Northwords

A gripping tale that combines fictional characters with real historical events of a time when the housing system dispossessed Indigenous Peoples across the north.

After a hunting trip one fall, a family in the far reaches of so-called Canada’s north return to nothing but an empty space where their home once stood. Finding themselves suddenly homeless, they have no choice but to assimilate into settler-colonial society in a mining town that has encroached on their freedom.

How Raven Turned Black tells the story of how the animals were first given their colours. Raven tries to reserve the most beautiful colours for himself, until the other birds find out and hatch a plan.

Doherty said she first heard a longer version of the tale, told by Charles Neyelle of Délı̨nę. She decided to adapt just the first part of the story, and also to use it as a way to teach some words for different colours and plants.