Tag Archives: Yukon Harvest

Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

‘Yukon Harvest’ Season 3 Premieres Sept. 4 with Powerful New Stories of Land, Culture, and Community

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From a media release:

Access a world few get to see on season 3 of Yukon Harvest (13 x 30′), which follows the lives of several Indigenous hunting guides as they help Indigenous women and men, aged eight to 80, reconnect with land, culture, and community in ruggedly beautiful parts of western Canada, many accessible only by float plane. With new participants and communities featured, this season spotlights stories of personal growth, community involvement, cultural resilience, and the traditional practice of harvesting food that nourishes entire communities – both physically and spiritually. Produced by Rogue River Films, season 3 of Yukon Harvest premieres on APTN on Thursday, Sept. 4 at 10:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. MT / 7:30 p.m. PT. All episodes stream on APTN lumi starting Sept. 4, the same day as the broadcast premiere. The Northern Tutchone version of the show is expected to premiere on APTN Languages in winter 2026.

“Hunting provides not only food for many in need in Indigenous communities, but also allows Indigenous peoples to reconnect with tradition and culture,” says Todd Forsbloom, Métis producer, director, and co-founder, Rogue River Films. “We shot the series cinema verite style to give as true to life experience as possible to viewers. The result is a unique series that blends hunting with the cinematic beauty of land and emotional stories of personal growth and tradition.”

“We can’t wait for viewers to experience this new season of Yukon Harvest. It’s full of warmth, heart, and adventure, but it also reveals the vital relationship between Indigenous communities and the land. The profound practice of sharing food with community, at the core of the show, resonates with everyone, no matter where you come from,” says Adam Garnet Jones, APTN’s Director of TV Content and Special Events. 

Each episode of Yukon Harvest follows Yukon hunting guides taking participants into the northern wilds as well as the lands of their home communities across Turtle Island. The stories focus not only on harvesting food, but also on how the guides help their communities by teaching youth in the community or passing down traditional knowledge. With hunting guides from nations including the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun, Selkirk First Nation, Secwepemc Nation, Gwich’in, Bloodvein First Nation, Cree, Teslin Tlingit Council, Métis Nation, and Siksika Nation, the series captures many personal journeys – from that of seasoned hunters to young people reclaiming traditions to newcomers drawn to the land’s teachings. This season also goes inside the guides’ personal lives as they deal with issues of grief, marriage, relationships, and more. This season was shot not only in the Yukon, but also the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. 

The first two episodes include: 

Episode 1 – New Connections, Part 1
A Gwich’in hunting guide invites his teenage nephew fishing in the Northwest Territories.

Episode 2 – New Connections, Part 2
Gwich’in hunting guide Derek takes his nephew deer hunting to provide for a community elder.

A Rogue River Films original production, Yukon Harvest is executive produced by Jim Shockey and co-developed and co-produced by Todd Forsbloom and Erik Virtanen. Forsbloom also acts as the series director of photography, director, and musical composer. Annette Carter-Harris and Dallas Harris are associate producers. Yukon Harvest is made with the financial participation of the Canadian Media Fund.

Follow Rogue River Films for Yukon Harvest information on Instagram and YouTube. 

ABOUT ROGUE RIVER FILMS
Rogue River Films is an award-winning, Vancouver Island based Indigenous production company co-owned and operated by Métis filmmaker Todd Forsbloom and outdoor writer, adventurer, wildlife photographer / videographer, and executive producer Jim Shockey. The company specializes in inspiring, cinematic outdoor adventure content that celebrates Indigenous lives and culture and the great outdoors. Recent credits include Yukon Harvest on APTN, the APTN docuseries Coastal Carvings, and the feature length TELUS Original documentary Northern Stars. For updates on new projects and behind-the-scenes content, follow Rogue River Films on Instagram and YouTube.

ABOUT APTN
APTN launched in 1999 as the first national Indigenous broadcaster in the world. Since then, the network has become a global leader in programming that celebrates the rich diversity of Indigenous Peoples at home and abroad. A respected charitable media company, APTN inspires audiences and shares authentic stories via three platforms: APTN (English and French channel), APTN Languages (Indigenous language channel) and APTN lumi (streaming service). APTN proudly features over 80% Canadian content on all three platforms.

