Gods Lake Narrows

{{About||the interactive visual essay|God's Lake Narrows (film)}}

{{Location map|Manitoba|relief=yes|lat=54.5547|long=-94.4763|width=250|caption=Location of God's Lake Narrows in Manitoba|label=God's Lake Narrows}}

God's Lake Narrows is a community located in northeastern Manitoba in Canada. The community is located on the shores of Gods Lake, which is the seventh largest lake in the province. God's Lake has a maximum depth of 75 metres.

Located 550 km northeast of Winnipeg, the community is accessible by air, boat,{{cite news|title=Winnipeg artist Kevin Lee Burton shares surprising glimpse of his hometown|url=http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/scene/other/2011/06/25/winnipeg-artist-kevin-lee-burton-shares-surprising-glimpse-into-his-hometown/|access-date=January 12, 2012|newspaper=CBC Manitoba|date=June 25, 2011}} and by [https://www.gov.mb.ca/mit/winter/index.html winter roads].(see map{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.mb.ca/mit/winter/2018maps/map2.pdf|title=Winter Roads in Manitoba|date=March 20, 2019|access-date=March 20, 2019}})

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Gods Lake Narrows had a population of 141 living in 57 of its 69 total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:141-89}}|89|1}} from its 2016 population of 89. With a land area of {{cvt|1.62|km2}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|141|1.62|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=9810001201 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=February 9, 2022 | accessdate=Sep 3, 2022}}

Website

The community is the subject of an interactive documentary, God's Lake Narrows, by artist and filmmaker Kevin Lee Burton, who was born in the community, co-created by NFB producer Alicia Smith. God's Lake Narrows utilizes photos of the community by Scott Benesiinaabandan, a Manitoba-based Anishinabe artist. Benesiinaabandan's photos had originally been displayed in a Winnipeg gallery. Christine Fellows did sound design for the project, which was produced in Winnipeg by the National Film Board of Canada.{{cite news|last=Macdonald|first=Kerri|title=An Interactive Project With No Reservations|url=http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/11/an-interactive-project-with-no-reservations/|access-date=January 12, 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=January 11, 2012}} The website consists of 26 slides which alternate between photographs and text. Viewers can navigate the website by clicking on arrows embedded on each page. In May 2012, God's Lake Narrows received the Webby Award for best use of photography. It was also nominated for individual episode in the online film and video category.{{cite web | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/webby-awards-honour-nfb-girls-say-video-1.1163505 | title=Webby awards honour NFB, girls say video | work=CBC News | date=May 1, 2012 | access-date=May 12, 2012}}

The website project grew out of Burton and Caroline Monnet's installation piece RESERVE(d) which was shown in Winnipeg at the Shaman Urban Gallery in 2010.{{Cite journal|last=Gaertner|first=David|date=2016-04-15|title=Indigenous in Cyberspace: CyberPowWow, God's Lake Narrows, and the Contours of Online Indigenous Territory|journal=American Indian Culture and Research Journal|language=EN|volume=39|issue=4|pages=55–78|doi=10.17953/aicrj.39.4.gaertner|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4z93m5w3 }} The installation included sound, film, photography, and archival images of Burton's grandmother. It was designed to create an intimate community that mirrored a "reserve reality." Alicia Smith, a producer at the National Film Board, was one of the guests invited to the installation at the gallery. She worked together with Burton to write and create the online version after her experience.

The website builds Indigenous guest protocol into its structure. It follows the principle of hospitality, the Cree miyo-wîcêhtowin, "the principle of getting along well with others, good relations, expanding the circle," and hospitality, "the act or practice of being hospitable; the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, with liberality and goodwill".{{Cite book|title=Treaty Elders of Saskatchewan: Our Dream is That Our Peoples Will Be Clearly Recognized as Nations|last=Cardinal|first=Harold|publisher=University of Calgary Press|year=2000|isbn=9781552380437|location=Calgary|pages=[https://archive.org/details/treatyeldersofsa0000card/page/14 14]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/treatyeldersofsa0000card/page/14}} The God's Lake Narrows website begins by allowing viewers to see the exterior of the homes; it then invites them inside. However, before viewers are allowed inside of the homes and lives of these Indigenous families, they must learn about their community.

References

External links

[http://godslake.nfb.ca/#/godslake God’s Lake Narrows] at the National Film Board of Canada
Welcome to God's Lake Narrows [http://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2011/07/12/welcome-to-gods-lake-narrows/]
Screen Sovereignty: Understanding God's Lake Narrows as an Indigenous-Controlled Space [https://blogs.ubc.ca/blogbyolivia/2016/10/31/screen-sovereignty-understanding-gods-lake-narrows-as-an-indigenous-controlled-space/]

Category:Designated places in Manitoba

Category:Northern communities in Manitoba

Category:Unincorporated communities in Northern Region, Manitoba