INUVIK
An Inuvik student's project about the Gwich'in land claim settlement has her in the running to win a national contest.
East Three Elementary Grade 6 student Julienne Chipesia is one of the 40 finalists in the 2013 Young Citizens: Expedition North contest put on by Canada's History magazine. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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Julienne Chipesia, a Grade 6 student at East Three Elementary School, is one of the top 40 contestants from across Canada who qualified for the 2013 Young Citizens: Expedition North contest put on by Canada's History magazine.
The contest is being held to celebrate the centennial of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, led by Vilhjalmur Stefansson from 1913 to 1916. Students were tasked with creating a video that explores a theme relating to the history of Canada's North, according to the contest summary. A panel of judges will select a winner from the 40 videos it selected. From May 13 to June 3, friends and family of the contestants can vote at Canada's History's "Find a Young Citizen" website, and those votes will be taken into consideration when the judges make their decision.
The prize the students are vying for is a trip to Ottawa for two in the fall, where their videos will be shown at the Canada's History Forum. Chipesia's video began with the East Three Heritage Fair last month.
"I did a project about the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement," she said. "The treaty is between the Canadian government and the aboriginal peoples just like me."
The treaty replaced Treaty 11, which was not as comprehensive, Chipesia said. She interviewed elders in the community about the treaty and their reaction.
"The important lesson I learned is that everything I know about the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement comes from the elders I interviewed and the two reference books used to research my project. Our elders pass down traditions and they keep our name as Gwich'in. They pass down our culture so we won't die. The land claim tells the aboriginal people and the Canadian government how to work together to create a better and more positive world for generations to come.
"It's (the agreement) 21 years old now. I got the idea from my mom, because I wanted to learn more about the land claim and what it means for me. I knew nothing about it before this.
"I was surprised to find out about the objectives and stuff that it has in it now. It gives us rights, and a strong voice, too, as Gwich'ins."
Chipesia said reaction to entering the contest has been good so far. She wants to let other people know about it, and encourage them to vote for her.
"We had to have a video of four minutes, and we had to do our editing ourself. Then we posted it online and drew up a profile. Then it's open for voting."
Chipesia said she has no idea of her chances of winning the contest.
"It's out of 40, but I think I did a good job on it for my first time," she said.
