Yukon Soaps
It has been a big year for Joella Hogan. Hogan has owned The Yukon Soaps Company, in Mayo (the heart of the Yukon)…
First Nation
Come To The Fire
In 2023, the Yukon Arts Centre (YAC) will invite visitors in by asking them to gather outside. That’s the idea behind a new firepit…
Never Show Up An Elder
There’s only one way in the North to deal with an arrogant prick (Lord knows we’ve had our share) and that’s a damned-good practical joke.
Time Travelling in the Yukon
Living in the Yukon, it’s hard not to feel distinctly aware of time, of its passing and of our relationship to it.
Arctic Highways Breaks Down Borders
Tomas Colbengston, who takes a lot of inspiration from the Nordic Scandinavian landscape prefers to show his work outdoors.
Voices Across The Water
Voices Across the Water follows two master boat builders as they practice their art and find a way back to balance and healing.
For our children tomorrow
Closeup of Velma Olson’s beadwork on Sidney Anderson’s 2015 graduation dress [one_half] To my mind, Honouring Our Future: Yukon First Nations Graduation Regalia is among the most important art exhibits to take place in the Yukon over the past 10 years. I invite you to consider the effects the art processes displayed have on the …
Culture meets couture
Robyn McLeod’s dresses from her fashion collection, Dene Futurisms, are featured in this story, which is part of a series about the three Chu Niikwän residency artists and their work.
Deep roots
Her name is Wolf Mother, Ghoóch Tlâ in Tlingit, and Colleen James in English. She grew up in Cowley, about halfway between Whitehorse and Carcross. Her mother was Tlingit and her father was English.
A true telling, unchanged and sacred
I was fortunate enough to sit with Joe Jack, the grandson on Copper Chief, son of Billie Jack and Agnes Boss. Through stories, Jack traces his roots all the way back to Alaska. His great grandfather Taicho came to Canada in 1885. He has family in the Yukon and Alaska. Jack is taking the big …
Citywide celebrations
National Indigenous Peoples Day, June 21, is right around the corner. There’s so much to celebrate during this nationwide statutory holiday. The Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse will host a day of festivities on June 21, including live music, artist demonstrations, traditional foods, ceremonies and more. Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFC), Ta’an Kwäch’än Council …
Coming into the light
The Adäka Cultural Festival is quickly growing into one of Canada’s premiere Indigenous arts and culture festivals
Let’s Learn Gwich’in: My Things
Dinjii Zhùh/ Oonjit Kyuu – Gwich’in /English Words By Chih Ahaa Shiaxe – My axe Shiteapot – My teapot Shitent – My tent Shistove – My stove Shisaw – My saw Shicanoe – My canoe Shisnowshoes – My snowshoes Shitraps – My traps Shisnares – My snares Shimatches – My matches Shiblanket – My blanket …
Dance dance revolution
Get ready to cut a rug in Haines Junction You don’t have to be part of a dance group to be a dancer. According to Rose Kushniruk, acting chief of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, everyone has it in them and the Dákų̀ nän tsʼèddhyèt Dance Festival (Our House is Waking Up the Land) …
Shandaa (In my Lifetime) – Chih Ahaa
William Ch’itzee (Fort McPherson), ganaldaii (I remembered) Belle Herbert (Chalkyitsik), ganalydaii. Rev. James and Sarah Simon (Fort McPherson), ganaldaii. Special Constable Thomas Njootli (Aklavik), ganaldaii. Persis Kendi (Women’s Auxilliary, Mayo), ganaldaii. Rev. James Gilbert (Arctic Village), ganaldaii. George Robert (Fort McPherson), ganaldaii. Eunice Carney (Fort Yukon), ganaldaii. Rev. Jim Edwards (Aklavik), ganaldaii. Chief Simon Francis …
Oral history in a modern context
Reconciliation. We have all heard the term used in modern-day politics. You may have heard about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, or even the 94 calls to Action that came out of it. However, few, if any, educational institutions have put reconciliation into practice as authentically as Yukon College. The spirit of reconciliation echoes through …
A junction of mountain film, culture and science in Kluane country
The Haines Junction Mountain Festival is in its third year and is a celebration of the United Nations (UN) International Mountain Day (IMD).
In ‘the Zone’ – Taking each day as it comes …
I turned 70 this past summer. I’ve been pondering, How did I get there so soon? So what’s your stereotype of a 70-year-old “lady”? Grey hair? Yep, that’s me, and I earned every one! Wrinkles and brown splotches? Yes, plenty! A cane? Actually, walking sticks for long walks! Sitting in a rocking chair, all day, …
The Yukon’s exclusive arts and crafts
Only two weeks to go until the 2018 Cranberry Fair, when, again, over 40 artists will gather to present the Yukon’s exceptional artistic craftsmanship.
The Junction and JAR (Junction Artist in Residence)
Landing in Whitehorse for the first time, Henry Navarro Delgado arrived in the Yukon knowing nothing about the place. Delgado wanted to remain as open-minded as possible when he settled into the coveted Junction Artist in Residence (JAR) Program in Haines Junction.
The White River Ash, the mega eruption next door – Part 4
Past volcanic eruptions in Alaska have resulted in massive displacement of peoples and widespread environmental damage in the Yukon.
Celebrating 30 years of northern art and artists
First Nations artists and performers, from across the North, will gather with artists from around the world for the Great Northern Arts Festival on July 13–22.
Celebrating with Land and Light
The Land and Light Gallery, part of MacBride’s new expansion, will open July 5 and will feature 11 of Ted Harrison’s paintings.
Atlin Lit Up! lights up the Yukon writing scene
The Atlin writers’ festival not only offers music but also offers literature, readings and workshops.
Indian Horse
Indian Horse will be screened at the Atlin BC Globe Theatre on Thursday, July 5, 2018 at 7 PM as part of the Atlin Arts & Music Festival.
Cranberry Fair … where ‘Quality, Originality, Creativity and Diversity’ meet
Each year, in Whitehorse, the Northern Fibres Guild invites the world to one of the Yukon‘s most exclusive sales events—Cranberry Fair.
A record-breaking class at the forty-third annual First Nations graduation
On May 25, students from all over the Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories gathered in Whitehorse at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre, in celebration of the forty-third annual First Nations graduation.
‘Beat the Heat’ with the XY Charlie Crew
Chad Thomas, manager of the XY Charlie Crew, is leading the development of top-level wildland fire professionals in the Yukon, for First Nations.
