The film is entitled "A Fishing Tale," and was produced in 1983 by Yellowknife Films. The film is in colour and is 27 minutes in length; it depicts the commercial fishing culture on Great Slave Lake and documents fishing operations in both the winter and summer months and shows how the difficult environment affects the lives of those employed in the fishing industry. Chipping ice holes, setting fish nets with a jigger in winter is demonstrated by Wilfred Smith. Bombadiers, West Channel in Hay River, winter fishing, the Wool Bay outpost station operated by Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, Wilfred Smith's private fish business, and Clifford Smith's summer boat operations are featured.

Narrated by Bob Backhouse. Featuring Gester Gudmundson, Alex Morin, Wilfred Smith, Dominique Montgrand, Clifford Bird, Edwin Morin. Funded by CBC North, The Metis Association of the Northwest Territories, the Canada Council and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Records include two films, "They Fish the Great Slave" and "Dene Family". "They Fish the Great Slave" was produced in 1980 by Arctic Films; produced and directed by John Goldi and narrated by Mick Mallon. The subject of the film is commercial fishing on the Great Slave Lake, and features Clifford Bird, Johnny Nault, and Jane "Total" Mayo. "Dene Family" is a Goldi Productions Film from the Northern Lifestyle Series and was produced with the support of the NWT Department of Education and Canada Council Exploration in 1981. The film is narrated by Elizabeth Marlowe and depicts the lifestyle of the Marlowe family of Łutselk’e (Snowdrift).

This collection primarily includes photographs of fishing activities in and around Great Slave Lake, mainly in summer. Records also include photographs of the community of Hay River, fishing activities in Manitoba, and various other activities and locations in the NWT. There is also one postcard in the collection.

Records include:

• 7 cassettes related to a sealing conference from 1978 (:0001-:0007);
• 9 cassettes from the Legislative Assembly Special Committee on Education entitled Learning: Tradition and Change in the NWT (appear to be the same tape in various Indigenous languages) (:0008-:0016);
• 1 cassette marked Laco Hunt Interview (:0017);
• 7 cassettes related to a Nunavut Mining Symposium held in Cambridge Bay in 1998 (:0018-:0024);
• 9 cassettes that appear to related to an Economic Prospects Conference held in Hay River in 1978 (:0025-:0033);
• 1 cassette marked Former Commissioners Sept. 1979 (:0034);
• 1 cassette marked The Drums – Jim Greene (:0035);
• 1 Reel labelled: CBC Drumming / Peter Liske Drumming (:0036);
• 1 Reel labelled Master Mixed Impulse version (:0037);
• 1 Reel labelled: Recreation 1980 (Box says moose hide tanning) (:0038);
• 1 Reel labelled: Expo Walk (:0039);
• 1 Reel – no label but box marked: Travel Arctic – Explore Canada’s Arctic duplicate pulsed soundtrack (:0040).

This fonds consists of approximately 62.64 meters of textual material, 18 photographs, 24 drawings, 46 posters, 34 maps, 4 audio reels, 14 audio cassettes, 5 sound CDs, three 16 mm film reels and approximately 395 videocassettes in Betamax and Umatic format.

The textual material created and/or managed by the Directorate of the Department of Renewable Resources between 1974-1993, include correspondence of the Minister, Deputy Minister and Assistant Deputy. In addition, there are divisional reports, minutes of meetings, briefing notes, decision papers, Land Use Planning records, Management Steering Committee records, copies of submissions to environmental review boards and copies of agreements between the Federal Government and the GNWT. There is also a copy of an operational review of the department that was conducted between 1990-1991, a subsequent report and appendices of a departmental organizational review, and files related to enforcement issues and development of hunting regulations in the Liard/Mackenzie Corridor. Additionally, there are three files from the department library that relate to forestry and game officers from 1950-1969.

The records from the Finance and Administration Division consist of files relating to Departmental Organization and Priorities. These records are dated between 1984-1986.

The records from the Policy and Planning Division relates to Departmental reviews and responses and an overall Government of the Northwest Territories Functional Inventory.

The records from the Yellowknife Division relate to amendments to the operational manual, regulations, and legislation.

The fonds also contains records relating to the transfer (devolution) forestry and fire management from the federal government, including correspondence, work plans, asset inventories, organizational charts, job descriptions, and meeting minutes.

The fonds also includes records relating to forest management, including the 1987 Forest Resources Transfer Agreement, “Forests for Tomorrow: Forest Management in the Northwest Territories A Public Policy Discussion Paper” and related feedback, timber licensing and inspection, forest utilization, timber export, integrated resource management (Liard/Nahanni Valley), and forest fire response, including protection of communities.

The fonds also includes general records relating to trapping, seal hunting and marketing, the Furbearer Management Program, compensation, incentive and income support programs, trap exchange, and the Natural Resources Conservation Trust Fund (NRCTF).

