Our Stories

Elijah Smith, or Tä Me in Southern Tutchone, was born in Champagne in 1912. In 1973, he led a delegation of Yukon First Nation leaders to Ottawa to present Together Today for our Children Tomorrow to the Prime Minister of Canada, which marked the beginning of modern land claim negotiations in the Yukon.

In 1973 the Yukon Native Brotherhood and the Yukon Association of Non-Status Indians came together to form the Council for Yukon Indians – known today as the Council of Yukon First Nations – in order to negotiate land claims on behalf of all Yukon First Nations people.

In 1900, Chief Jim Boss (Kishoot) recognized the effect of settlers and petitioned the Government of Canada and wrote to the Yukon Commissioner and the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs requesting compensation for his people’s loss of land and hunting grounds.

Tséi Zhéłe / Sinwaa Éex’i Yé (Conrad) Historic Site is a place for sharing, protecting and reconnecting with our heritage and culture.

For millennia, the Gwich’in have lived in and travelled to the Van Tat, British Mountains and Porcupine River area in northern Yukon.

As a living cultural heritage site, Huchá Hudän (Fort Selkirk) is a place to share, respect and preserve for future generations.

The Yukon Association of Non-Status Indians was founded in 1972 to represent and advocate for First Nations people who lost their status through discriminatory sections of Canada’s Indian Act.

Yukon’s Tombstone Territorial Park protects a unique wilderness of rugged peaks, permafrost landforms, abundant wildlife and rich First Nation

The Tatshenshini River is designated as a Canadian Heritage River in the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations' Final Agreement.