The Adäka Cultural Festival … celebrating our diverse First Nations arts and culture
The 2018 Adäka Cultural Festival is just around the corner! The annual multi-disciplinary arts and culture festival will be held this summer from June 29 to July 5 at its idyllic location, the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre located on Whitehorse’s beautiful waterfront.
First hunting trip, with the best guides
I grew up in the traditional way in and around Pelly Crossing, learning to hunt, fish and trap from my relatives and Elders. It wasn’t until I was 16 years old, though, in 1963, that I had my first real long hunting trip.
National Aboriginal Day
It’s the longest day of the year, and what better way to appreciate this new Canadian statutory holiday than to visit local First Nations and to be part of this national celebration and enjoy live music, artist demonstrations, traditional food, ceremonies and more.
Picking our battles
As a nurse, I have a role in challenging systemic and individual racism. I challenge you to do the same.
2018 CBC Indigenous Music Awards
On May 18, the Indigenous Music Awards will return to Winnipeg with awards in 19 categories that honour music that has been created by First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples of Turtle Island.
Didee & Didoo: Sacred Caribou Calving Grounds
At the caribou calving grounds There’s only wildlife sounds. The water is clear an’ clean And the land is so pristine. It’s a place for the caribou herds And the migratory birds. The caribou give birth On their Mother Earth. When the calves arrive We know we will survive. This is their precious home Where …
Didee & Didoo: Let’s Learn Gwich’in, Colours – Vah Ch’itr’idi’ee – Chih Ahaa
CARTOON: Allan Benjamin Colours – Vah Ch’itr’idi’ee – Chih Ahaa Jidii Zraii – Black Jidii Dagaii – White Jidii Ditsik – Red Jidii Vee – Grey Jidii Ch’ahtl’òo – Green Jidii Datl’òo – Blue Jidii Tthoo – Brown Jidii Tsoo – Yellow Jidii Dich’ik – Pink Ch’ihtak – One Neekaii – Two Tik – Three …
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Get a feature shot at first light
Jay Gough of Nikon Canada, along with Trisha Gillings of Panasonic Canada (not pictured), will be on site all day with trade show style booths demonstrating their latest equipment, and delivering “Tech Talks” over the lunch hour It’s springtime in the Yukon and our days are getting longer, Yukoners are preparing for the summer season …
Yukon Pomp
There’s a furry addition to Team Yukon’s uniforms as they march into the opening ceremony of the Arctic Winter Games in the Northwest Territories on March 18. Athletes will sport fur pom-poms made from wolf pelts harvested in the Haines Junction area and sewn onto their hats by members of the community.
Teaching language through song from Québec to the Yukon
Multilingual Quebec musicians Andrée Levesque-Sioui and Kyra Shaughnessy are in the Yukon this month for a series of workshops with high-school students. The workshops are aimed at promoting bilingualism in the Yukon and are conducted in French and the Huron-Wendat First Nation language.
Celebrating First Nations’ achievements and culture
The Skookum Jim Folklore Show has become an annual tradition that celebrates First Nation traditions, community and culture.
We are what we used to eat
February 19 to 22 will see the latest edition of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Heritage Department’s bi-annual Myth and Medium week.
Helping the youth to heal
Motivational speaker Mike Scott of the Sturgeon Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan has a created the “Sober is Sexi” social media campaign and will present a talk called “Finding the Warrior Within” The Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Council (YAWC) will host the Gathering of Youth-Family members of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Kick Off …
Let there be light
The 2018 Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) features a strong Indigenous presence in this year’s films – and in the audience, with more than 40 guests attending from Outside.
Didee & Didoo: Community Adoptions
Aklavik adopted Albert Frost Inuvik adopted Winston Moses Ross River adopted Henry Nukon Fort Yukon adopted Diane Jonas Chalkyitsik adopted Simon Francis Dawson adopted Sharon Keaton Old Crow adopted James Itsi Carmacks adopted John Tizya Watson Lake adopted Brandy Tizya Haines Junction adopted Jeffrey Peter Arctic Village adopted Tabitha Peter Dease Lake adopted Louise Greyke …
‘Canadian Ice Man’ tells his story
Editor’s Note: This is part two of two highlighting Kwädąy Dän Ts’ìnchį: Teachings from Long Ago Person Found. It was introduced during the Haines Junction Mountain Festival, which took place December 8 to 10. Part 1 is available in the December 6 edition of What’s Up Yukon. Diane Strand, director of community wellness at the …
‘Canadian Ice Man’ tells his story
Eighteen years ago three sheep hunters discovered the oldest natural mummified body unearthed to date in North America. he story of this mysterious “Canadian ice man” comes full-circle this year with a new book, Kwädąy Dän Ts’ìnchį: Teachings from Long Ago Person Found.
Past and present fuse on new record
Dakhká Khwáan Dancers new album is called Deconstruct/Reconstruct, and it is a double CD.
Hunting in the Yukon – Part 1
An excerpt of Manfred Hoefs’ recently released book Yukon’s Hunting History. Yukon’s history, time scale & events are unique.
