Bulletin
Three Rivers National Tour Ends in Whitehorse After Six Successful Shows in the West
Noah's Ark mosaic on display
at the Edmonton event
Photos by Juri Peepre
Mayo and Ft.McPherson First Nation
community members present their Peel
Watershed Vision and Elders Statements
to the crowd of 250 Yukoners and unveil
the 60 foot plus long scroll
Photo by Theresa Gulliver
Three Rivers at the Broadway Theatre
in Saskatoon
Photo by Juri Peepre
Three Rivers in Yellowknife,
accompanied by local folk singers
Photo by Juri Peepre
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After more than a month on the road from coast to coast, the Three Rivers national tour ended with a flourish in Whitehorse, on May 17th. Close to 250 Yukoners turned out to celebrate the end of the tour, and acknowledge the Three Rivers Project as a finalist in the conservation category for the 2007 Canadian Environment Award. The annual award is presented by Canadian Geographic Magazine and its partners.
Journey to the Three Rivers attracted big crowds throughout the west, matching the enthusiasm of audiences during the earlier eastern part of the 12-city tour. By the end of the tour, close to 3,000 people heard the Three Rivers story and enjoyed the fetching imagery of landscapes, wildlife and people that underscored the call for its protection.
“There were many highlights on the western tour, but a special moment for me was seeing the line up stretching down the block outside the Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon. The local chapter did a fabulous job in spreading the word and the audience was the largest of the whole tour with a full house of 375 people. This event re-affirmed the importance of the vast northern boreal forest that connects and intrigues all Canadians,” said Juri Peepre, the Three Rivers speaker.
The western tour visited Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Yellowknife and Whitehorse. In Edmonton, the event was part of a music and art festival, with the Edmonton chapter’s marvellous Noah’s Ark mosaic of art prominently displayed.
In both Yellowknife and Whitehorse a delegation of Gwich'in participated and spoke about the importance of conservation in the Three Rivers and the greater Peel watershed. At the tour’s final stop in Whitehorse, First Nation people from Mayo and Ft. McPherson spoke about their connection to the Peel watershed, and read the powerful statements from a community gathering held in February.
Journey to the Three Rivers was sponsored by CPAWS, in partnership with the Mountain Equipment Co-op and the Wilderness Tourism Association of the Yukon. The cross-Canada tour was the culmination of a 4-year project that began in 2003 with the Three Rivers Journey, and was followed by a national touring art exhibition, Three Rivers: wild waters, sacred places and book, Three Rivers: The Yukon’s Great Boreal Wilderness.
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