In 2018, 12 Dene men and women set out to recreate a journey their ancestors went through more than a hundred years ago. The group would build a mooseskin boat and paddle the mighty Nahanni River in the Deh Cho region of the Northwest Territories.
A film crew led by director Geoff Bowie captured the journey and turned it into a documentary film called Nahanni: River of Forgiveness. The film was more than a decade in the making with former Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian proposing the idea in 2005.
Lory Ann Bertrand was one of the youngest participants on the 500-kilometre adventure. She had the opportunity to learn “real bush skills” from Elders, despite a few hiccups along the way.
Nahanni: River of Forgiveness is having its Canada-wide premiere this Sunday, August 9, 2020 at 7 p.m. Mountain Time on the Documentary Channel.
Francis was a reporter with CKLB from January 2019 to March 2023. In his time with CKLB, he had the immense pleasure and honour of learning about northern Indigenous cultures.