From the North to the South
We deserve a pat on the back. That’s part of the point of From the North says Kim Winnicky, executive producer of the arts performance and show, a Canada 150 project being produced by Music Yukon. “We (in the territories) don’t often get a chance to celebrate ourselves.” Beginning this month, the show’s all-northern team …
Weaving Willow, Weaving Voices
On a hot day in Dawson City this August, I had the opportunity to speak with the four artists of Weaving Voices: Bo Yeung, Chris Clarke, Jackie Olson and Sue Parsons. We sat in the shade of their intricately woven willow structure located outside of the Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre, facing toward the Yukon River. …
Northern Food Fusion: Arctic Char Harvest
I can still smell the smoked fish on my jean jacket and I smile. It means I have been home to the Northwest Territories. At the end of August, I went home to my family’s fish camp. August is when the Arctic char (also known as Dolly Varden, Salvelinus malma) are running through Big Eddy. …
In The People’s Voice
Ross River musician Dennis Shorty grew up in a musical family that spoke Kaska and performed at social events. Now he is sharing his love of the language through the musical duo he formed with his wife, Jennifer Froehling, is called Dena Zagi, meaning “people’s voice”. In August, they toured in Germany with their first …
TIAY Picks Dawson to Showcase Sustainable Tourism
Every few years the Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon brings either its spring or fall conference to Dawson City. TIA Yukon Executive Director Blake Rogers says that it makes even more sense than usual this year. “This year is a special year, the Year of International Sustainable Tourism for Development, as declared by the …
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Real Stories from Real People
Three years of collaborating, interviewing and gathering has culminated in one powerful play that shares both beautiful, heartfelt reflections and the harsh realities of northern living. Busted Up: A Yukon Story presents the colourful and eclectic real-life voices of the Yukon – politicians, mothers, fathers and children – 33 voices, to be exact. The play, …
Hiking Miles Canyon to Canyon City: A Landscape with a Past
One of the most visited attractions in Whitehorse, the Miles Canyon Suspension Bridge, is a great launching point for interesting half-day hikes. Located about 10 minutes from downtown by road, the historic 95-year-old suspension bridge (which has been recently repaired) is connected to a well-established network of trails east of the Yukon River, in Chadburn …
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Stream of Consciousness
Visit the Academic and Skills Development office in the A-wing of Yukon College, and you’ll be greeted with words of empowerment on the backs of a stream of 16 cedar salmon in a work of art created by local artist Cheryl Teya. On each salmon plaque is a core value, such as kindness, respect, goals. …
Celebrate National Tlingit Day with a Fun Packed Weekend in Teslin
The biannual Haa Ḵusteeyí Celebration and community gathering in Teslin this month presents a unique opportunity for Yukoners of all backgrounds to connect with the Tlingit community. “Everyone is welcome. We want everybody here. We want to share and showcase our culture to the world,” says Melaina Sheldon, community arts and events coordinator at the …
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Celebrating Film During the Arts and Music Festival
There’s going to be a new projector at the Globe Theatre this year when the Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) takes its films to the Atlin Arts and Music Festival. Andrew Connors, artistic director of ALFF, says this will give a sharper image than previous years, but he notes that no showing at the Globe …
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Leonard Linklater: Voicing the North
When Leonard Linklater was growing up in Inuvik, NWT, there was one radio station on the dial. The CBC. Through the airwaves, Indigenous voices carried messages and music. “Louis Goose, Les Carpentier, they were all on the air! I was used to hearing Indigenous voices. Not a lot of them – the main broadcasters were …
Celebrate First Nations Culture
Take some time off work – that’s the only way you’ll be able to enjoy all the programming offered by the Adäka Cultural Festival this month. That’s the suggestion from Lynn Feasey, director of arts for Yukon First Nations Culture and Tourism Association, which hosts the festival each year. Feasey is joking, but, looking at …
Stories Come to Life
Falen Johnson doesn’t hold back when it comes to Gwaandak Theatre. “I love Gwaandak,” the Six Nations writer says straight out. “It’s a place where you know you’re immediately welcomed as an Indigenous playwright.” Johnson’s play Two Indians is one of three plays featured in this year’s Indigenous Summer Play Readings by Gwaandak Theatre. The …
A book Canadians “must read”
An attack leaves two girls hospitalized. Two families looking for answers. In the Break Metis writer, Katherena Vermette tells the stories.
Three Days of Dance
World travel has its place, but Sharon Shorty says a lot of Yukoners need to get out and take a trip into their own territory. And, she says, if you want to start with Haines Junction, The Da Kų Nän Ts’etthet Dance Festival makes it easy. The bi-annual festival, now in its second year, takes …
Celebrating the Power of Art
A mural festival in the Yukon will draw artists, youth, and the general public together to decorate some buildings in Whitehorse with a colourful palette. The 2-month long Yukon Heritage Mural Art Festival is kicking off on Saturday, and organizers are inviting anyone and everyone to pop by, check out what’s going on, pick up …
Playing in the Dark
“Think of magic as a tree. The root of supernatural ability is simply the realization that all time exists simultaneously. Humans experience time as a progression of sequential events in much the same way we see the horizon as flat: our reality is shaped by our limitations.” –excerpt from Son of a Trickster by Eden …
Women in Whitehorse – Part 2
From the river to the mountains, Whitehorse is a picturesque place. However, it’s the people that make Whitehorse truly breathtaking . Beauty is found in Yukoners weaving their unique skills and talents into the tapestry of the north. This is the first in a three part series about three particularly extraordinary women of Whitehorse. Teagyn …
Telling the untold stories of the Yukon
The first days in the creation of the play Map of the Land, Map of the Stars took place in the summer of 2015 along the banks of the Yukon River. A group of artists gathered with stories, images, objects, and songs – items that they were drawn to and that were rooted in the …
Take the Gwich’in Language Challenge
Take the Gwich’in language challenge. It’s a challenge from Norman Snowshoe, the former Gwich’in Tribal Council vice president. He said, “If you learn one Gwich’in word a day, at the end of the year you’ve learned 365 Gwich’in words.” Jacey Firth-Hagen, 23, jumped to the challenge. She started a social media based movement, called Speak …
Thank You, Grandma
Trekking around the vast wilderness behind my grandparents home, I remember my grandma taking me through the wilderness teaching me about traditional medicines. I loved learning what the medicines could be used for, when to use them, their benefits and the importance of respect and dignity for all life around me. She would discuss survival …
Artistic Announcements in Beads and Bells
Moses found nine other women to take on creating a dog blanket. The sewing group started up again in September, and they cut the materials out in October. She was happy she had such a good team of committed artists working with her. Each blanket takes many hours to design, bead and complete. They worked …
Looking Back on 40 Years of Team Spirit
In the fall of 1975 when Joe Jack was around 24 years old he and a group of friends thought it would be a good idea to start a First Nations hockey team that would include people from all the communities in the Yukon. He and his friends were avid hockey players. “We called ourselves …
Telling Stories Through Dance
“What would I say my style is? It depends on what project I’m working on… I liked to say ‘contemporary aboriginal dancer’ for a long time, but that’s pretty broad – there are so many kinds of aboriginal dance and it’s all different… If you were writing a poem, you’d use whatever words and meters …
Arts, Culture and Creation
“Artists show the world unseen,” says Tahltan First Nation artist Rhoda Merkel. “Teachers show students a better form of themselves.” Merkel, who was raised in Whitehorse but lives in Atlin, combines both talents in her newest project, the Sam Johnston Storytelling Festival, which takes place Tuesday, March 7 in Teslin. The festival is a collaboration, …
Butterflies, Ravens and Tlingit Princesses – Oh My!
