Western Magazine Awards Foundation The Magazine School TMS

Western Magazine Awards Foundation The Magazine School TMS 2012 Bringing outstanding writing, design and photography to the classroom westernmagazineawards. ca

Western Magazine Awards Foundation An annual awards program recognizing excellence in Western Canadian editorial work and design. The Magazine School TMS 2012 is a project of the Western Magazine Awards Foundation. It provides classroom material to instructors and professors.

Gold Award Best Article Saskatchewan Sponsored by Saskatchewan Ministry of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Finalists: The Crow, Alana Bergstrom, “A Desperate Measure” The Crow, Kent Morrison, “The La Loche Project” Westworld Saskatchewan, D. Grant Black, “Prairie Eggs Over Easy” Westworld Saskatchewan, Byron Jenkins, “Sweet Dreams Aren't Made of This” Westworld Saskatchewan, John Campbell, “The River Kings”

The Winning Entry is: The Crow Kent Morrison “The La Loche Project”

About The Crow Publisher: University of Regina School of Journalism Circulation: 2, 000 -3, 000 Published once a year Free distribution

Meet the author: Kent Morrison 2010 graduate of University of Regina School of Journalism Works at CBC Saskatchewan as a broadcast journalist Producer and photographer of Denendeh, a short documentary about Lac La Loche, Saskatchewan Click here for author's website

Meet the editor: Patricia Elliott Assistant Professor at the University of Regina Supervising professor and editor-in-chief of The Crow Research subjects: impact of community radio, exiled Burmese journalists Click here for editor's website

Article theme A group of journalists faces challenges while shooting a documentary in an aboriginal community. “The group lost support of the chief, and its main source was harassed by neighbours. ” – Kent Morrison

Article origins Assignment for University of Regina School of Journalism's senior magazine writing class. The author had a friend in the RCMP at Lac La Loche who suggested it would make an interesting story. The documentary examines effects of colonialism on the people of La Loche. Article “The La Loche Project” explains film crew's motives and experience.

Logistics Producer Morrison and his crew filmed in La Loche during the February winter break. 30 hours of footage were filmed for the 23 -minute documentary. Morrison pitched the magazine idea before heading to La Loche, saying he would have extra information.

About La Loche Located near Alberta-Saskatchewan border east of Lac La Loche, north of the Clearwater River Dene Nation. 2011 population: 2, 611

About La Loche was a Hudson’s Bay Company fur trading post from 1819 to 1821. 87% of residents speak Dene as their mother tongue. Most rely on social welfare.

The pitch Editor Patricia Elliott liked it. "It was something he had a personal connection to and I could tell there was going to be a real dynamic there. ” – Patricia Elliott

Editing the story Introspective parts of the piece – things Morrison saw, heard and felt – were written first in the days after heading home from La Loche. “[It] turned out to be way longer than we were allotted. “ the words – Kent Morrison

Editing the story The editor asked for the precise location, statistics, the history of the town and why that history may have contributed to the film crews' experience with the people of La Loche. The first draft was "very engaging, but that's when you start filling in all the information holes, right? " – Patricia Elliott

Editing the story "He wrote in a very honest way that most journalists won't. Most journalists will come away with that story without admitting what it's really like, without admitting those feelings of discomfort and guilt that you're part of the oppressor. ” – Patricia Elliott

Central Character: Larry Montgrand

Larry Montgrand Age 50 at time of filming Unemployed Grew up in La Loche Says he was hit by a teacher and dropped out of school

Morrison on Montgrand "To me, he represented the most of what was going on in La Loche. He reflected what I was trying to say. The [outsiders] came into this place and set up what they thought people should act like and be like and a lot of people from there didn't fit into that and they, all of a sudden, were the bad guys. And to me, that was Larry. " – Kent Morrison

Recognition for Denendeh documentary National Student Film Festival 2010 in Regina 2010 Best Small Budget Documentary at Human Rights Docfest in Toronto Aired on CBC Saskatchewan Click here to watch Denendeh: Part 1 and Part 2

The magazine article followed. . . Published spring 2011 Photography: Karin Yeske

Story Components

Headline and Deck

[Headline] The La Loche Project [Deck] Our film crew wanted to be part of the solution. But for many La Loche residents, we were part of the problem

Lead

Lead “ ‘It’s cold out here, eh? ’ From his spot perched on the snowy back step of his cousin’s porch, Larry Montgrand pulls the collar of his faded, army green jacket closer to his chin. ”

Setting the Scene

Setting the scene is part of the magazine course “Class exercises in scene pieces and character pieces often become the openings for students' stories as the exercises give them that springboard. ” – Patricia Elliott