The textual material from the Wildlife Services Division consists of several oversize ledgers documenting Hunting and Trapping Reports and Fur Export Tax Reports from across the Northwest Territories. There are also general correspondence files, minutes of meetings, memorandums, strategic planning, and policies relating to the division's activities, programs and workshops delivered and files relating to the transfer of responsibilities for forestry and fire management from the federal government to the Government of the Northwest Territories. In addition there are records dealing with wildlife regulations, enforcement, devolution of land and water, and outfitting, individual trapping records, harvest reports, outfitter harvest statistics, reports on the monitoring of different wildlife species, Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) files, human resources files, Game Office files, caribou and moose surveys, fisheries data, fur dealers records, registered trapping areas, Trappers Association records, export permits, trappers assistance records, organized hunts, buffalo/caribou hunter data, trapper and hunter kill statistics, anthrax control and emergency response planning, humane trapping, community freezers and bison ranching. There are also annual reports for the division, 1990-1992.

There are also files that were created by the Forest and Wildlife office in Rae and Fort Smith. This material contains Robert Douglas' monthly patrol reports and correspondence from between 1951-1955. The reports include summaries of the warden's duties, weather reports, wildlife observations, hunting, trapping and fishing activities, lists of game taken and licenses issued, as well as the monitoring of animal species, particularly caribou. The remaining material from Fort Smith dates between 1987-1996 and contains files relating to Administration, Personnel, Policy and Directives, Finance and Budget, Training, Lands and Properties, Associations, Committees and Boards, Native Organizations, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Research and Field Studies, Resource Development, Fisheries and Forestry Legislation and Enforcement, Licenses and Permits, Conservation Education and Pollution Control. In addition, there are approximately 35 maps from this division that concern animal trapping in the Northwest Territories.

The textual material from the Pollution Control Division dates between 1975 - 1991. The records consist of air quality reports, water quality reports, and information about solid waste management, hazardous waste management, waste oil, chemical disposal, anti-litter campaign, and minutes from the Pollution Control Division meetings and Yellowknife Anti-Litter Committee meetings. The records also include a copy of the "Truth North" #2 comic book.

The material generated or managed by the Field Services Division between 1961-1986, consists of correspondence, minutes from Regional Superintendents and Regional Hunters and Trappers Associations meetings, field project reports, reports from regional and community wildlife officers, fur records, forms and reference material kept by the division. The records relate to a variety of activities such as: hunting, trapping, enforcement of regulations, animal studies, fisheries, training and organizational structure. Reports from the five administrative regions of the Government of the Northwest Territories (Fort Smith, Inuvik, Keewatin, Baffin and the Kitikmeot, which was once part of the Fort Smith region) have been kept in an effort to document regional activities and responses.

The records from the Environmental Planning and Assessment Division date from 1971 to 1991 and consist of land use planning evaluations, correspondence, policies, minutes of meetings, social impact studies and records relating to water management and planning, Inter-jurisdictional Water Negotiations and Environmental Impact-Assessment of Oil/Gas and Mineral Exploration.

The three 16 mm film reels contain two films produced by the Department of Renewable Resources in conjunction with the Department of Culture and Communication. The first film is entitled "Koukdjuak Crossing: Caribou Tagging on Baffin Island." The film is available in English and Inuktitut. The second film, "Two Have Forever: Hunting the Bathurst Caribou Herd" was produced in 1986; it illustrates the importance of the Bathurst herd to the Inuit, Dene and non-natives. This film is available in English and Innuiaqtun. The accession containing approximately 395 videocassettes was produced by or for the Conservation Education and Resource Development Division of the Department of Renewable Resources. The videocassettes contain informational programming about wildlife management, trapping, fur handling, oil spill containment, hunting safety, firearm safety, information about Renewable Resources officers and projects, land use planning and wildlife conservation.

Part of the fonds is comprised of a series of posters produced the department for the annual National Wildlife Week Poster Contest; another series warns of the dangers of bears; a third series relates to Wildlife Regulations in relation to hunting and the export of animals/pelts/meat outside the Northwest Territories. The sound recordings consist of 3 audio reels and 6 DAT audiocassettes that contain recordings from a conference entitled "Fish, Fur and Game for the Future" held in February 1981. The remaining sound recordings, which consist of 14 audiocassettes and 1 audio reel, contain programs and radio ads that were produced by the department between 1985-1990. These programs and ads were aimed at teaching northerners about caring for the environment, educating them about the role of the department and raising awareness about new wildlife regulations. The audio reel contains the proceedings from a Fur Symposium held in Fort Resolution from 1986.

