Yukon First Nations Heritage Values and Heritage Resource Management

Ross River Drummers get the audience moving at the 2012 Moosehide Gathering
Performers from a Yukon First Nations dance group on stage at Moosehide Gatherin
T’rondëk Hwëch’in First Nation Director of Heritage Jackie Olson (right) listens
Logistics are a regular part of research in the Yukon, as members of the Yukon I

Following settlement of their respective land claim and self-government agreements, Yukon First Nations own and have responsibility for managing Heritage Resources on their Settlement Lands. 

Canadian governments (Yukon and Canada) have responsibility for managing Heritage Resources on other lands in the Yukon Territory, except Heritage Resources related to the culture and history of Yukon Indian People. These are to be managed consistently with Yukon First Nations values and culture wherever they are located. 

This community-based research seeks understandings of heritage values of three participating Yukon First Nations: the Champagne & Aishihik First Nations, the Carcross-Tagish First Nation and the Ta'an Kwach'än Council. Information on and insights into Yukon First Nations conceptions of heritage will be obtained through interviews, small focus group discussions, and a workshop with individuals and cultural resource workers within the Yukon First Nation communities. Youth and elders will be included in sessions.
 
While it’s clear to those working with or for Yukon First Nations that Yukon First Nations’ values towards Heritage Resources differ from mainstream (i.e., Western) ones, particularly as these values are reflected in Heritage Resource Management concepts and practices, these differences have not been captured in any systematic fashion. Similarly, while it is expected that adoption of Yukon Indian values towards Heritage Resources will impact how self-governing Yukon First Nations manage Heritage Resources, potential Indigenous management practices remain to be articulated and documented. This project was designed and will be directed by the Heritage staff of the three participating self-governing Yukon First Nations.
 

Photos: The Ross River Drummers (Kaska) get the audience moving at the 2012 Moosehide Gathering, the biannual cultural celebration hosted by the T'rondëk Hwëch'in First Nation at Moosehide Village near Dawson City, Yukon; performers from a Yukon First Nations dance group on stage at the Moosehide gathering; T’rondëk Hwëch’in First Nation Director of Heritage Jackie Olson (right) listens as former THFN Chief Angie Joseph-Rear (holding microphone), talks about Heritage values with IPinCH project note-takers Joanne Lauder (far left) and Sheila Greer; logistics are a regular part of research in the Yukon, as members of the Yukon IPinCH team arrive at Dora’s Fish Camp, on Millhaven Bay (Bennett Lake) in Carcross-Tagish First Nation traditional territory. All photos: Jo Anne Lauder and Cathy Bell.

Reports
Yukon First Nations Heritage Values and Resource Management Perspectives from Fo
application/pdf iconFINAL PROJECT REPORT: Yukon First Nations Heritage Values and Resource Management Perspectives from Four Yukon First Nations
Research Themes
Community-Based Cultural Heritage Research

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods engage communities in all aspects of the research process. 
Blog Posts
Catherine Bell leads a discussion at an IPinCH-sponsored event in the Yukon, Can
Thinking Through Access to Justice in Aboriginal Communities

By Nicole Aylwin
Jessica Lai, Cathy Bell and Sheila Greer
The Hot, the Cold and the Eye-Opening Splendour of Canada

By Jessica C. Lai
Performers from a Yukon First Nations dance group on stage
Listening and Learning about Yukon First Nation Heritage Values

By the YFN Case Study Team
Presentations
Yukon First Nations Heritage Values and Heritage Resource Management
Sheila Greer
2013
Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Conference
Accessing Justice: Telling Stories and Learning Lessons from Community-Driven Policy Making in First-Nations Communities
Nicole Aylwin
2013
Encounters in Canada: Contrasting Indigenous and Immigrant Perspectives, Chestnut Conference Centre
Ascertaining and Articulating YFN Laws and Values in the Heritage Context
Catherine Bell and Sheila Greer
2013
From Values to Policy & Legislation: Breaking Trail in a Heritage Self-Governing Context (York Centre for Public Policy and Law, IPinCH, Canadian Forum on Civil Justice), Whitehorse, YK
'When Descendant Communities are in the Driver’s Seat': Examples of Collaborative, Community-Based Heritage Research from the IPinCH Project
George Nicholas
2011
American Anthropological Association Conference, Session: Reversing the Legacy of Colonialism in Heritage Research (Montreal, Quebec)
Yukon First Nations Programs
Sheila Greer
2011
International Symposium on Cultural Resources and Intellectual Properties of Indigenous Peoples, Hokkaido University Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies (Hokkaido, Japan)
Aduri – Our Way
Diane Strand
2011
International Symposium on Cultural Resources and Intellectual Properties of Indigenous Peoples, Hokkaido University Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies (Hokkaido, Japan)
IPinCH Case Studies: Moriori to Yukon First Nations Heritage Group
Sheila Greer and Susan Thorpe
2010
Yukon First Nations Heritage Group Meeting (Whitehorse, Yukon)
Videos & Podcasts
Yukon First Nations Heritage Values and Heritage Resources
Paula Banks, Catherine Bell and Sheila Greer

Paula Banks, Catherine Bell and Sheila Greer presenting on the Yukon First Nations Heritage Values and Heritage Resources project at the IPinCH Midterm Conference, Sept 30th - Oct 1st 2011.