Growing up in Haines Junction, YT, artist Cole Pauls performed in a traditional song and dance group called the Dakw k da Dancers. During that time, Pauls encountered the ancestral language of Southern Tutchone. Driven by a desire to help revitalize the language, he created Dakw k da Warriors, a bilingual comic about two earth protectors saving the world from evil pioneers and cyborg sasquatches.

Pauls' Elders supported him throughout the creation process by offering consultation and translation. The resulting work is a whimsical young adult graphic novel that offers an accessible allegory of colonialism.