Yukoners Release 'As The Ice Melts' Videos

Friday, 22 January 2021 12:03

The two As the Ice Melts videos present stories and poetry on the theme of our changing environment by Yukon authors Ellen Bielawski and Joanna Lilley and Champagne and Aishihik First Nations storyteller Ron Chambers. Videos will be launched at a free online event at 6:30 pm on Thursday, January 28, 2021.

Two videos featuring Yukon word artists recorded by an all-Yukon crew on location in Kluane are to be launched at a free online event at 6:30 pm on Thursday, January 28, 2021.

The two As the Ice Melts videos present stories and poetry on the theme of our changing environment by Yukon authors Ellen Bielawski and Joanna Lilley and Champagne and Aishihik First Nations storyteller Ron Chambers.

The video locations are Łù'àn Män (Kluane Lake) and Àłsêxh (Alsek) Meadow in Kluane, Yukon, Canada. The titles are As the Ice Melts: Voices from Kluane at Łù'àn Män and As the Ice Melts: Voices from Kluane at Àłsêxh Meadow.

The project is funded by a Digital Originals microgrant, an initiative set up by the Canada Council for the Arts as a response to the pandemic to help creators share work online.

In the videos, Ellen Bielawski shares fiction and nonfiction written as a response to climate change and retreating glaciers; Joanna Lilley reads poems about extinct northern species from her 2020 poetry collection, Endlings; and Ron Chambers shares stories about the land and his cultural history inspired by the two locations.

Bielawski had the idea for the As the Ice Melts project after she was inspired by two voices. “One is that of Joanna Lilley, with her remarkable Endlings poems. I wanted to hear her read them in places where extinction threatens,” Bielawski said. “The second voice is that of Champagne and Aishihik Chief Steve Smith on whose traditional lands I now live.”

Bielawski described hearing the Chief speak about the fish weir at Klukshu Village. “Chief Smith has said there used to be so many salmon that they could hear them coming. Salmon still spawn there but because of environmental changes their numbers are much reduced.”

Chambers said: “I'm pleased that the traditional name ‘kluane’ continues to exist and that it is the name of a world-class national park.” Kluane is also a name for people in Chambers’ family.

Lilley said: “I’m incredibly grateful to the Canada Council of the Arts and their Digital Original fund which enabled Ellen’s wonderful idea to become a reality, particularly at this time when opportunities to share our work and connect with audiences and creators are so diminished by the pandemic. I’m also deeply grateful to the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, the Kluane First Nation and White River First Nation on whose Traditional Territories we were fortunate enough to record the videos. You can see from the videos how special these places are.”

Yukon filmmaker Marten Berkman also recorded the two events and is using the footage for a Virtual Reality project.

Held in September 2020 to Covid-safe standards, the two Kluane events were produced by Patti Flather and complemented by a third event at the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse called Airings and Endlings and featuring readings by Bielawski and Lilley.

The As the Ice Melts videos will be launched at a watch party on Facebook at 6:30 pm on Thursday, January 28, 2021. Visit Friends of Yukon Words on Facebook for details: https://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsofyukonwords

More from CHON-FM Northern News

Daughter demands answers after second family member dies at 405 Alexander

Bailey's biological father also died at the shelter in 2021, and she claims that the shelter's staff provided conflicting accounts of the circumstances surrounding the death of her stepfather.
Yukon Risks Blackouts This Winter as Hydro Power Plant Undergoes Repairs

The Aishihik turbine was critically damaged in October, and repair work is not expected to be completed until spring.
YUKON'S SPEAKER DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM HIS OWN LIBERAL GOVERNMENT ABOUT POLITICAL INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTIONS YUKON AND TWO OTHER OVERSIGHT BODIES

Following complaints, Speaker Jeremy Harper writes to Sandy Silver to ask why the government is interfering with Elections Yukon, Yukon Child and Youth Advocate Office, and the office of the Yukon Ombudsman
Liard First Nation chief has lost confidence, been suspended by his community

LFN citizens who attended a public meeting Tuesday in Watson Lake overwhelmingly sided with the Deputy Chief and Council members who drafted a resolution to have Chief Stephen Charlie suspended from his duties
Liard First Nation Employees Fired After Advocating for Change

Emeral Poppe and Diana Lee Jimmy have been vocal advocates for change within Liard First Nation, raising concerns over transparency.
YFNED kicks off fifth-annual winter hamper program

"We try to support local as much as we can." - YFNED Acting Director of First Nation Initiatives Kim Rumley
Broken generator at Aishihik Generating Station puts pressure on the Yukon's electricity grid

The 12-megawatt generator failed due to a part malfunction, according to the Yukon Energy Corporation
Intergovernmental Forum takes place in Ottawa - not Yukon - for second year running

Forum discussed collaborative approaches to funding the implementation of Final and Self-Government Agreements.
Suspected contamination at the abandoned Wolverine Mine: Yukon government

The Yukon government has been addressing water treatment issues at the site since the mine's abandonment in 2015
Food For Fines Campaign Returns to Whitehors

Eligible tickets include: Expired parking meter fines, and Two-hour zone fines.
Yukon First Nations leadership and Yukon government leadership meet for 30th Yukon Forum

This was the third Yukon Forum of 2024. The last will be the Intergovernmental Forum in Ottawa in December.
Shot in the Dark Productions premiered two films at the Yukon Arts Centre

Shot in the Dark Productions believes puppets can captivate both children and adults, conveying important environmental science themes through entertainment.
Former Connective staff acquitted of sexual assault and exploitation charges

Judge Gurmail Gill found Omale not guilty due to inconsistencies in the complainant's testimony and lack of forensic evidence.
Whitehorse RCMP officers to start using body-worn cameras

The Yukon RCMP adopts body-worn cameras to bolster trust, accountability, and transparency in its community services
Whitehorse Community Thrift Store volunteers stop work following store manager's termination by its board of directors.

Thrift store society founder Karen Weinberg says the manager was fired for raising safety concerns.
Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin, Yukon NDP blast Yukon government for delays in Dawson Regional Land Use Plan

“Every day this plan doesn’t get done is another day of status quo for the mining industry. It’s starting to feel like this is by design.” - Yukon NDP Leader Kate White
Newly elected Whitehorse Mayor and Council sworn into office

Mayor Kirk Cameron and Councillors Anne Middler, Dan Boyd, Lenore Morris, Eileen Melynchuk, Jenny Hamilton, and Paolo Gallina have taken their oaths of office.
2024 Yukon River fall chum salmon run records dismal numbers

The Porcupine River revealed alarmingly low numbers, with 16,275 and 8,368 fish recorded
Trial of Former Connective residential support worker accused of sexually assaulting a vulnerable client commenced in Whitehorse territorial court on Monday.

Omale, 38 has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a person with a disability stemming from September 2023.
Whitehorse residents join Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition's Actions for Accountability Rally

Dozens of people marked Poverty and Homelessness Accountability week with a walk to the Jim Smith building, where the mother of a homeless man spent the night camping in the parking lot.