Children of Tomorrow Series

Indigenous man wearing glasses and black button down shirt

The Children of Tomorrow is a series of 10 videos featuring prominent Yukoners who were children when Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow was being created. They share their thoughts on the past, present and future of the Yukon Agreements.

On February 14, 1973, a delegation of Yukon First Nation leaders, presented Together Today for our Children Tomorrow: A Statement of Grievances and an Approach to Settlement by the Yukon Indian People to then Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. 

This ground breaking document laid out Yukon First Nations history, the challenges they face, and ideas on how to build a better tomorrow for future generations, the ‘Children of Tomorrow’. It would become the basis for negotiating the 11 Yukon First Nation land claim and self-government agreements.

“This settlement is for our children, and our children’s children, for many generations to come. All of our programs and the guarantee we seek in our settlement are to protect them from a repeat of today’s problems in the future. You cannot talk to us about a bright new tomorrow when so many of our people are cold, hungry and unemployed. A bright new tomorrow is what we feel we can build when we get a fair and just settlement.” - Together Today for our Children Tomorrow, 1973 

In 2013, Mapping the Way sat down with some of the ‘Children of Tomorrow’, to talk about what life was like in Yukon before the agreements, what the agreements mean to all Yukoners, how the agreements have been implemented since 1973, and what they believe the future holds. 

Here’s what they had to say….

Videos vary in length from 2 to 4 minutes.

Produced in 2017 by Mapping the Way.

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Our Resources

Indigenous man with a goatee wearing glasses
Before Land Claims and Self-Government
With more people and activity in the territory, Yukon First Nations realized that something had to be done to protect their land and way of life, and to make Yukon a better place to live.
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Indigenous man wearing navy blue vest with buttons and beading
Together Today For Our Children Tomorrow
In 1973, Yukon First Nation leaders presented Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow to the Prime Minister Pierre of Canada. This document became the basis for negotiating Yukon First Nation land claims.
Watch
Finding my place in this movement
The Yukon Agreements
The Umbrella Final Agreement was signed in 1993. Today, 11 Yukon First Nations have Final and Self-Government Agreements.
Watch
Indigenous man wearing glasses and black button down shirt.
The Yukon Agreements aren't just about First Nations
All Yukoners benefit from the Agreements.
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Indigenous woman wearing black shirt and silver jewelry
Yukon is leading the way
Yukon is home to almost half of all comprehensive land claim and self-government agreements in Canada.
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The Yukon Agreements are making a difference
Since the land claim and self-government agreements were signed, people have noticed some powerful changes.
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Indigenous woman wearing silver earrings and black vest with Kluane First Nation logo
Land Claims is our culture now
Land claims negotiation took hard work by many important leaders.
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Indigenous woman wearing black full zipper sweater and purple shirt underneath.
What Yukon First Nations Self-Government means to me
Listen to what the children of tomorrow think about the Final and Self-Government Agreements.
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Indigenous woman from the Yukon wearing black jacket with Champagne and Aishihik First Nations logo
Self-Government is hard work
Negotiating the Yukon First Nation land claim and self-government agreements took a long time, and implementing them is an ongoing process.
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Indigenous woman from the Yukon
Finding my place in this movement
Everyone has a role to play in implementing land claims and self-government.
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