While researching for another film, filmmakers Tom Radford and Peter Raymont came across the story of Nugliak, an Inuvialuit man born just before the end of the 19th century who observed and wrote of the changes that occurred in the north during his lifetime on Herschel Island. Radford's film loosely follows the book, touching on much the same subjects, but using Nugliak's descendents as a link to the present.