Nut Graf or Theme Statement

Nut graf “At the story’s core was the idea that problems in Canadian aboriginal communities are rooted in the way white people injected themselves into the communities and imposed their will. The process began nearly four hundred years ago during the fur trade and continues today, as white officials once again inject themselves into northern communities to fix the problems that their people caused. Of course, what complicated things even further is the fact that we, an all-white film crew, would have to inject ourselves into La Loche to tell the story. ”

Descriptive Passages

Descriptive passages “His black hair is pulled back in a ponytail, streaked with long strands of grey. He rests his hands on worn pants caked with dust and mud. The leathery skin on his hands is rough and cracked and his fingernails are stained yellow. When he talks his tongue seems to get caught in the gaping hole where his front teeth used to be. ” – Kent Morrison describing Larry Montgrand

Use of Numbers

Numbers: Describing La Loche “The struggle for employment continues today. Out of the 2, 348 residents only 550 are in the labour force and only 405 have jobs. That leaves two-thirds of the community incapable or unwilling to be employed. Today 40. 6 per cent of the community’s total incomes from government transfers. That’s twenty-eight per cent higher than the average for the rest of the province. ”

Writer’s Voice

Writer’s voice “When I met her she didn’t shake my hand when I offered it. I felt her dark eyes in the pit of my stomach. She explained how she felt I had betrayed her trust and that we had invaded her community without proper clearance from the town council. I knew I didn’t need her permission, but seeing someone that upset because of my actions was something I found very hard to deal with. The film’s intent was to educate people about the exploited people of the north. Now I felt like the exploiter. ” – Kent Morrison on rejection by the band chief

Use of First Person

Use of first person “ ‘That’s why we are here, to tell your story, ’ I say with a smile. He doesn’t know that I need him much more than he needs me. As we got closer to La Loche we decided to get our handheld camera to record a bit of the journey. Looking back at the footage now, it captures exactly how I felt as we rolled into the village. Dark grey clouds cast a bleak shadow across the entire village as we crept along the main street, La Loche Avenue. ”

Use of first person “Just as it has done his whole life, white presence in the community was making life harder for Larry. The human inside me said to leave Larry alone, let him go on his way and not cause him any trouble. But the filmmaker in me knew our documentary depended on getting shots of him in his environment. I convinced him to let me film him as he walked home. Then I asked if I could come to his trailer. I’m still not sure if it was worth it. ”

Use of Quotes

Use of quotes “I need a character who has grown up in La Loche, lives a tough life and can tell me about it. ” – Kent Morrison to his friend Tanner “If he’s sober he’ll be great. ” – Tanner “Why are you like this? ” – Kent Morrison to Larry Montgrand

Use of quotes “Is Larry here? ” “No. ” “Do you know where he is? ” “No. ” “Do you know when he’ll be back? ” “No. ” “Will he be around in the next day or so? ” “I don’t know. ” – Kent Morrison looking for Larry Montgrand “Do you think that finger was for me? ” I asked him. “No, that’s probably for me, ” he replied. – Kent Morrison speaking with Larry Montgrand

Character Sketch

Character sketch “Larry doesn’t have a job or formal education but he understands the relationship between First Nations and white people better than anyone I’ve met, both at home and in La Loche. Why? Because he has lived it for fifty years. He’d been a good student until the teacher hit him, he told me. Since then he has struggled to survive in the village where he says he ‘belongs. ’ When he was younger he slipped into a life of crime, spending a good part of his youth behind bars. Now he struggles to make money. He sets traps out in the bush to catch food. His tiny shack barely provides enough heat to stay alive in the winter. It’s a story similar to many people living in La Loche and across Canada, robbed of their natural way of life and forced to assimilate to a completely foreign system. ”

Ending

Ending “ ‘Listen, Larry, if you ever need anything just let me know, ’ I said. ‘What do you mean? ’ It was an empty offer. Both he and I knew it. Soon I would be gone and Larry would be back to the life he had just described to me. ‘I don’t know, I just want you to know if you need help, you can let me know, ’ I said. There was a long pause; Larry studied me one last time. I can only imagine how ignorant I looked and sounded. ‘I don’t think there is anything you can do to help me, ’ he said. ”

Ending "When I ended it that way, I said 'That's where I think things are with La Loche. ' The documentary certainly isn't going to solve any problems. " – Kent Morrison

Credits The Magazine School is a project of the Western Magazine Awards Foundation, which acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage toward project costs. The Magazine School 2012 content was prepared with the skilful assistance of Janice Paskey and MRU students Shane Flug and Jennifer Friesen with the generous cooperation of the winners of the 2012 Western Magazine Awards. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) of the Department of Canadian Heritage towards our project costs.