About the Innovation

In the Yukon, storytelling has emerged, once again, as a powerful voice of the people. Louise Profeit-Leblanc co-founded the Yukon International Storytelling Festival, which premiered over the first weekend of June in 1987.

The idea for a storytelling festival was first suggested by Agnes Sydney. In 1986, Agnes had gone to a storytelling festival in Toronto and afterwards suggested that the Yukon have one as well. Louise, who was working at the Yukon Arts Council at the time, believed that the idea of a storytelling festival might help in preserving the "art" of Native storytelling, the stories themselves and First Nation's cultural heritage.

In the beginning, Louise encountered resistance from other Natives who mistrusted the idea of a storytelling festival. They were accustomed to only the Elders in the community telling stories in the traditional manner. Louise went to the Elders for advice. They said, "What, do you think those people will tell the stories when we die?" So with their blessing, she proceeded with the Festival.

Now in its Fourteenth year, The Yukon International Storytelling Festival has brought people together to celebrate Native culture and heritage through the art of storytelling.

About the Innovator

Louise Profeit -Leblanc calls herself an engineer because she builds bridges between people. Louise is a member of the Nacho-N'Yak Dun (People of the Big River) First Nation in the Northern Yukon (from the Mayo region). Her work in the area of mental health, specifically suicide prevention, was the reason why she got involved in arts and heritage preservation. She believes that knowing and practicing one's culture contributes to the mental and spiritual health of Native people.

Despite the fact that the Yukon International Storytelling Festival creates a lot of work for Louise, the work "has made my life a joy." She feels that it is a privilege to serve her community, and is delighted that everyone benefits, not just the Native people. She receives great satisfaction from establishing credibility for Natives within the larger society and for creating opportunities for Natives to access their heritage. Her present goal is to develop a curriculum component for K to grade 12 using one single story as a vehicle through which to teach the traditional symbols and metaphors of Yukon First Nation mythology. Each year, the story would be studied by students in greater depth than the year before. By grade twelve, students will have learned the story's true meaning and how to apply this abstract knowledge to their own lives.

Louise is a very busy woman. Married, she has three daughters and grandchildren. For the past 12 years, Louise has held the position of Native Heritage Advisor for the Yukon Department of Tourism, and for the last 13 years, she has also served as the chair for the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is of Canada. In 1999 she was on the steering committee for Circumpolar Women's Conference entitled "Different Lives, Common Threads." Women from around the circumpolar world came to the Yukon to discuss and establish a network whereby they might be able to assist each other with common problems and solutions for living in the north. Louise was the artistic director for a series of three commissioned art pieces created for the Yukon Arts Center's permanent collection, featuring three Yukon First Nation's artists working in three mediums.