Eli Chilton
Eli Chilton (he/him) resides on the island of Moose Factory Ontario in the James Bay lowlands, and is a member of the Mushkego Cree, or Swampy Cree. Eli has been a radio DJ and producer for the community radio station, CJFI 107.1 The Island Youth Radio, that resides in the John R. Delaney Youth Centre, for seven years. Married to his wife, Leona, for six years, they live on the island with their young adult kids, two dogs, and a cat. Eli has been an amateur writer since he was a kid, writing stories, poetry, and plays, through school and into his adult years. His play, The Sandcastle, was workshopped and given a live reading during Pat The Dog Theatre’s PlaySmelter in Sudbury, Ontario. Eli has also had a couple of poems selected to be published in an anthology for the Poetry Institute of Canada.
Moose Factory – The Island
Project Description:
This project that I have created with the help of Wapakoni Mobile is a video in the style of a non-fiction documentary. It is titled “Moose Factory – The Island.” It was shot in the winter of 2013 with the help of members of Wapakoni Mobile, Marie-Genevieve Chabot and Sheldon McGregor, youth members of the Mushkegwuk Regional Youth Leadership Conference, and an elder, the late Jack Wynne. I wrote it in assistance with Wapakoni, as resident worker for the youth centre. Wapakoni Mobile is a traveling video workshop company that visit first nations and aid the youth in creating video media and help with self esteem and skills through the creative process. They were visiting our community to find out if they could have a more expansive visit in the future, and video was needed to take back to their headquarters to show from the tour. There are portraiture shots of the youth from the conference, as well as shots of various locations in the community of Moose Factory. It is largely a silent video, with the exception, of the ending. We met an elder, Jack, on the road during the morning shoot to capture the winter sunrise. He approached us and spoke to us and even addressed the camera directly. It was a delightful surprise and I am pleased and thankful to Jack that we were able to capture the moment on video, which is all the more touching, for he passed away a few years later in our community. I was given copies of the work that we did, and I am thankful to Wapakoni for asking me to assist in their visit to Moose Factory.
Click here to view Eli’s creation
