Our team’s final (and busiest) sprint ended the term on a high note! In the final two weeks of our project, we had a clear direction of what we were set out to accomplish by our final conference. In this sprint, our time was spent coding and interviewing. In the final week, we were lucky to have Darryl, one of the students we worked with, and Michèle Tomasino, the vice principal from the Mangilaluk school join us from Tukoyatuk. We had a great time getting to know them and spending time with them in person. We are grateful they braved the winter storms and made the long journey to the island for our conference!
The final conference came up quickly and before we knew it, it was time for us to present what we had worked hard on all semester. For the final conference, our prototype demonstration included a general Inuvialuit page, an Arctic games page, and a food resources page. These pages included pronunciations, pictures, videos, and interviews with the members of the community we worked with. The reception of our presentation was very positive and there were a lot of people who expressed interest in what we built. Our team was ecstatic when a reporter from CBC reached out following the presentation to interview our team about the application! During the first couple of months of the project, we faced a lot of uncertainty in terms of what we would have to show in December, so this outcome meant a lot to us. Our final prototype was so different than what we could have imagined at the start of the term and this whole experience from start to finish has made each of us grow tremendously. It was so amazing to be surrounded by so many of the people who supported us throughout our project’s journey at the conference.
As we developed this prototype, we focused on these few topics and worked with a small group within the community. To continue this project in the future, we have to continue building connections in the Tukoyaktuk community and further consultation to determine what information the community thinks would be best to include in the application for it to be used in the local schools or by visitors. We are hopeful are excited to see what’s next for BridgingRoots. Happy Holidays!