Operation Morning Light

Dëneze speaks with Stephanie Poole, Daniel T’seleie, and Paul Andrew to get three different perspectives on the story of the Dené people, the crash of Kosmos 954, and their predictions on how this story might end.

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The people affected by Cosmos 954 try to hold the authorities accountable for the changes to the land and the people, but answers to how to overcome these challenges will have to be found elsewhere.

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As the operation concludes, and the story of Cosmos 954 fades from public view, those left in the debris-field are forced to confront a new threat that lay hidden. Until now.

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People living in the Cosmos 954 debris-field begin to notice strange changes in the environment around them. Are they connected to the crashed satellite?

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The operation sets up camp in the tundra and sets out to recover the satellite, but debris from Cosmos 954 has spread far and wide across the landscape, threatening the indigenous trappers who populate the region.

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A massive operation is launched to recover pieces of Cosmos 954. In Snowdrift, a police officer and his partner are tasked with guarding a large chunk discovered in the tundra—an assignment that will change their lives forever.

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In 1977, the Soviet Union launches a new espionage satellite—Cosmos 954—but soon after launch, its orbit starts to wobble. The question isn’t if it’s going to crash, but when. In a top secret laboratory, American scientists rush to find out where the disaster will take place.

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The people of Snowdrift, a small indigenous settlement, awaken to the sight of people in white suits stalking the streets of their community, scanning the ground with strange instruments. They don’t know it yet, but they’re now a part of a massive search — the only question is, a search for what?

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On a January night in 1978, a white light burned through the sub-Arctic sky. It was Cosmos 954, a nuclear-powered Soviet espionage satellite that had malfunctioned and fallen to earth. As the satellite disintegrated, it scattered dangerously radioactive debris across the vast traditional lands of the Dene, Métis, and Inuit in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Operation Morning Light tells the story of the Cosmos 954 disaster, its impact on the land, and the resilience of the communities in the debris field.

Operation Morning Light is hosted by Dëneze Nakehk'o, a Denesuline and Dehcho Dene father from Denendeh. 

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