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Featured, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Preview: Yukon Harvest’s connections continue in Season 2

A word often used in Yukon Harvest is “connection.” A connection with nature. A connection with language. A connection with tradition. It’s an important—essential, really—part of the show.

Returning for Season 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on APTN in English and Monday in Northern Tutchone (a language spoken in the Yukon communities of Mayo, Pelly Crossing, Stewart Crossing, Carmacks and Beaver Creek), the 13-episode Yukon Harvest documents Indigenous guides and hunters as they journey into the remote lands to connect with the land, share in culture and give back to the community.

Saturday’s return, “Yegwúp/To Grow Strong, Part 1,” kicks off in Tkʼemlúps, B.C., where we catch up with and get the story of hunting guide Ed Jensen. A member of the Secwepemc Nation, Ed is committed to handing down the skills that have been passed down for thousands of years, and through his parents, who were both in residential schools. He and Aaron, a young man Ed mentored over 20 years ago, head out into the hills in hopes of hunting a deer large enough to fulfill a meat order for a family in need. But taking down a large buck is just the first step in a ceremonial process that includes a gift of tobacco, mourning the animal, taking a piece of the heart and liver to honour their ancestors and honouring the animal and its meat, which is going to feed others.

Saturday’s episode isn’t all about trekking into beautiful, rugged land to provide for others. In stark contrast is Ed reflecting on what his parents, and countless other Indigenous peoples, endured at residential schools across the country. There is sobering footage of stuffed animals placed at the base of the Kamloops Indian Residential School Monument, and Ed’s relief that the kids he mentors don’t live with the horrors of those schools as his parents did.

True to the show’s title, Ed jets to the Yukon for the episode’s final act. After arriving in Whitehorse, Ed meets up with Evan, who first hunted with Ed over two years ago. And while it’s an opportunity for Evan to show Ed his hunting grounds and skills, this trip allows Ed to evaluate Evan too. How is this young man adapting the traditional ways, and connecting with his ancestors? It’s a truly fulfilling experience for both.

Yukon Harvest airs Saturdays at 7 p.m. ET on APTN.

Image courtesy of APTN.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

New series Yukon Harvest debuts May 8 on APTN

From a media release:

Rogue River Films Inc. announced today the premiere of their brand new series Yukon Harvest, which debuts on APTN in English on May 8, 2021 and in Northern Tutchone on May 20, 2021. The 13 episode documentary series chronicles the adventures of Indigenous hunters and guides as they navigate the wilds of the Yukon and beyond. Some are seasoned veterans; others are young newcomers who must reconnect with their roots and learn how to respectfully harvest an animal for the community.

Filmed across Canada, Yukon Harvest highlights the beauty of the country while capturing real life stories of families, communities, connection and tradition, following real people and their emotional journeys. Filming locations include the Mayo area of the Yukon, Vancouver Island, Kamloops, Yellowknife, Fort St. John, Whitehorse and Osler, Saskatchewan.

The series will also be released under the title Dän K’eht’e in Northern Tutchone, a language spoken in the Yukon communities of Mayo, Pelly Crossing, Stewart Crossing, Carmacks, and Beaver Creek. It was important to the team to create a lasting record of the language that is only spoken fluently by a limited number of people. The team worked remotely with the Elders and community in order to safely translate and record the series in Northern Tutchone during the pandemic.

Episodes of Yukon Harvest will begin airing on APTN on May 8, 2021 (English) and will continue weekly. The Northern Tutchone language version, Dän K’eht’e will air on May 20, 2021 and will continue weekly. Check your local listings for broadcast times in your area or visit aptn.ca/schedule.

Episodes will be available on APTN’s streaming service, APTN lumi, within 48 hours of the original broadcast. Visit watchaptnlumi.ca or subscribe to APTN lumi through the Apple TV Channel app at https://apple.co/aptn.

Yukon Harvest was produced, developed and written by Todd Forsbloom and Erik Virtanen and executive produced by Jim Shockey. Todd Forsbloom, Dan Minsky and Taylor Smith were directors on the series and select cast includes: Don Harris, Dallas Harris, Annette Carter-Harris, Ed Jensen, Brett Taylor, Derek and Tori Forsbloom, Geri-Lee Buyck and the Buyck Family, Evan Lafreniere-Clark, Josh Austen, Steve Buyck and Scott Unger. Yukon Harvest was made possible with the support of APTN and the CMF.

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