2019 Cohort

Stories North founder, chief experiential officer

Kanina is a journalist, photographer and an educator (associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University). She currently lives in Whitehorse where she is managing editor of Yukon North of Ordinary Magazine. Kanina has lived and worked in Europe, East and Central Africa and all over Canada as a writer and as a radio and television reporter and producer at both local and national levels in both public and private media networks. Kanina spent some of her formative years working in the Yukon with CBC North. She dreamed up Stories North as a way to get students out of a conventional classroom and to educate emerging journalists about Canada's North, Indigenous history and culture. Kanina started building this initiative in 2016 and has now seen through three summers of intense, rewarding and joy-filled experiential learning for a total of 42 journalism students. She sees Stories North as a direct response to Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its calls to action directed at transforming curricula at journalism schools as well as its calls to media storytellers to find better, more contextual, more accountable ways to produce coverage about and with Indigenous communities. Connect with her at info@storiesnorth.com.

Guest Instructor

Essayist and lifelong Alaskan Corinna Cook writes in Whitehorse, Yukon, where Fulbright Canada supports her current non-fiction lyric essay project on Yukon arts, ecologies, and ways of living with colonial history. Corinna’s previous essays appear in journals such as Flyway, Alaska Quarterly Review, and Ocean State Review, and she is the recipient of an Alaska Arts and Culture Foundation 2018 Literary Award. A former remote fisheries technician, sled dog handler, and sea kayak expeditioner, Corinna earned a PhD in English and creative writing from the University of Missouri, where she designed and taught English courses in literature, writing, and cinema. As a scholar, Corinna works with theory/history/craft of the essay, posthumanism, and contemporary Indigenous cultural productions: her article, “Listening the Lyric Essay” (New Writing: The International Journal for the Theory of Creative Writing) theorizes lyric essay narration, and her article “Documentation and Myth” (Assay: Journal of Nonfiction Studies) situates a Yukon-based film in the emerging field of animated documentary studies.

Guest instructor

Terra is a journalism enabler. She’s an assistant professor at the University of King’s College School of Journalism in Halifax, where she oversees the digital newsroom. She’s on the board of directors of the Canadian Association of Journalists and regularly advises journalists and communicators at large. She spent nearly 20 years in newsrooms around the country, starting with community newspapers in Alberta. She worked around the North, from Iqaluit to Whitehorse, in her five years with CBC Radio. She spent 10 years in Nova Scotia on the CBC online desk. She completed a master’s degree in entrepreneurial journalism before leaving the newsroom to teach full time.

Guest Videographer

Douglas is a Northern Tutchone from the White River First Nation of the Yukon. Douglas graduated from Capilano University in 2010. With his certification in Indigenous Independent Digital Filmmaking he uses his film expertise to preserve cultural knowledge, such as traditional stories and language teachings. Collaborating with White River First Nation, Northern Tutchone and Upper Tanana elders to create digital libraries, they are striving for language revitalization. Blending together modern technology such as virtual reality with language teachings from elders, the hope is to further engage the younger generation in keeping their language alive and relevant. His recent work at Adaka 2019 was teaching the youth how to create a visual story from an idea in their head, all the way through to an evening film premiere. The youth were taught how to storyboard, set up a scene, and film. The entire creative process was to build the confidence of the kids in expressing themselves through a visual medium not previously available to them. The night was a massive success and the pride in their art was felt by all who came and supported these youth. An avid lover of storytelling, Douglas uses his knowledge of filmmaking to give back to the communities he loves by preserving the stories and traditional knowledge held and shared by our elders. He collaborated with Stories North by travelling with us to Old Crow to work with community members on the film, Dear Old Crow.

As an avid writer, reader, and a lifelong ponderer, Meaghan is absolutely thrilled to be on this journey with her incredible peers and mentors. She is heading into her fourth year of undergrad at Carleton with a double major in journalism and human rights. She has a particular fondness for the audio medium, as sounds and voices can have immense power in storytelling. There is so much Meaghan has yet to learn. What better way to do it than being surrounded by the beauty of the people and the places in the North? Follow Meaghan’s adventures on her website.

Clare is going into her final year of her undergraduate studies at Carleton University, double majoring in journalism and humanities. She will take on the role as editor-in-chief of NORTH, the College of the Humanities' arts and literary journal. She is passionate about long-form writing, photography, and the great outdoors. Through Stories North, she was able to enhance her understanding of Canada's North, realize that creative non-fiction is a real and wonderful literary genre, find a closer relationship with the land and with a community, and most importantly navigate her role as both a journalist and a human being. Follow her personal blog and check out her photography.

KC is entering his fourth year of journalism and humanities at Carleton University, and has fallen hopelessly in love with the North during his short time in Yukon. He can usually be found cozying up with a book or screaming philosophical treatises and/or Carly Rae Jepsen lyrics at anyone within earshot. KC is particularly interested in the power of the written word, and how it can affect change. He hopes to carry the new perspectives he’s developed in Yukon with him for the rest of his journalistic journey, and is confident these perspectives will mould him into a more respectful, thoughtful storyteller. Connect with him on Twitter @kc_hoard for excellent article recommendations and impeccable pop music takes.

Meral will be starting her third year in Carleton University’s journalism program this fall. Born and raised in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but an Indian biryani lover at heart, this is Meral’s second year in Canada, and her first time in Canada’s North. Her decision to come to Canada and to the Yukon was the same as when she once convinced her parents to send her to Bali alone or skip school to get her nose pierced — spontaneous. Growing up with an avid reader of a father and a mother who’s a passionate educator, Meral decided to combine her love for storytelling and acquiring knowledge by pursuing journalism at Carleton. She’s especially passionate about writing and photography. When she’s not fretting over her assignment deadlines, Meral can be found reading books such as Michelle Obama: A Life by Peter Slevin and Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay. Follow her Instagram @meraljamall for wholesome doggo content and dispatches from the North of Ordinary.

Sarah is entering the fourth year of her journalism and law double major, with a minor in Greek and Roman studies. With a strong belief that every day is a small history in itself, she is excited to assist with storytelling and connect with people to determine how they fit into this vast world. She plans to take her love of learning and combine it with her experience from Stories North and the community of Old Crow to move forward with a heightened awareness in her reporting. For now, you can catch her trying to be anywhere but Ottawa when school is not in session and asking lots of questions. Connect with her on Instagram at @sarah_sibley to see her tiny role on this enormous planet.

Sarah will be entering her final year at Carleton University this September and will graduate with a double major in journalism and the humanities. Stories North is a program she has looked forward to since the first year of her undergraduate degree. Sarah has a strong passion for writing and the power of storytelling. Canada's North provided a multi-dimensional perspective on what it means to share a story. Sarah's time in the North has strengthened her capacity to handle her work with sensitivity, respect, and understanding. Sarah would especially like to thank the Vuntut Gwitchin for welcoming the Stories North team into their beautiful home. Her time with you has affected her deeply and she will carry you with her for the rest of her life. She hopes to return and visit soon. Mahsi' choo, Old Crow. You can find Sarah on Instagram @swilliscraft, or on Twitter @s_williscraft.