The event’s honoured figure, Sam Johnston, is a venerated elder within the Teslin Community. He has been a politician, athlete and former chief of the Teslin Tlingit Council, as well as a celebrated community figure. “The goal of this day is to share some stories with (Johnston), make him feel special and thank him for …
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High on Life
Between the years of 1991 and 2011 my husband and I used to pack up our son and drive to a mountain summit a few times every winter. They were once our favourite places to be: those white wide-open expanses. An active community of winter lovers is still going to the summits: skiers, snowboarders, snow …
Birdie – Tracey Lindberg
“Maybe she didn’t cry because tears were a currency in her life for so long that holding them back meant she was richer.” Birdie is an experience. Here the written word weaves between oral and written history, dreamtime and shared reality; it wraps and warps time and memory, ancient knowledge and new experiences, into one …
Hunting with Gary Sam
I remember well while hunting with Gary Sam he suddenly jumped off his horse and ran into the bush. “I got it,. We ate well that night!
Triple Threat
The Pivot Theatre Festival – Nakai Theatre’s annual performance showcase – begins a seven-night run this weekend in multiple Whitehorse venues. In addition to smaller-scale offerings such as a theatrical pub walk, an evening of spoken word material and a “speed-friending” event called Stranger Connections, the festival will feature the three major pieces, including: A …
Calling Aboriginal Artists!
The Yukon First Nation Culture and Tourism Association is looking for artists, artisans, musicians and performers from the Yukon and abroad to be part of the seventh annual Adäka Cultural Festival, which takes place at the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre from June 30th to July 6th. “We generally reach out to the well-established group …
Slip-Sliding Away
Benkert is quick to underline this aspect of the project. “The Yukon Geological Survey has been really critical (to the project) all the way through,” she says, and goes on to cite the important roles played by the Universities of Ottawa and Montreal as well as each of the seven communities that participated in the …
Predator and Prey 14,000 Years Ago
Zhoh, the Clan of the Wolf: Fiction of the first humans to inhabit The Yukon. I knew Bob Hayes novel would be physically accurate.
The Klondike Continues to Prepare for World Heritage Status
The nomination package has been prepared under the watchful eye of a local advisory committee, including representation from Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, the City of Dawson, the Yukon Government, the Klondike Placer Miners Association and citizen reps from both Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and the Dawson community. There is also a project management team, and much of the actual …
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Karen Nicloux: Stitching a Healthy Future
To talk to her, you wouldn’t think the quiet needleworker Karen Nicloux was once in the upper echelons of our local drug circuit. She was one of two debut artists chosen to display work at the newly opened Art House Carcross, a permanent visual showcase to promote Yukon art in the Carcross Commons in partnership …
Mining All the Options
Saturday, Nov. 19 is the Yukon Chamber of Mines’ Family Day and on Sunday the Forum Trade Show showcases the industry. Monday the Core Shack opens with drilling samples of recent prospects. Mann, an independent consultant, hasn’t missed the Geoscience Forum since the late ’80s. “If you live and work in this territory it’s the …
Calls to Action
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action task all sectors of Canadian society to make changes that will affect “the way things are done” between First Nations people and non-First Nation Canadians. The TRC came about as a way to address the legacy of residential schools, and to help to reconcile relations between …
Keeping the Dream Alive
When Jolie Angelina McNabb was buried 16 years ago, Kwanlin Dün elders gave her the name, Blue Feather Eagle Woman. The Bluefeather Music Festival started in 2010 as a tribute concert to Jolie, who committed suicide. She had a dream, that she wanted to do something for youth, something to give them hope so they …
Hepburn Tramway Historic Walk
“There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country. A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo. Even a bicycle goes too fast.” Paul Scott Mowrer Whitehorse resident Peter Long is an avid walker. He has explored many trails in and around Whitehorse. …
Starting Conversations through Art with A Dawson City Scrapbook
When you think of comics, you may think of superheroes or lovable scruffy dogs. But Rebecca Roher says comics are not only pulpy and light. Roher is a cartoonist, illustrator and educator. Comics, she says, can be used to start conversations about serious topics. “People are maybe more open to a comic, while other forms …
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“It Will Give Them Good Dreams”
The big fat airbus hit the tarmac in Whitehorse on Tuesday evening and departed Wednesday afternoon — William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were in the Yukon for less than 24 hours. The government of Canada booked the entire Coast High Country Inn for Will, Kate and their 80-or-so person entourage, Governor …
Building Tourism From the Ground Up
The Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre, a cultural hub of our capital city, will see national delegates focused on aboriginal economic development arrive on Monday, October 3 for the CANDO 23rd annual conference: Partnerships for Prosperity, Change Collaboration and Opportunity. CANDO (Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers) is a federally registered, non-profit society that …
Recognizing Amazing Art
Our community will soon welcome an expected 100+ Indigenous curators, artists, and academics participating in the first northern gathering of the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective. The collective is a national service organization of Indigenous curators and artists from across this land now known as Canada. The collective was created in response to the dominating non-native curatorial …
Exploring Identity
Falen Johnson doesn’t know where the expression “salt baby” came from, but it’s a moniker the First Nations actor-turned-playwright acquired at birth. “I don’t remember being called that when I was a kid, but I remember hearing stories that I was called that as a baby, because I was really white-looking. It may have just …
A Strong Indigenous Female Presence at Arts Underground
Two new exhibitions curated by Jennifer Bowen Allen, of the Dene Nation, opened Sept. 2 at Arts Underground. In the Focus Gallery, a group show called Hands of Time: Bush Women on the Land honours the way that women who live on the land have supported cultural continuity by maintaining their traditional practices. In the …
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A Feast For All
Harvest time. At the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in (TH) Teaching and Working Farm, there will be a feast to celebrate a summer’s worth of hard work.
