Fort Good Hope (Jun 12/06) - In 1977, the National Film Board of Canada released a film called "Fort Good Hope," exploring the Berger Inquiry into the Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

The film focused on Sahtu First Nations' concerns with the project - namely the destruction of traditional lands.

The National Film Board's Dennis Allen works with Fort Good Hope resident Kenny Shae during an NFB workshop in the community. - photo courtesy of Karen Mercer

Last week, after nearly 30 years, the board has returned to follow up on the area and to give something back to the community.

Together with the K'asho Got'ine Cultural Institute, the NFB ran a series of workshops to teach the basics of camera operation and filming. "We wanted to continue to document the history here," Henry Tobac, chairperson of the centre said. The ultimate goal of the workshop was to give residents the skills to document life in Fort Good Hope on their own.

This includes documenting life on the land, promoting cultural awareness and, most importantly, recording elders for posterity.

As a test run, workshop participants interviewed elder Gabriel Kochon.

"It went well. He's used to getting interviewed," Tobac said. With these plans already in place, NFB producer Bonnie Thompson said she and her four-person crew only had to set the wheels in motion.

"We were just there as facilitators, doing whatever we could to help."

She said the most exciting part of the project was meeting with the outspoken residents who appeared in "Fort Good Hope" decades ago, many of whom still live in the area.

With the workshop complete, Tobac said there was a some urgency to the projects the institute wants to accomplish.

"There are 57 elders that we want to eventually record," he said.

"Some of our elders are passing. We want to get them as soon as we can."

With that in mind, Tobac said the institute is already shopping for cameras.

Thompson said this was the first workshop of its kind in the North, and one she was happy to be a part of.

"It gives people a voice," she said. "It helps them tell stories about their own community."

At this stage, Thompson doesn't know what will be done with footage she and her crew brought back with them, but she does hope it will see the light of day.

"Maybe it will interest a broadcaster," she said.