Stories from across time.
Community consultation | Scriptwriting | Production | Post-production
The West Coast Trail is a well-known multi-day hiking trek on Vancouver Island. The 75 kilometre trail is currently part of the Pacific Rim National Park and passes through the traditional territory of the Ditidaht nation.
The Ditidaht community and Parks Canada wanted to educate hikers about the history and culture of the lands they would be travelling through. Lobby collaborated with the Ditidaht nation to help tell their story from their perspective.
01. Understanding
The success of this project relied on understanding the perspective and desired message of the Ditidaht Nation. We worked with Dr. Chelsea Horton, whose deep connections to and knowledge of the community were instrumental in helping us gain this understanding.
Through meetings with elders, language holders and community members we were able to understand what cultural and natural elements were important to share in this film.
Chelsea compiled a detailed report and provided us with 800 pages of additional information including stories, history, mythology and data.
Learning by listening.
A change in perspective.
From the beginning, our goal was to create a film that made the viewer feel something rather than be informed. We wanted to enrich the experience of being in these traditional territories, and to inspire hikers to think about the people and culture whose lands they were walking through.
It was equally important that the story was being told in a way that honoured the voice, structure and narrative style of traditional Ditidaht stories.
We were faced with a complex problem.
As settlers, how could we make a film from an indigenous perspective? How could we even begin to understand the depth of a culture that’s over ten thousand years old?
The truth is, we couldn't. But we could collaborate with the community in a way that allowed us to use our skills and experience to bring their vision to life.
02. Un-writing a script
Many voices across time.
Instead of interviews, we decided to build a script from the rich oral history of the Ditidaht people. With permission from the community, we gathered creation stories and myths that had been passed down for generations. We wove these together with modern stories written by Ditidaht youth about their connection to their home.
Language is culture.
We were very lucky to work with Dorothy Edgar, one of the few remaining language holders in the community, who was able to translate the creation stories from English, back into Ditidaht. The parts were then read by her daughter Deborah, a Fluent Ditidaht speaker. This mother/daughter team were essential in bringing the power of these stories across time and into this project.
03. A community effort
A Ditidaht film.
This film would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the tremendous support of the Ditidaht community. The script was compiled from writing by Ditidaht people. It was voiced and acted by Ditidaht people. And Ditidaht people provided consulting, logistical and production support throughout the entire process. Everyone collaborated with us on every aspect of the project in the middle of a pandemic to make it happen.
04. The result.
Real Value.
The value of this kind of project can’t be measured with likes or link clicks. This was a story for and about a people and nation, and the only measure that mattered to us was how the Ditidaht people felt about the film.
We gathered feedback from each of the primary community members we had consulted with and the response was overwhelmingly positive. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding projects we have ever been a part of and we came away with a connection to a community and new friends. We would like to thank the Ditidaht nation and all of the amazing people we worked with in the community for helping to bring this project to life.
ƛeeko ƛeeko!