things. We learn on the go, think on the go and sometimes we just plain want to go… leave, get out of town, but the plane still has to land first and you still have clear it up with your boss because even if you leave on a Friday your going to miss a couple days of work. We are almost always at a shortage of something. If it’s not vegetables it’s fruit, if it’s not fruit it’s bread. I remember when there was a shortage of butter and people were trying to make deals with the people who were smart enough to have some butter stored away.

Sometimes a person might have a sock for a door knob or a five gallon bucket for a chair, and to top it all off every tire has a hole in it and most houses didn’t come equipped with enough paint to finish the job. It’s not because we’re poor, it’s just that life is not that easy here, it isn’t now, nor has it ever been – a convenient little town.

The Vuntut Gwitchin have been using ingenuity to survive in this very harsh, very unforgiving but very beautiful environment for a very long time, and when I say very long time I mean up to 23,600 years long. We have always found a way. Whether we were building caribou surrounds and working together to survive hundreds of years ago, or simply using vice grips and pliers for a makeshift handlebar on our snow machines today, we always find a way to get the job done.

In a world where it seems like everyone wants the American dream, Old Crow appears to be a diamond in the rough, an unexposed gem so to speak. Some people say we need to let go, stop with the culture this and caribou that, “get over it” they say, “be progressive” they say. Well what’s not progressive about being unique and cultured? Why should we give up our ways just because everyone else is doing it?

In a globalized world full of pop cultured wannabe’s, we remain strong, we remain free, we remain pretentious, but humbled, primitive, but sophisticated, small, yet big enough to challenge the most powerful government in the world, the United States government - The government whose politicians use tax payer’s money so that they can wage war for the financial benefit of the companies that they as individuals invest in. An empire that’s filled these types of tyrants should have limitless power, shouldn’t it?

But a little nation in a galaxy far, far away refuses to succumb to this mighty, mammoth of destruction. Instead we embellish the adversity, and proved once again that we are not only innovative, but we’re also pretty clever little buggers. So at first taste convenience does seem sweet, but it will most certainly leave you with a sour taste that lingers on until you realize that you yearned for something different all along.

CHECK OUT HIS NEW BLOG HERE!  http://oldcrowassasinmouth.blogspot.com/

Supplies are short up in Old Crow, so our resourceful team made up some playdoh from scratch (flour, water, salt and cream of tartare)..

  Elder Joel Peter assists Brandon (First Voices Technician and Our World participant) narrate his piece in Gwich’in.

Brandon can write the language and Joel speaks. They’re a magical team.

Stanley Grafton Njooti and his son Dean record audio for their movie, “Craw Kraw Craw”
watch here:

Dean is saying “Vadzaih Choo Goonli” which means, There are many Caribou!

Elisa, our dear animation mentor for Our World has a wonderful blog entitled ArtyChee -

I could not resist posting this wonderful bit of magic that she drew & wrote.

Old Crow

I’ve just returned from a trip to Old Crow, though my mom likes to tell people that I was in the North Pole for a week.

I love going places and finding myself changed by it. This time, I was mentoring in an Our World workshop, and one of the participants was a very distinguished looking elder who told us idyllic stories about trapping and hunting - living off the clean and beautiful Yukon land. He showed us photographs of people trapping and stretching muskrat hides. I thought the photographs were gorgeous and I suddenly wanted to live that life oh so much. That night, I dreamt we were camping out in Old Crow Flats together, checking on the muskrat traps we set in the pushups. It was a quiet and peaceful little dream.

Days later, I went inside a building and found a moose leg lying on the floor by the doorway. It was severed just below the knee joint - a slim length of a brown, furry, and bloody, stub. I was barely able to stay long enough to snap a picture before I had to pull myself away from it. I guess I wasn’t as hardened as I thought I was.

Well, I’m still not disillusioned by the thought of living off the land. Maybe I can still go on camping trips, and sit with some soft, furry, willow buds in my hand while I feed on some tasty little berries.

Posted by elisa at 10:04 PM

Old Crow is 80 miles north of the Arctic Circle. We arrived there on Monday, after having to stop through Whitehorse, Dawson City, and Inuvik on our way up. Old Crow is a fly in community with a population of about 250-300.

Lisa Jackson and I had gone up in October to do an introductory session to meet youth, language experts and members of the community to talk about Our World, and to see how people might like to be involved in creating a short film. This time around, we went up with the full team.

Sadly, upon arrival, we heard that there had been a death of an elder, Charlie Peter Charlie senior, in the community.
So we felt bad about arriving at such a time, and also awkward about carrying forward with the project. Luckily, the community was very supportive, and we were able to follow through with our plan.

Brandon Kyikivachik, First Voices technician,

and filmmaker Mary Jane Moses,

who work with the Heritage Branch of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, helped coordinate the week,  they also assisted with translation and created their own films!

We also had the privilege of having Joel Peter,

a young elder who helped tremendously with narrating the Gwich’in language properly and translating from English to Gwich’in. He also created his own film!

Stanley Grafton Njootli Junior and his 3-year old son co-created an animation together,

and a team of young girls from the school (Mackenzie, Rhianna, and Milissa) made a pixelation animation. Mackenzie also did a stop-motion animation of numbers in Blackfoot (she had just recently moved to Old Crow and felt more comfortable speaking in Blackfoot than Gwich’in).

Lisa posted this on Citizenshift,
and i had to share it here;

Not to be all ‘end of the worldy’ but apparently the Northern Lights
come more and more infrequently and when they do it is with much less vim and vibrancy than before. Apparently this is indicative of environmental damage.
Up in Old Crow, Yukon, that is the word on the street.

I get so melancholy visiting remote communities since on the one hand I have this amazing opportunity to speak to folks that have a real relationship with the land and the animals and even get to experience these magical places…
and then on the other hand I having to process some pretty scary reports on how these environmental relationships are changing…and not for the good.

It then makes me think about my visit to FREE GEEK in Vancouver right before coming to Old Crow…(Free Geek recycles/refurbishes old computers as well as disposes of them ethically. Free Geek does a lot for my community in regards to computer education-check it out and get involved!)
I can’t help see the direct relationship between the unethical disposal of computers and this remote village 80 miles above the arctic circle…

Then my mind jumps to the poor Walmart Greeter, Jdimytai Damour,
killed on Black Friday (also ironically Buy Nothing Day) trampled to death by shoppers vying for cheap televisions and i-pods. Not just hurt, DEAD.
Recessions in the past had people vying for food…but today people are desperate for cheap disposable technology?

I mean, come on! What is the world coming to?

But then, this strong urge hits me, (as I sit in my Old Crow cabin on a laptop googling “northern lights“) to get the heck OUTSIDE and have a look.

So, I put on my second pair of wool socks and snow pants and boots and sweater and scarf and snow coat and gloves and toque and suddenly I feel in a rush…it’s 12:15 am as I stumble outside…

I wander only a few feet from my door and there it is for me!
Glowing green in the night, shifting, swirling…and I swear whispering…’It’s not too late’.

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