The remaining material within the fonds is comprised of published studies, reports, and brochures from the Department of Renewable Resources; the majority of material relates to its Wildlife Service subdivision between 1976 and approximately 1997. There are also reports and indices of scientific research licences issued 1974-1982. There are also approximately 5 cm of reports created by the Science Advisory Board of the Northwest Territories. The reports date from 1979-1982 and include the objectives of the Board as well as multiple topics including population studies, imported foods to the N.W.T., wind energy, aquatic resources, arctic marine mammals, dietary habits of native populations and animal management.

This accession consists of records from the Department of Renewable Resources relating to fur trapping and management. The records include trap exchange information, a newsletter and notice to trappers, standards and trapping regulations, Trapper Education - Trap Replacement A Strategy for Implementation in the NWT, information on assistance programs, incentive grant calculations, trapping record summaries for communities, some individual trapping records, reports on management and research projects on lynx and marten, and correspondence.

The films were largely shot by Otto Binder and depict life in the Beaufort Delta region, and the community of Reindeer Station in particular. Footage of travel by water, as well as reindeer herding activities feature prominently. Shots of family and community life are also within the collection.

This collection includes photographs of a fish camp near the Frank Channel, a community feast and drum dance, and a collection of images of people and places in the community of Behchoko.

This fonds consists of 709 black and white photographs and approximately 20 cm of textual material relating to Norman Robinson's travels in the Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Ireland between 1919-1940. The photographs are mounted in nine journals which contain narrative about Robinson's work in the Northwest Territories as a trapper and guide; his work in British Columbia as a Game Warden and two years spent in Ireland. In addition, there are two original letters that Robinson wrote to his mother while he was guiding a Survey Party in the Northwest Territories in 1924, two notebooks which contain transcribed letters that Robinson wrote to his family in Ireland between 1919-1922 and transcriptions of three narratives written by Norman Robinson.

The textual records include a diary and a notebook written by John Paterson, a letter from Jack Stark to John Paterson and a pamphlet of the Northern Transit Service. The diary recounts Mr. Paterson's time as a trapper and fur trader in the Snowdrift (Lutselk'e) area from the fall of 1924 to the summer of 1925. The notebook describes Mr. Paterson's arrival in Canada and how he came to be in the North.

This accession consists of records from the Department of Renewable Resources relating to trapping, seal hunting and marketing, the Furbearer Management Program, compensation and income support programs, and the Natural Resources Conservation Trust Fund (NRCTF). The records include policies and directives, reports, correspondence, briefing material, questionnaires and surveys, sketches of trap sets, program information and application forms, FMB submissions and decisions, excerpts from the Operations Manual, harvest results, community fur returns, statistics, meeting material, marketing research, and reference material. The files also include records of the NRCTF, including related legislation, financial records, list of trustees, directive, agenda, procedures, annual report, by-laws, minutes, press release, brochure, correspondence, excerpts from Board Handbook, proposals, ranking of proposals, reports, and photographs.

Records relating to fisheries and wildlife management include those on the subjects of disease, endangered species, land use, predator control, trapping, hunting, fur production and harvesting data, hunting and trapping associations, environmental protection, land claims, trapper taxation, trapping standards, animal sightings, game management reports, registered trapping areas, pipelines, sport fishing and lake stocking, conservation education, national parks, territorial parks, preserves, sanctuaries and refuges. Records also include manuals, permits, licenses, newsletters, annual reports, strategic plans, and mandate documents relating to the operation of the Division. The wildlife management records include studies or records relating to falcons, gyrfalcons, geese, duck, swans, bears, bison, beaver, sheep, caribou, fox, reindeer, wolf, muskoxen, muskrat, marten, mink, wolverine, moose, hare, and arachnids (spiders). Policies and programs covered by this accession include the Guiding and Outfitting Policy, Community Freezer Program, Fur Program, Biodiversity Working Group, Fire Management Policy, Firearm Safety Instructor Course Program, Bathurst Management Planning Committee, and the Trapper Treeline Program. There are records relating to Trapper Training, Harvesters Assistance, Trapper Compensation, and interaction with COSEWIC, and the Fish and Wildlife Service Policy. Each region of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is represented.

This accession consists of W.D. Addison's collection of material related to the Nahanni area, including his own photographs, trip journals, and maps, the annotated bibliography and literature review he compiled, oral-history interviews he conducted, transcripts and catalogues he compiled and edited, photographs, documents, and maps he gathered from various sources, and correspondence he conducted with Nahanni old-timers and others.

This fonds consists of 0.6 cm of textual records, ca. 13,000 photographs (col. slides, col. negatives, and b&w negatives), and 31 reels of 16 mm film.

The textual records comprise two newsletters produced by Bern Will Brown and a series of letters written by Capt. C.T. Pederson. The newsletters give a brief overview of life in the community of Colville Lake during 1991 and 1992, including items of interest relating to various members of the community. The Pedersen correspondence is autobiographical, including reminiscences of C.T. Pederson of some of his activities in the north; the majority are addressed to Father Brown of Our Lady of the Snows Mission in Colville Lake, but one letter is addressed to Commander Ransom.

