Dehcho Fire
A trip to the Scotty Creek Research Station
Dehcho Fire
is the working title of a work in progress graphic journalism project around the Scotty Creek Research Station in the Northwest Territories led by Berlin based illustrator Dominik Heilig in close collaboration with the filmmaker Jonathan Antoine from Fort Simpson (NT), Professor Oliver Sonnentag from the Université de Montréal.
Dehcho Fire tells the story of the Scotty Creek Research Station in the face of climate change. Located on the territory of the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation (LKFN) near Fort Simpson a community in the Northwest Territories of Canada, the Scotty Creek Research Station is one of the world’s first Indigenous-led field research stations in the world.
The devastating flood in Fort Simpson in May 2021 became a reminder to Dieter Cazon, a flood victim and the LKFN Director of Land and Resources, to more actively engage with western scientific research and discovery to meet his community’s needs to better prepare for climate change impacts.In the wake of some of Canada’s decolonisation efforts, the research station has been handed over to the LKFN to ensure their authority over their land and participation in the scientific research and discovery world. Tragically, a destructive wildfire strikes soon after the handover, causing significant damage. Despite the challenges, scientists strive to restore a vital research tower used for global climate studies, urgently working against the approaching melting season.Learn more about it on our project site
Photos from the first research trip
More sketches and studies
