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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
An interactive website featuring material created by Deh Cho students has been launched.

Fibbie Tatti, left, Peter Gorrie, former premier of the NWT Steve Kakfwi and Michael Jackson speak at the launch of the Berger Inquiry Exhibit and website at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife on May 9. The panel members spoke about their experiences of being part of the Berger Inquiry. - Miranda Scotland/NNSL photo

The website called River Journey looks at the Berger Inquiry during two different time periods. The first is through the first-person experiences of Michael Jackson, Thomas Berger's special council, as he describes the trip he took to eight communities in the region in 1976 to tell people about the coming inquiry hearings.

The second journey happened last year as Jackson, Drew Ann Wake, who covered the inquiry as a young CBC reporter, and photographer Linda MacCannell, travelled to the same communities. The trio worked with students to explore if the values that mattered to their grandparents during the inquiry still matter to them. The work that the students produced, including videos and photographs, is included in the website.

"As far as I know, at the moment, there's nothing quite like it," said Wake.

Wake said River Journey is the first website to have a first-person interpretation of the inquiry.

The website was launched on May 9, the 35th anniversary of the publication of Berger's report, at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife.

The launch also celebrated the start of a one-week showing of Inquiry, an exhibit of current and historical photographs of people who participated in the inquiry and a second website.

The second website, which the centre is hosting, features archival material from the inquiry including photos, audiotapes and newspaper clippings.

Approximately 90 people attended the launch ceremony at the centre.

"It felt really wonderful to have a lot of people who had experienced the inquiry to be in the room," Wake said.

Among the people present, were members of the Dehcho Divisional Education Council. The council partnered with Wake to support the creation of the website and related project.

Watching the launch, it was exciting to know the council had made a decision to be part of this project, said Terry Jaffray, the council's superintendent.

"(There was) a real sense of pride in a job well done," she said.

The project was a natural fit with the school district's strategic, which include that students' plan language and culture be present in the schools in a meaningful way, said Jaffray. As they created material for the website by interviewing elders who had been part of the inquiry, the students were also creating important intergenerational relationships, Jaffray said.

The project also furthered the council's goal of academic excellence by engaging students and introducing them to career possibilities, such as journalism, she said.

The website is valuable because it displays the students' success and allows their families to see it too, said Jaffray.

The website also provides resources for the students related to their language and culture.

"This gives them a personal connection they can get to in a modern-day format," she said.

The website is a practical resource for teachers and also includes lesson plans that can be adapted to other historical topics, said Jaffray.

Although school boards in the territory are allowed to develop local curriculum, it doesn't happen a lot. This project shows just how important it is, she said.

"People want to have their own history and who better to write it than the people themselves," said Jaffray.

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