The photographs include images of a wide variety of subjects, particularly activities of the Catholic Church and traditional activities of the Dene, Inuvialuit and Inuit, including hunting, trapping and transportation. There are photos of many locations throughout the NWT as well as some locations in Nunavut, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

The films and videocassettes include footage of dog teams, life at Colville Lake, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Aklavik, Husky Lakes, Whitefish Station, Tulita (Fort Norman), Nahanni Butte, Fort Simpson, Bern Will Brown, various Catholic priests and bishops, fishing, children at play, aircraft, construction of the mission, reindeer, whaling, trapping, hunting, church services, many local families including: Kochon, Codzi, Masuzumi, Cotchilly, Oudzi and political visitors such as Governors-General.

This accession consists of records from the Investment and Economic Analysis division of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment. The records include a briefing binder for the 2005 North American Fur & Fashion Exposition, GMVF Trappers Newsletters, caribou strategy briefing material and summary of issues, FMB decision paper, Economic Impacts of Tag Reductions on the NWT Arctic Barren-ground Caribou Outfitters, A Barren-ground Caribou Management Strategy for the Northwest Territories 2005-2010 (draft), Review of the Class 'B' Barrenground Caribou Outfitters in Unit 'F', Draft Report on Renewable Resource Assessment of the Edehzhie Candidate Protected Area, and related correspondence.

This fonds consists of photographs documenting commemorative plaques at Port Radium and Fort McPherson, a visitors book from the Parks Canada cabin at Virginia Falls (Nahanni National Park), and photographs documenting the monument to Sir John and Sir James Ross at Taloyoak, Nunavut.

The fonds additionally includes materials relating to a Historical Resources Inventory of the Nahanni region. Parks Canada commissioned W. D. Addison and Associates in a series of four contracts to document Nahanni history. During the summers of 1974 to 1977, oral history interviews were conducted with 43 people associated with the Nahanni Park region. Several of the interviews were published in an internal Parks Canada document, "Manuscript Report Series No. 196: Nahanni National Park Historical Resources Inventory."

This accession consists of records from the Policy, Legislation and Communications division of Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development and its predecessor, the Department of Renewable Resources, relating to forest management, Metis harvesting rights, and an environmental agreement with BHP Diamonds Inc. The records include a department overview, legislation and regulations, policies and directives, briefing material, correspondence, feedback, notes, a legal opinion, a FMB submission, a workplan, excerpts from the RWED Operations Manual, An Overview of Forest Management in the Northwest Territories, Forests for Tomorrow discussion paper, a decision paper, an assessment report, Forest Management Policy - chronology of development and review, a procedure for Forest Management Application Processing, presentation slides, court decisions, meeting notes, an environmental agreement and implementation protocol, and news items and reference material.

This fonds consists of approximately 9000 black and white negatives, four colour negatives, and a small number of black and white and colour print photographs taken by James Jerome in the 1960s and 1970s and 5 cm of reports and correspondence. The majority of the photographs date from the period 1977-1979. Many were taken in the Fort McPherson and Peel River region, and document life on the land, fur trapping, winter and summer camps, fishing camps and fish preparation and drying activities of the Gwich'in. In addition there are many portraits, a selection of self-portraits, family photographs, transportation and recreation photographs. Many of the print photographs are copies of the negatives. Photographs of Inuvik include the 1979 Northern Games, while photographs of Yellowknife include music concerts. The textual material includes a project description of Jerome's proposed 'Portraits and History of the Dene Elders of the NWT' publication as well as handwritten and typewritten notes on the project, and correspondence.

The textual material dates from 1978-1988 and consists of Exhibit Storyline and Exhibit Content Plans for the North and South Galleries at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. In addition, there are Exhibit scripts for Chapters in Our History, The North before People, Greenland Kayak Exhibit, Dene Women's Art Exhibit and the traveling exhibit about "The Land." The textual material also includes two Pilot's Log Books from 1928 and 1946 that belonged to Walter James Beaumont. The sound recordings contain interviews with J. Davids and H. Hollick-Kenyon, Denny May, Cam Jordheim and Mark Dodd. The content of the material focuses on aviation in the north, bush pilots, and Wop May. It is likely that this material was used in developing the aviation exhibit at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. The 2 videocassettes are in Umatic or Betacam formats and consist master copies of "Trapline Lifeline" and "Wings of Change." "Trapline Lifeline" was a traveling exhibit that examined the history and modern-day realities of fur trapping. The exhibit contained an audio-visual section that included video footage of interviews with trappers and an overview of life in northern communities. "Wings of Change" is the video component from the aviation gallery at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.