The Wildlife Management Advisory Council (North Slope) was established in 1988 under the 1984 Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) as a co-management body with a mandate to conserve and protect wildlife, habitat and traditional Inuvialuit use within the Yukon North Slope.

WMAC NS works closely with the community of Aklavik, the primary users of the North Slope.  The Council has a strong working relationship with the Aklavik Hunters and Trappers Committee and the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Working Group.

To facilitate their close collaboration with the Government of Yukon’s Department of Environment, WMAC NS’s offices are located in Whitehorse, which means in-person meetings in Aklavik are less common than the Council would like. In order to increase their presence in the community, the Council set aside budget for special projects in the community, including a radio show, a future leaders program, and this Digital Storytelling workshop. These projects are an opportunity to invest in the community and for Council to glean Aklavik perspectives on important topics, including the Porcupine Caribou Herd, food security, climate change and more.

WMAC NS was pleased to partner with the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Working Group to fund and deliver this workshop to Aklavik residents of all ages, with a focus on people’s relationships with caribou. 

Group photo after the Community Screening, January 16 2026

A Digital Story is a video project made by weaving photographs, voice, music and text together into a movie about a specific topic.

A chance to think about who we are, and what is important to us, when we become the storyteller, we shift from passive consumers of media, to active creators.

Instead of watching Youtube or Tiktok videos, we are the ones telling and sharing our stories.

Led by Jessie Curell of Hands On Media Education, this Intergenerational 5-Day workshop took place January 2026 at Moose Kerr School.

The workshop began with seeing examples from previous workshops and learning how these projects are made. Next, we were introduced to “Pre-Production”, which includes the project planning, Storyboarding, and photo collection. We also learned Photography Composition Tips and Tricks, getting outside to try our hand at Portrait , Landscape, Action, Selfies, Food and Macro Photography.

We then began “Production” where our voices were recorded using iPads, which was then followed by matching our words to photos that we took ourselves, or had permission to use.

And finally, we moved into “Post-Production” exploring music options for our projects: music we recorded ourselves, had permission to use provided by ICS, or found online from royalty-free & copyright-free websites. A title and credits were added to each project, and after a 1 hour Peer Review Screening, our projects were complete.

In total, 17 Digital Stories were completed, and 1 awesome group TikTok video.

The Workshop Series concluded with a Community Feast and Screening Friday January 16 2026, with many families and guests in attendance. Thank you to Cheryl for the delicious dinner, and to Jessi P for hosting.

You can learn more about the project by listening to the CBC North & Cabin Radio pieces about the project below.