Amazonian Mythology and Western Hallucinations
Somewhere between Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and the writings of Colombian philosopher Santiago Castro-Gómez lies Ciro Guerra’s film Embrace of the Serpent. Shot in stunning 35mm black and white film in the Amazon, Embrace of the Serpent is a dream-like manifestation of the psychotropic diaries of two ethno-botanists’ encounter with an Amazonian shaman. Switching …
Questioning the World
Harlan Pruden and Marney Paradis are PhD program at UBC. Pruden gave a talk to a group of peers – including Marney – after class once. As Pruden describe it, upon hearing the presentation, Paradis’s mind was blown. Two-Spirit People, Then and Now: Sex, Gender and Sexuality in Historical and Contemporary Native America is the …
Seeds of Change Lead to Reconciliation
Seeds of Change invites locals and visitors to consider the implications of the concept of reconciliation. It’s the summer exhibit in the Gathering Room in the Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre in Dawson City. It displays information about the history that has led to a need for this reflection, and it shows some of the steps …
Off to the Races with Allan Benjamin
97 Yukoners aged 55 to 91 participated in the 2016 Canada 55+ Games in Brampton, Ontario from Aug.16 to 19.
Learning her Mom’s Language
“Dänch’á Éh ma,” I begin the conversation with my mother in a standard Southern Tutchone greeting, uncertain and nervous about my speaking abilities. “Éyigē shrō kwäthän,” she replies. “My feelings are very good.” We are closing a generational gap that transpired in the last century in Northwestern Canada, as colonization took hold in the territories. …
Hands-On Haute Couture in the Junction
From beading to working with hide and hair, “Textile and fashion endeavours are followed by a huge number of locals,” says Heiko Hähnsen. He’s the director of the Junction Arts and Music, or JAM, an organization that “nurtures the arts”, according to its website, and is hosting Haines Junction’s first Hands-On Craft Weekend. Given that …
A portal to the world
Yukon artist Lawrie Crawford imagined a gallery, an airy space with high ceilings and big beautiful windows. She could picture Suzanne Paleczny’s sculpture of Icarus hanging there. With that vision an idea was born. Crawford and her colleagues in the Southern Lakes Artists Collective were inspired to create a gallery space filled with a wide …
The Tagish Kwan Photo Parlour
Another new initiative has sprung up on the Carcross Commons. Near the totem pole stands an off-white canvas wall tent. Inside, it’s set up as a photography studio. There are lights and high quality cameras with multiple flashes. There is a printer, and a tickle trunk. It’s the second place in the territory to offer …
Didee & Didoo: INDIAN TIME
WE DON’T KEEP TRACK OF TIME AN’ WE DON’T THINK IT’S A CRIME. OUR ALARM GOES ON AT EIGHT BUT WE LIKE TO BE LATE. WE SUPPOSE TO BE THERE BY NINE BUT OUR TIME IS ALWAYS BEHIND. EVEN WHEN IT’S COFFEE BREAK WE’RE STILL BARELY AWAKE. WHEN THE CLOCK IS AT ELEVEN WE THINK …
A Celebration of Tradition and Culture
From July 28 to 31 the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation will welcome everyone to their traditional territory. The First Nation is hosting the 13th biennial Moosehide Gathering, taking place at Moosehide Village, which is located 3 km downriver from Dawson City by boat, or 4.5 km by forest trail. Entry and camping is free. During …
Chronicling the Peace
From her cabin on her parents’ farm near Fort St. John, B.C., Jody Peck can see the broad, meandering Peace River, not far from where her family first settled in 1924. On a recent Friday afternoon, Peck was about to start assembling the merchandise she and her band, Miss Quincy and the Showdown, hope to …
A Family Tradition
When the hooligan are running, the rivers and harbour In Haines, Alaska host a fiesta of wildlife that congregate to feed on this little fish that First Nations prize for its high fat content. Sea gulls, eagles, sea lions and even whales feast on the bounty when it arrives. For generations, the local Tlingit people …
A Canada Day Celebration Worth Driving To
Mayo Arts Festival offers a unique way to celebrate Canada’s birthday with artists, workshops and musicians from the Stewart River Valley
Tlingit Treasure
On Saturday May 14th, under sunny skies, hundreds of spectators celebrated the Grand Opening of the Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Heritage Centre and Bald Eagle Preserve Visitor Centre, amidst some of the most spectacular scenery in Alaska. The cultural heritage centre was built to house treasures of the Tlingit People, and is a treasure in and …
Deep Ecology within Architecture and Design
The Living Building Challenge is an international sustainable building certificate program to foster the conscious development and design of eco-friendly architecture. It was launched 10 years ago, and pillars of performance include, site, water, energy, health, materials, equity and beauty. Recently the Maori tribe Ngai Tûhoe completed the construction of New Zealand’s first living …
A welcoming sewing circle
Have you got a beading project you’ve been trying to finish? Do you want to learn more about First Nations traditional sewing? Florence Moses hosts a sewing circle Wednesday evenings from 5-9 p.m. in the office of the Nacho Nyak Dun Development Corporation, located in the Yukon Inn Plaza on 4th Ave. You can come …
Myth and Medium Focuses on Stories and Performance
This week shaped up to be a culturally ambitious one in Dawson City. The centerpiece of the week has been the Myth and Medium conference organized by the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in’s Heritage Department and focusing on the performing arts. It’s not too late to take in some of the culture. The week’s performance workshops continue on …
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Hone Your Craft
This year marks the 14th anniversary of the Available Light Film Festival. Each year, the festival seems to grow and attract greater talent from a variety of places. This year also has a substantial amount of filmmaking workshops, some free and others requiring tickets. The festival’s keynote address will be from Dylan Marchetti, chief creative …
Hostel Hostility, Part 2
Before coming to Nicaragua’s beach mecca of San Juan del Sur, I had undergone a hostel scare in Granada – a polite-seeming colonial city with awe-inspiring architecture, nouveau cuisine and two sports bars. I had returned from dinner and was enjoying a rare private moment in my empty eight-person hostel room. Before long, an athletic …
A farewell from the 2015 Rendezvous Queen
As the year 2015 is coming to an end, so does my reign as the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Queen 2015. This article will be my last article in the Queen’s Corner. Last February I was interviewed for the CBC about the reasons why I signed up for the Rendezvous Queen Competition. Honestly, I did not …
Didee & Didoo: THOSE MY AUNTIE
I CALL THOSE MY AUNTIE HE AN’ HE CALL THOSE UNCLE SHE. THOSE AUNTIE HE’S NOT THAT NEW AND SNUFF HE ALWAYS CHEW. I THINK HE STILL WEAR BLOOMER AN’ HE MAKE STRONG RUMOUR. THOSE AUNTIE ALWAYS SMOKE PIPE AN’ HE USE CATALOG TO WIPE. THOSE MY AUNTIE HE FEEL BIG WHEN HE MAKE DOUBLE …
Brightening Up Even the Darkest Nights
I’m happy to record that, except for the arrival of the Sears Wish Book at North 60 Petro Express, everything else related to Christmas here in Dawson City seems to have been content to wait until after Remembrance Day to get started. ‘Tis the season for community gatherings, and the first one to occur was …
A natural way to look good (and feel good)
Standing in the hallway of the Horwood’s Mall, looking into Climate Clothing, you don’t immediately see the First Nation influence in the neat rows of clothing. You see earth tones, trending toward the dark due to the season, and little surprises here and there in a comfortable store. But First Nation teachings lives in the …
Global response to climate change
The systems of the Earth are inextricably interwoven – be they environmental, social, or economic. Naomi Klein, bestselling author of This Changes Everything, The Shock Doctrine, and No Logo, believes that the capitalist model of economics is at odds with the healthy functioning of all other systems on Earth. Klein says that capitalism is a …
Invitation for an Authentic Experience
Yukon First Nations are planning ways to offer authentic cultural experiences for visitors. The plan to bolster cultural tourism among the Yukon First Nations has been in the works for a while, but this week people from across the Yukon Territory are getting together for a conference in Whitehorse to discuss ways to strengthen this …
Harvesting Porcupine Caribou Near Old Crow
In the past two years the herd of Porcupine Caribou in Old Crow herd has gradually changed its natural migration route.
