The Tree by the Woodpile ― And Other Dene Spirit of Nature Tales

“With the passing of many of our Elders, the telling of these stories becomes more valuable than ever.” — Raymond YakeleyaThe Tree by the Woodpile is a story about a First Nations boy who is told an enchanting tale by his grandmother about how an old tree by the woodpile provides food and shelter for the birds and animals of the North. The story is suffused with Newet'sine, the Creator and Spirit of Nature, who brings a message of how we must to cherish our land. The Tree is written in English and Dene for middle-grade children, ages 7 to 12. Other stories in the book are “The Wolf,” and “The Mountain, the Wind, and the Wildflowers.”

Raymond Yakeleya BiographyRaymond Yakeleya is an award winning Dene television Producer, Director and Writer. Raymond is originally from Tulit'a (formally Fort Norman) in the central Northwest Territories and he now calls Edmonton home.Raymond has over 30 year experience in the television industry. The documentary films he has made have been selected for showing at festivals around the world including the John Grierson Film Festival, the Robert Faherty Festival and the Margaret Mead Film Festival, as well as the Museum of the American Indian in New York and the British Museum of Mankind in London. He has won national and international awards for his work. Raymond received his photography and advanced television production at the Banff School of Fine Arts and attended the University of Southern California summer cinema program in Hollywood, Los Angeles.In 1979, Raymond produced, for CBC, the first award winning documentary titled We Remember, and in 1981 produced and directed The Last Mooseskin Boat, also an award winner, for the National Film Board. Since 1998, Raymond has produced five national television series and is currently in production of another.Raymond has always believed that Canada's Native people need to have a voice in mainstream media in order to tell our People's stories, our way. With the passing of many of our Elders, the telling of these stories has become more important.Raymond is a guest presenter at NorthWord NWT 2018 festival in Yellowknife.