Nitap - Welcome Friends

Created by Phyllis Grant

When we first came to Phyllis to ask her if she wanted to be involved with our collective she immediately felt that it resonated with her. Shortly after we met Phyllis posted this on our portal for sharing information. Phyllis wrote: "It's interesting to be working on this app because in 2004 I created a map of Maq's world (Maq and the Spirit of the Woods, NFB) and I wanted to tell all these stories in my area via a map. I told the story of Mi'gmwesu (the spirit of the woods) but there's so much more. (This is a map of the Bay of Chaleur here in Bathurst NB, and surrounding region)"

This mandala was created by Phyllis Grant as her muse for creating the pilot for Nitap. Here we can see how Phyllis uses the animatic and story to help her create the finished product. You can view the finished product here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtdi-yZitRw

Here are some background samples of the artwork in Rabbit Snow. Created by Tara Audibert.

This is a story that was shared by Deborah Audibert from the Tobique First Nations. Tara Audibert remembers growing up listening to this story. You can see a sample in game here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX0ak7zPRhg&t=162s The creator tried to protect animals and one of the animals that he wanted to help out was the rabbit because they have no way of defending themselves except for running and hiding. So in the wintertime, the rabbits change color from brown to white so that they can blend in with the snow. But the other thing is the tracks. The tracks that rabbits make are really big and so the creator made big white snow flakes to help the rabbit out. "A rabbit in Maliseet is mahtoqehs. So Mo-Mo said, it’s mahtoqehs psan. Mahtoqehs is the rabbit and p-san is snow. So it’s “rabbit snow”. That’s exactly what it is. And it’s not in the shape of rabbits, it’s to cover the tracks of rabbits, when it snow’s like that. SO that’s what. That’s the thing.

Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Nitap is an app that is being created under the Ni'gweg Collective banner. Tara Audibert, Phyllis Grant and Kirsten Tomilson came up with the idea to tell aboriginal stories that have been told orally for decades, moving them to a technical space where they can be shared freely. "We wanted to create something that utilized all of our skills and bring it alive to the world of technology," says founding member Kirsten Tomilson.  "It is a place where artists and storytellers can come together and share their collective experience." When we started this project in 2017 we were very much focused on the provinces that we are familiar with but as this grows and gains momentum we are hoping to collect and tell stories form all the Canadian provinces. Right now our app has collected stories from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. There is such a vast amount of knowledge that is at risk of fading into history if we don't m