Didee & Didoo: DIDOO AN’ POOR DIDEE
THEIR BACKS ARE BENT AN’ THEY STAY IN A TENT. THEY DON’T READ OR WRITE AN’ THEY USE CANDLE AT NIGHT. DIDOO WEAR LONG SKIRT AN’ DIDEE WEAR CHECKER SHIRT. THEIR AGES THEY ESTIMATE ‘CAUSE THEY DON’T KNOW THE DATE. DIDEE CHEW STRONG SNUFF BUT DIDOO LIKES TO PUFF. DIDEE MAKES SNOWSHOES WITH BIRCH AN’ …
Telling stories
Sharon Shorty and I first met back in 2005 when I worked at the Yukon College Library with her awesome husband, Derek Yap. Sharon was born and raised in Whitehorse and is a member of the Teslin Tlingit First Nation. She is a storyteller, beader, regalia maker, wife, playwright, mom, and actor. But what I …
Water under Moss
My favourite childhood memories are when Mom would take us to Fish Lake, just a few miles out of Whitehorse. We spent our summers there along with several other families during the 1950s. Though the summers at Fish Lake were my favourite times, there were always chores to do before playtime. Our mother, Carrie, was …
Sharing the Past
Out on the old Alaska Highway, halfway to Haines Junction and only a few kilometres from Champagne, an observant traveller may spot Kwaday Dan Kenji, or Long Ago People’s Place. The privately-owned camp, the only one of its kind in the Yukon, represents two decades of Harold Johnson’s dedication to preserving and sharing Champagne and …
Drumming Festival will ‘wake up the land’
“You feel it to your core; it is a heartbeat; so uplifting; it just goes right through me.” Steve Smith, the chief of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, is trying to explain what drumming means to him and his First Nation. “It was dormant in me for quite a while,” says Chief Smith. “But …
First Nations share through fashion
It’s her first day on the job and Chantal Rondeau is starting with a list of the Yukon’s 14 First Nations. “I cross them off when I get a piece of their clothing on the runway,” she says. The producer of the Adäka Fashion Show, the splashy finale of the upcoming Adäka Cultural Festival, June …
Ancestral Ways
Juanita Growing Thunder-Fogarty lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the tiny community of North San Juan, on the same property her paternal ancestors settled during the California Gold Rush of 1849. But her heart is inextricably linked to the Great Plains territory of her Sioux and Assiniboine forebears, and the beading …
Dawson’s Community Dance
Tiss Clark, a local artist and music teacher, is the organizer of the Community Jigging Square Dance Project in Dawson City. She decided to start the project after hearing an elder in Fort MacPherson recount dance history in the North. “Dances used to be for meeting, talking, and socializing with the community,” says Clark. “There’s …
World Heritage Planning Gets a Big Boost
The Yukon Government (YG) finally decided to sign on in a substantive way to the push for UNESCO World Heritage Status for the site designated Tr’ondëk/ Klondike. The press release hasn’t been issued yet as I write these words, but I know, because I was one of the people who posed for the group photo …
Connecting to the past, to guide the future
On March 8, 2015, a team of 18 Northern Tutchone elders and heritage staff from the Nacho Nyak Dun, Selkirk, and Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nations embarked on a trip across the country in search of their heritage. For some, like Elder Gertie Tom, this was one of many visits to Ottawa throughout her career. For …
Diner Lights
Sid van der Meer recently travelled from the gold rush fields of Arizona back to Canada’s most westerly community — Beaver Creek, Yukon. Sid has strong family ties to the White River First Nation, on whose lands he resides. He built his own home and museum behind Beaver Creek’s baseball diamond. His museum has become …
Caring Souls
Krista Reid has worked since last June to ensure the memorial exhibition known as Walking With Our Sisters would be “a space to create a personal journey” of awareness and healing. “It’s an opportunity for those who have been in violent situations, or have lost loved ones to violence, to provide a place of honouring, …
Formerly Tools, Now Artifacts on Display
The Kwanlin Dün First Nation recorded elders’ stories in 1993. This turned into about seven boxes of transcripts, which sat in an office. Elders gathered several more times, and their stories of camp locations and trail locations were again recorded, transcribed, and combed. Archaeologists compiled and compressed the information-as-stories, and honed in on one geographic …
Leela Gilday: Heart of the People
Leela Gilday recognizes how First Nations performers can inspire aboriginal youngsters, who seldom see “indigenous heroes”
Gunalchéesh for your Love and Support
Marilyn Jensen was inspired to start a dance group after finishing her master’s degree at the University of Victoria. She studied Indigenous governance, and said she was surrounded bypeople who were connecting with their culture, language, traditions, and old ways of life; this propelled her. She returned to her hometown of Carcross, and in the …
Up Ghost River Without a Paddle
When Edmund Metatawabin’s (Ed) residential school memoir, Up Ghost River, jumped off the new-books shelf of the Yukon Public Library and landed in my book bag on top of Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe, I was tempted to blow my whistle and send him to the penalty box for obstruction. I was hunting for some …
Remembering Alex Van Bibber
Some people should live forever; I felt immense loss as I heard about Alex Van Bibber’s passing on November 26, 2014, at the age of 98. I first heard about Alex van Bibber when I came to Canada in 1985. I was living in Atlin and had not yet heard about all the amazing things …
Fish on Porcupine River
Sitting at a fish hole in the dark on the Porcupine River, in the Yukon at Old Crow in the fall, is not unusual. Excitement stirs when the ice begins to freeze on the Porcupine River. My friends and I begin to prepare ice augers, fishing lines, favourite fish hooks, and all-time baits. We do …
Running’s His Medicine
Caribou Legs has a home now, in Whitehorse. He’s lived here for about three months. He runs everyday, and he works with youth. He’s currently organizing a jigging marathon for New Years Eve; he’ll invest the money raised on his next runs — he’s going to Inuvik, where he’ll do four youth workshops, and then …
Mountain elephants and buffalo eyes
It was the Christmas season in 2005 in Whitehorse and my two great-grandsons, Dakota and his younger brother Garrison, were visiting us during their Vancouver school break. Because my late partner, John, and I had a trip planned to travel down the Alaska Highway in the New Year, the boys didn’t have to take the …
“Thinking About the Tomorrow”
It started with a death in the community, a suicide last November. Young people close to the deceased asked each other why it came to that — “What wasn’t there for him? What did he need?” The conversation that started in living rooms extended to teleconferences between communities. Young people talked about what is missing …
