Raymond Yakeleya has been announced as the new consulting editor for Indigenous content at UpRoute, a branch of Durvile Publications.

Among his responsibilities will be acquiring and developing new titles for the publishing house and reviewing other UpRoute titles for Indigenous content and representation.

SA国际影视传媒淐anadaSA国际影视传媒檚 Indigenous people need to have a voice in mainstream media in order to tell our peoples' stories, our way,SA国际影视传媒� stated Yakeleya in the companySA国际影视传媒檚 announcement.

Yakelaya, an author and filmmaker originally from Tulita, published The Tree by the Woodpile: and Other Dene Spirit of Nature Tales this past spring with UpRoute, telling stories passed down from his grandmothers.

The book of three stories, written in English and Dene languages, include tales about how a tree provides sustenance and a home for the NorthSA国际影视传媒檚 living creatures

Before the announcement of his new job, Yakelaya told News/North he hopes to invest in community literacy and opportunities for young Indigenous writers, and find funding partners to build literacy initiatives.

Yakelaya and his publisher, Lorene Shyba, have established a prototype for a workshop in Tulita this fall, said Shyba.

SA国际影视传媒淩aymond has a lifelong passion for making sure the stories of his people are told,SA国际影视传媒� said Shyba.

The workshops will use video storytelling as a practice tool to teach children how to write and tell their own stories, and the stories of family.

SA国际影视传媒淭he meat and potatoes of literacy is knowing how to string words together to read and write,SA国际影视传媒� said Shyba.

Yakelaya wants to use his book to establish three scholarships through a partner matching program, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think itSA国际影视传媒檚 important for me anyway to be helpful. I think we want to be helpful and contribute to our young people so that they can if they want to be writers they can have assistance,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Two of the scholarships for students in Tulita would be in the names of his grandmothers, Elizabeth Yakelaya and Harriet Gladue, SA国际影视传媒渟o that we will never forget them and their time with our people and the things they tried to teach us, and they tried to teach us good things,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淭hey have both passed on but the book is about them. I dedicate it to my grandmothers. They were two very exceptional women,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Each of the stories incorporates NwetSA国际影视传媒檚ine, the Creator and the Spirit of Nature, said Yakelaya.

The stories are about a SA国际影视传媒渢ime gone by that we will never see again, a time of the dog teams when people used to hunt and trap on the land, would go into the hunting camps,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淚t was something special when I grew up, it was a quiet and romantic growing up. I think mail came once a month, we had one little store in there middle of the NWT on the Mackenzie River,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Yakelaya recalls a two-room schoolhouse in Tulita, chopping wood and retrieving water.

SA国际影视传媒淚t was good because it taught us a lot and the people that were teaching us were our parents, our grandparents, our relatives,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Writing about his grandmothers, who were both SA国际影视传媒渄eep thinkersSA国际影视传媒� was nostalgic and sentimental, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淲riting made me think of them and made me closer to them again, in the way that we were. It made me think about things I hadn't thought about in a long time,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淢y grandmother Elizabeth would be an extrovert whereas my granny Harriet, she would reveal things to me, had put deep thought into what she wanted to say. It made me think that granny Harriet was really sweet.SA国际影视传媒�

Every once in a while, granny Harriet would offer a long answer, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淚 was asking her God, how come we never see God?SA国际影视传媒� said Yakelaya.

Dene people are a spiritual people, and itSA国际影视传媒檚 important to have an indigenous-centric understanding of the creator, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淭hey're trying to impress upon is that the most important thing is to know the creator and to have a relationship with the creator. The creator is very mysterious, but through nature we see the work of the creator,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

The stories impart ideas of spirituality, the creator and responsibilities to look after the nature and animals that keep us alive, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淲e know if we need water, the water that we need to drink is coming from this earth. We need to be mindful of that and respectful of that and keep it as pollution free as we can,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

The SA国际影视传媒渉eart of Dene livingSA国际影视传媒� is to be mindful of existence and have stewardship principles and live good lives, said Yakelaya.

The legacy of Giant Mine is simple one example of poor stewardship, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淵ou look at Yellowknife, How much gold did they take out and how much arsenic did they leave behind? We pollute, pollute, pollute ... and one day weSA国际影视传媒檙e going to have to drink the water.SA国际影视传媒�

Teaching Dene lessons is important to ensure cultural relevance in schools, he said.

The Sahtu Educational Board is placing a large order so the books can be used in schools, said Yakelaya.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 important for native educators. Students need to know more about themselves, and more about their peoplesSA国际影视传媒� spiritual beliefs,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淲e're not white men and we never will be white men. I also think it's important that non-native kids learn Dene ways. There are a lot of good things that we can share,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒� with files from Tim Edwards