Yukon Unwritten: A Documentary Novel

Season 1

An anthology documentary series covering the unwritten history of Northern Canada and Alaska, told in Fourteen Chapters.

Where to Watch Yukon Unwritten: A Documentary Novel • Season 1

15 Episodes

Prologue: 1896, Yukon Territory is Born
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Prologue: 1896, Yukon Territory is BornA humorous, candid look into the forming of the Yukon Territory at the climax of the Klondike Gold Rush.
Chapter One: Blue Fish Cave
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Chapter One: Blue Fish CaveNahHO Productions takes us on a journey to the first evidence of human prescence in North America. At Bluefish Caves -Sriijáanjik Ch'a'an - in Northern Yukon, Archaeologists and Palaeontologists use new technologies to open doors to the Mammoth Steppe- a cradle for all humanity in the Northern Hemisphere. A few thousand years ago; Yukon was at the crossroads of continents. This is the "Old" world; not the "New".
Chapter Two: 36,000 Years and One Month
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Chapter Two: 36,000 Years and One MonthOne month - and 36,000 years - old, NunChoGa was entombed in the frozen earth of the Yukon. This is the story of her finding, preservation, and the future of her traditional custodians.
Chapter Three: Nagwidilik
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Chapter Three: Nagwidilik"We've literally watched those prophesies come true over and over again. And one of the prophecies is that hard times are coming back..." Author Brandon Kyikavichik breaks down the philosophies and outlook of his people.
Chapter Four: Grizzly Consesus
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Chapter Four: Grizzly ConsesusThe Yukon River is a sacred place. If one was destitute, they would always be able to find food, shelter, and water. Everything was in perfect harmony, between man, flora, and fauna. But no longer. Phill Timpany, the world-renowned Bear Specialist, laments on the decline of the Yukon River, speaks about its history, and implores drastic change to save the salmon population, and through it, the river itself, and the communities that surround it.
Chapter Five: Saak-Hooligans and the Grease Trails
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Chapter Five: Saak-Hooligans and the Grease TrailsLong before Europeans; the "Grease Trails" trace historical trade between coast and interior peoples in the Pacific Northwest. A history of these people, and their impact on North America, and the continent as a whole.
Chapter Six: Dead Horse Trail
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Chapter Six: Dead Horse TrailMore than 5000 horses left their bones on these trails. We pay a visit to a horrifying and overlooked episode of the Klondike Gold Rush. Historians Ken Coates and Carl Guerke, along with Elders Joe Johnson and Alex Van Bibber present a realistic picture of the Klondike Gold Rush very different from the newspaper hype of the day. Hype that has been re-sold as history.
Chapter Seven: Sophia
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Chapter Seven: SophiaA boots-on-the-ground, razor-sharp recreation of the sinking of the SS Princess Sophia; a piece of unwritten northern history that's been forgotten for too long.
Chapter Eight: Fateful Passage
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Chapter Eight: Fateful PassageA heart-warming epilogue to the loss of the SS Princess Sophia.
Chapter Nine: Memory Trap
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Chapter Nine: Memory Trap"The herd that wouldn't disappear." The story of the 40 Mile Caribou Herd of North Yukon, its push to extinction, and its magnificent, unexpected return. The Herd fed First Nations in Alaska and Yukon for thousands of years. It saved 30,000 stampeders from starvation in the 1898 Klondike gold rush. In the 1920s Olaus Murie estimated it's population at half a million. By the 1970s, only about seven thousand were left.
Chapter Ten: Le Boutte de la Route (The End of the Road)
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Chapter Ten: Le Boutte de la Route (The End of the Road)A humorous, autobiographical story of a real "Ice Road Trucker" on the perilous Alaska Highway.
Chapter Eleven: Brave New North
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Chapter Eleven: Brave New NorthA deep-dive into the gold mining operations that ravished Northern Yukon for more than a century, and the colonial attitudes of "frontier" that came with them.
Chapter Twelve: Eyes on Yukon
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Chapter Twelve: Eyes on YukonIn 1980s Yukon, Northern Native Broadcasting is founded, and Filmmaker Tookie Mercredi helps train a new generation of Northern camera operators and filmmakers. "Me being the only First Nations in a network of 20,000 employees... I was the guy!" Gordon Loverin was another who embraced the world of visual storytelling. Their goal was to present Yukon to itself and to the world.
Chapter Thirteen: Two Parades - One Canada | 2023
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Chapter Thirteen: Two Parades - One Canada | 2023"People from all over; many languages, cultures and styles [feel] gifted to help celebrate their second home - Canada." - Jhovon Lorenzana Canada Day - 2023. The Filipino Association of the Yukon gives us a candid look at their culture, what drove them to immigrate, and what unites them as a people in "one Canada".
Chapter Fourteen: Two Parades - One Canada | 2024
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Chapter Fourteen: Two Parades - One Canada | 2024Pipe Major Pat Ross and veteran Bagpiper Gerry Piper talk the origins of the venerable Midnight Sun Pipe Band, the prevalence of Scottish Culture in the Yukon, and what unites them as a people under "One Canada".