A Successful Spring
As an Elder, I learned from my past Elders; as a Gwitchin, I live along with the season. Porcupine Caribou is our main source of food. We fry caribou meat in the morning. We eat caribou steaks, along with fried eggs and hot bannock, and then we begin our day. For lunch we add caribou …
Feels Like a Celebration
First, she says, it allows artists, performers and cultural sector workers “to come together once a year to share inspiration, to share ideas, to learn new skills, to inspire each other.” Alexander is a co-founder and executive producer of the four-year-old festival, which runs this year from Friday, June 27 through Thursday, July 3 at …
Growing Up Gwich’in
Editor’s Note: When Jason Westover visited Elizabeth Kaye recently, he suggested he would love to know more about her life besides her passion for moccasin-making. This inspired her to write the following article at the family camp down-river of Old Crow. As a Gwich’in child I lived a nomadic lifestyle in the Northwest Territories since …
One Foot in a Moccasin, and One in a Sneaker
Culture has been described as the immune system of a people, and in a world where so many distractions are coming at us on a regular basis, Yukoners can take comfort in knowing that we are home to a beautiful and thriving culture. Last year, Yukon First Nations celebrated the 40-year anniversary of the document, …
A Testament to the Disappearances of Aboriginal Women
International Women’s Day is Saturday, March 8, it’s a day to pause and consider women’s health, dreams, and safety — worldwide, and in Canada. It’s a perfect time to see The Hours that Remain, a play by Ontario Métis artist Keith Barker. The play explores the love, loss, and grief for families and communities surrounding …
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Northern Pride
Art has the power to heal — and the artwork that comes out of the healing process can be amazing. Not always, sure, there are some art-therapy drawings only a mother could love. But check out the woodcarvings, prints, and copper art on exhibit at Arts Underground March 7 to 29. They’re impressive. The new …
Myth and Medium are Coming Again
The bi-annual Myth and Medium symposium runs from February 24 to 28 this year, the week after the territorial Heritage Day holiday. Heritage Day originally inspired the idea of Myth and Medium about a decade ago. The first symposium tied in nicely with both a display of the Cameron Collection, brought here by Ken Lister …
Celebrating Local Books
Writing tends to be a pretty solitary activity, but with their books completed and published, nine Yukon authors are ready to celebrate. Mac’s Fireweed Books is hosting the annual Yukon Book Signing Extravaganza on Dec. 7, and the authors will be there speaking about their books, signing copies and mingling with the book loving guests …
What is the Tr’ondëk-Klondike Project?
In two previous columns I have given some background behind Dawson City’s interest in UNESCO’s World Heritage Status designation. The Klondike region was placed on the national short list for this status in 2004, and I have outlined some of the earlier attempts to realize this goal. The latest project is called Tr’ondënk-Klondike: Future World …
Exploring Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Culture
The striking Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre was controversial when it was first being built in Dawson City — it’s not exactly a gold rush themed building. But it was Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in themed, and it’s now thoroughly embedded in the Dawson waterfront scene. With its stadium seating theatre, Hammerstone Gallery, Gathering Room and gift shop, the …
Part of the Land, Part of the Water
During early land claim negotiations, respected Teslin elder Virginia Smarch once said of her Tlingit community, “that is who we are: part of the land, part of the water.” This uplifting statement is echoed in the events, feasts, performances and workshops planned for this year’s bi-annual Hà Kus Teyea celebration, hosted by Teslin Tlingit Council …
Artrepreneur: Sundog Carvers Sink Teeth into Snow
Young artists from the Sundog carving program have turned from wood to snow. Until Feb. 23, you can see them carving six eight-foot square blocks of snow at Shipyards Park. They will not be carving alone. Eight professional snow carving teams from across Canada and the United States started carving at midnight on Feb. 20 …
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Keeping the Stories Alive
Tammy Lee Josie was literally pushed onto the stage at 14 years old. She was watching her grandmother, Edith Josie, perform her family’s Vuntut Gwitchin stories at the Yukon International Storytelling Festival in 1998 when festival coordinator Louise Profeit-Leblanc asked if Tammy Lee knew Edith’s tales. “Then my grandmother pointed at me and said ‘Your …
Artrepreneur: Cutouts and Curious George
Whimsy, angst and wit play in Joseph Tisiga’s drawings for the show Indigenous Incisions — or an Indigenous Ambivalence of the Abandoned Modern Man — opening Sept. 4 in the Yukon Arts Centre Community Gallery. Or should I call him J. Ciga? That’s how he signs his drawings. Ciga (pronounced cih-guh, with a short sharp …
The art of guilt
Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood in the House of Commons on June 11, 2008 and apologized. His address was in regards to Indian Residential Schools in Canada. “Truly, with the Stephen Harper apology, he was just the deliverer,” artist Cathy Busby says. “Stephen Harper is apologizing as the Head of State. So it’s kind of …
Dolores Anderson
Dolores Anderson (nee Scheffen) is among the Yukon artists involved with Sewing Our Traditions: Dolls of Canada’s North the exhibition that is heading to Northern Scene in April. The exhibition, which has just completed touring across Canada and to Cambridge, UK, is a collection of more than 50 handmade dolls created by Inuit and First …
New Film Gives a Child’s Eye Perspective on Residential Schools
Generations of First Nations Peoples across Canada are still trying to come to terms with experiences they and their families had in residential schools. A new film called We Were Children is a visual narrative of residential school survivors’ experiences. At the heart of the film are the real-life experiences of two survivors, Glen Anaquod …
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Discovering a Rich Cultural Heritage
Colleen Potter has an infectious smile that can put even the most-guarded person at ease. It’s a smile that doesn’t fade when she begins to talk about her ancestry. Potter is Métis. We often think such a fact should be pushed to the side, that ethnicity should not be discussed in polite company. Because of …
Keeping His Culture Strong
Daniel Tlen sang our national anthem at the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The event was viewed by one of the largest television audiences ever assembled. “There were some estimates that two-billion people were watching,” says Tlen, though he admits he is a little skeptical of that figure. Tlen’s performance of …
