Yukon Association of Non-status Indians: Remembering the Forgotten People

An important chapter in the history of Yukon Indigenous people is about to be told, thanks to a project sponsored by the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle (WAWC) and funded by the Community Development Fund. The project will document the significant work of the Yukon Association of Non-status Indians (YANSI), which “was founded in 1972 to advocate for people of Indigenous ancestry in the Yukon who were deprived of their rights and benefits by discriminatory sections of Canada’s Indian Act.”

Adeline Webber and her husband, Bill Webber, were two of the association’s founders and are part of the Elders Advisory Committee—together with Shirley Adamson, Margaret Commodore and Victor Mitander—who are overseeing the project. The first stage of the project is a series of oral histories with people who were part of YANSI, or their descendants, as some have passed away. Their memories and stories, enhanced with research conducted using archival material, will be the foundation for a book.

YANSI executive and staff
YANSI executive and staff, c. 1977. Front row: Geraldine Pope, Gordon Simpson, Edith Kane, unidentified. YANSI executive and staff, c. 1977. Front row: Geraldine Pope, Gordon Simpson, Edith Kane, unidentified. Second row: Stephen Frost Jr. Kathy VanBibber, Dilys Kluthe, Brenda Sam, Dorothy Wabisca Back row: Bill Webber, Marion Telep, Norman Isaac, Larry Barrett.

Adeline is also a founder and the current vice president of WAWC. She says that the project was a good fit for the Indigenous women’s organization. Many women were affected by the Indian Act’s discriminatory policies; for example, they lost Indian Status under the Indian Act when they married a non-Indigenous person, or an Indigenous man who did not have status.

“Women lost their status, their children lost their status, they had no education rights, they had no rights at all,” Adeline said. “And a lot of them lived in very deplorable conditions and there was no assistance for them. They were basically like ‘the forgotten people.’”

YANSI worked to ensure that all non-status First Nations people were included in the land claims negotiation process, alongside those with status who were represented by the Yukon Native Brotherhood (YNB). YANSI members were determined to have a seat at the table, even though they were not initially welcomed by either the Government of Canada or YNB. The Brotherhood said they would speak for the non-status people; however, YANSI insisted on having their own representation.

Eventually, YANSI and Yukon Native Brotherhood amalgamated to become the Council for Yukon Indians, now the Council of Yukon First Nations. After amalgamation, YANSI’s “role disappeared and a lot of people don’t know the history and all the struggles that the non-status people had to fight for to ensure that everyone was included in the land claims.”

The association also did other work related to housing, education, justice and health. But since YANSI no longer exists, not everyone knows about their significant contribution to the lives of Yukon Indigenous people. That’s where the book comes in.

“We always felt it was important to have [the] role of non-status people, the struggles of non-status people, documented,” Adeline explained.

“To me, it’s acknowledging that the organization was actually in place and that they did really good work, and that because of their good work, so many people are enjoying the land claims settlement,” Adeline said.

Adeline Webber
Adeline Webber at the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle offices, 2022. She’s standing in front of a photograph of children who attended the Whitehorse Indian Mission School

“Although the organization was only around until 1980, it played a really important role for ensuring the equality of everyone. And they brought in a lot of programs for the people.”

It wasn’t always easy, and YANSI’s young founders often learned the ropes as they went along.

“When we first organized, before the founding conference, we had to have a constitution to present,” Adeline explained. “So, we’d never ever dealt with a constitution before, so we pulled together constitutions from other organizations across Canada, who had already organized, and we had a draft for the founding meeting. And my sister typed it up on an old typewriter and made copies with carbon paper.”

“When you need something to be done, when something’s really important, you find a way to get it done.”

Adeline has never stopped working for the rights of Indigenous people in the Yukon. She’s been involved with the WAWC since it was founded in 2004, after she retired from her federal government job.

“The ladies thought I needed something to do,” she said, laughing.

Adeline and Bill Webber
Adeline and Bill Webber, c. 1975

She said she hopes to retire someday, but shows no sign of slowing down. She initiated the creation of Finding Our Faces, a history of the Whitehorse Indian Mission School, which was published in 2015. Adeline is now chairing the Chooutla Residential School Working Group. In addition, she was selected to be the Yukon representative of the Assembly of First Nations delegation, which has traveled to Vatican City to meet with His Holiness Pope Francis.

And, of course, she’s excited to see the YANSI project unfold.

“We’re just pulling everything together now and we have a very competent person [Linda Johnson] leading the charge, and I know it will be successful. I have no doubt, and I’m really happy about that.”

Adeline seems unfailingly optimistic. Still, I ask if she ever gets discouraged.

“Yes, sometimes, but I’m just really resilient,” she said. “When you get discouraged, you then find a way to do what you need to do.

“There’s always a way.”

Folks who have photos to contribute to the YANSI project are invited to call the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle at 867-668-7532.

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