The documentary "Dene Students Paddle Canada's Longest River" brings insight into the culture of the Indigenous People, using the Dehcho River as the main symbol of heritage for the Dene. It is a very intriguing documentary that shows the journey of Dene students across this historic river, portraying cultural customs and a strong attachment between the land and its people. Through the mixing of past and present experiences, mainly regarding the river, the importance of the Dehcho River is displayed across generations. The past was shown through elderly perspectives, historical contexts, and reenactments, while the present is represented by the current involvement of students with their land, and the future by their aspirations for cultural …show more content…
One example is the depiction of Bear Rock, a site that was very significant ancestrally. This place was captured in the documentary, creating a visual connection to both historical and modern-day students' experiences, as highlighted by the quote, "Bear Rock is a really significant place to Dene people. It made Dene stories come alive for me" (5:33-6:07). The editing weaves in historical contexts of events, such as the impacts of residential schools, within the narrative, as evidenced by the quote, "Through residential school and colonization, that was taken away from the Dene people" (5:42–5:56). This technique in editing, by adding in interviews where necessary, explains how the wrongdoings of history have been the building blocks of the present cultural scene. Furthermore, interviews with elders underline the reality about learning from history, which is summarized by the quote: "It's really vital to learn from the people... about the history of the Northwest Territories." 13:03 - 13:36 p.m. All of these elements give an idea of how the documentary has drawn the past into the present, both visually and