Finding a Gem
It can take approximately six days to hand-make a traditional pair of beaded moosehide moccasins. That’s why they cost about $250.But when you splurge on a pair your feet will be toasty warm and you’ll be walking around in artwork. During the Sourdough Rendezvous weekend, the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre is hosting a craft fair with …
Our Olympic contribution
The Yukon’s cultural contribution to the Vancouver Winter Olympics is all coming together. On Tuesday, Feb. 16, at the Yukon Arts Centre, audiences will see what the world will see later that week from B.C. Place. One Word: The Yukon Experience, pulls together select performances from The Yukon Experience and What the Land Remembers. It …
The Trickster as Bingo Master
Can one Holy Grail of a Bingo Game in Toronto be the answer to the dreams of seven women living on a reserve? Tomson Highway’s play, The Rez Sisters, asks that question as it sends seven women on a journey to seek out the Bingo Game to beat all Bingo Games. Gwaandak Theatre reads the …
Aboriginal plays featured in Gwaandak’s Summer Reading Series
Gwaandak Theatre is putting on a reading series this summer featuring three plays written by First Nations playwrights, borrowing the skills of some local First Nation actors — some who are brand new to the theatre stage. The whole idea makes Patti Flather and Leonard Linklater, co-founders of Gwaandak Theatre, excited and hopeful. “We wanted …
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From the Arts: Beautiful New Additions to Your Gallery
In the lobby of the Yukon Government Administration Building, just behind the library, you can see this year’s eight new additions to the Yukon Permanent Art Collection. The collection “belongs to the people of the Yukon,” Tourism and Culture Minister Elaine Taylor stressed in her speech at the show’s opening. The show, entitled Capture, includes …
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Blackstone Buzz and Fish Magnets
While APTN is ushering in the New Year with a number of great new shows, perhaps the biggest buzz will come from the premiere of the long-awaited, controversial dramatic series based on a pilot of the same name that debuted on APTN in the fall of 2009. Blackstone, the series, promises to give viewers more …
Speaking Frankly about Choices
Jessica Yee doesn’t mince her words. “As young people, our rights to our own bodies and spaces are fundamental to our own existence. They are our birthright,” the 25-year-old activist declares. Yee speaks about seeing people her own age experiencing violence and unwanted pregnancy and how that contributed to her work in sexual reproductive rights …
Seeing With Both Eyes
My first introduction to the CHAOS program involved driving up Grey Mountain to meet a group of grade 9 students and educators as they completed an extended hike on their final day of school before summer break. CHAOS, which stands for Community, Heritage, Adventure, Outdoors and Skills, is a new experiential education program for Yukon …
If you can’t stand the heat …
In like a lion, March marks the launch of exciting premieres on APTN, featuring competition that is sure to be fierce. Cooking With the Wolfman returns for its eighth season, this time heating up with a brand new culinary cook-off format that will keep viewers culturally informed and highly entertained. Chef David Wolfman selected eight …
Aboriginal Day Live
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is set to stage its annual celebration of National Aboriginal Day in Canada. This year’s fifth anniversary event will be shining bigger, brighter and better than ever. Taking place on Saturday June 18, APTN’s Aboriginal Day Live event will feature a star-studded, three-and-a-half hour nationally-televised live concert, showcasing today’s brightest …
Remembering Tent City
As we get closer to the time when Dawson sees an influx of summer workers, I thought I would take this week to reflect on the glory that was Tent City. To begin with, there has been a summer housing crunch in Dawson from at least the 1970s on. The shortage of suitable accommodation has …
Wisecracks and Popcorn
APTN broadcasts a wide variety of Hollywood films, with features four nights per week and additional matinees on weekends. A lot of viewers wonder how we choose our films. If APTN is an Aboriginal network, what does that have to do with Hollywood films? Believe it or not, every movie APTN airs has an Aboriginal …
Finding Wonder in Wood
The subtle aromas of cedar, basswood and paint scent the air in the Arts Underground gallery as you view the representations of frog, raven, eagle, wolf and other figures in the Northern Cultural Expressions Sundog Carving Program exhibition. Each work reveals the patience and gestures of the hands that worked on them. Some artists choose …
Dawson’s Got Culture
Things generally slow down at the Dänojà Zho (Hän for Long Ago House) Cultural Centre once the summer season is over and the tourists are gone, but this fall season has been something of an exception. The place is a hotbed of activity, even in December. The building is approaching its 15th year of operation …
A Tale in Two Tellings
Ten years after Louis Riel was convicted of high treason and hanged, a young Cree warrior shot a cow near Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, where the so-called North-West Rebellion had begun. According to some versions of the story, the animal was intended for his wedding feast. That young man, known in English as Almighty Voice, was …
Michael Mason’s Single Line
It’s a slow Sunday afternoon and Michael Mason is a little discouraged at the low turnout for his one-man art show at the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Community Hall. It probably doesn’t help that there’s work being done on the roof of the building and the entrance looks a bit like a construction zone. Mason muses that …
Promoting Canada’s National Sport
Terry Mosdale wants to see the sport of lacrosse take root and grow in the Yukon. The learning facilitator and officiating clinician with the Canadian Lacrosse Association was in Whitehorse a couple of weekends ago to train a group of new Yukon lacrosse coaches to help make that happen. Mosdale, who travelled to the territory …
A Little Off the Top: Stereotypes and Beyond
On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper rose in the House of Commons to issue a formal apology for Canada’s century-long Indian residential school policy. That same Wednesday evening, a new play called Where the Blood Mixes burst upon the Canadian theatre scene at the Magnetic North Theatre Festival in Vancouver, B.C. The two …
Southern Tutchone Lives In Song
The Southern Tutchone language CD, entitled Dakwanjenaats u al, has a purpose: The English translation is “Let’s Pick Up Our Language Again”.
Old Colours Shepherded Into A New World
Born in a time of transition, Jack Fred Jackson was strongly influenced by time spent with his grandfather, both on the land and in the home.
