SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - On Wednesday, March 3, Behchoko's Chief Jimmy Bruneau School held its first annual Heritage Fair.

Chelsea Migwi, a Grade 11 student at Chief Jimmy Bruneau School in Behchoko, poses with her heritage project. - Tessa Macintosh photo

Students from kindergarten to Grade 10 created projects that revolved around Tlicho culture including everything from traditional values and beliefs to modern ideas on nationalism.

"We try to do heritage fairs because it directly relates to what we (in the Tlicho region) are doing" said Tammy Steinwand, one of the key organizers of the event. "I'm really impressed with the projects today, and I just know over time they'll get better and better."

The students spent the last two months preparing the 58 projects that made up the fair, and the CJBS gymnasium was filled with the results of their hard work.

Students themselves were on hand to present their research and creativity to judges, elders, parents and other members of the community.

Shawn Gon, a Grade 11 student at the school, was one of the judges selected for the event. "I think most of it's fascinating," he said. "The youth are talking about Dene Games, the (Dene) law, the (Dene) constitution, handgames, the bush, and the (Tlicho) life and everything about it." He found judging the different projects to be no easy task.

Family members were equally impressed.

"I think it's great," Joyce Rabesca said of the fair. "This should definitely (happen) every year because things change."

Rabesca's grandson, Oliver Weyallon, presented a highly acclaimed project on the decline of the caribou in the Northwest Territories.

Winners in the Grade 4-5 category were Jamie Wetrade-Stevenson and Deidre Lafferty with their project on Tlicho artists.

"My uncle's an artist," said Wetrade-Stevenson when asked about the inspiration behind her project. In addition to her own personal experience, she and Lafferty also researched other famous Dene artists on the Internet.

In the Grade 6-7 category, Rhonda Apples, Shannon Dryneck, and Arianna Steinwand's project on traditional medicine was singled out by the judges. The largest group, grades 8-10, consisted of over 30 projects and was very difficult to judge. At the end of the day, Rodney Arrowmaker's presentation on the Tlicho community of Wekweeti (Snare Lake) came out on top.

Principal James Robinson was also proud of the students' work.

"It's absolutely wonderful," he said. "It was the opportunity for our kids in all the grades to work on projects that they're interested in and that they can relate to. To me the real special part is that we have kids, generally, who are shy and do not like to talk about what they're learning and they're thrilled to get up and talk about different topics."

The winners will all go on to compete in the Regional Heritage Fair on March 25. Students from five schools in the Tlicho region will be sent to CJBS to present their projects.