The Centre of the Gold Rush
The territories of the Hän (or Hän Hwëch’in) people, who had already lived for millennia along the middle Yukon River, were the epicentre of the gold rush.
The area encompasses more than 20 Indigenous language groups, including the Hän, Tagish, Tlingít, Iñupiaq, Central Yup’ik, Koyukon (Denaakk’e), Holikachuk, Deg Xinag, Upper Kuskokwim, Dena’ina, Ahtna, Eyak, Alutiiq/Sugpiaq, Tanana and Upper Tanana, Tanacross, Gwich’in, Northern and Southern Tutchone, and Kaska.
During the gold rush, essential fishing and hunting sites along the Tr’ondëk (Klondike) River that had long been cultivated and established were either drastically strained or entirely destroyed by the invading occupation of gold seekers, entrepreneurs, and labourers. These events also impacted many other Indigenous communities along the length of the Yukon River and its vast drainage basin.
In 1900, Kishxóot (Chief Jim Boss), leader of the Southern Tutchone Ta’an Kwäch’än people from Tàa’an Män (Lake Laberge), began petitioning the federal and territorial governments for Indigenous land protection. His efforts represented the first attempt at land claim negotiations in the Yukon, a process reinvigorated in 1973 by the Yukon Native Brotherhood, led by Chief Elijah Smith.
Land Acknowledgement
For millennia, the Hän (or Hän Hwëch’in) people lived along the middle Yukon River, where they were known as great salmon fishers. The Hän-speaking Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people established Tr’ochëk as an essential fishing camp and moose hunting base at the confluence of the Tr’ondëk and Yukon Rivers.
When newcomers arrived there in search of gold at the end of the 19th century, they anglicized “Tr’ondëk” as “Klondike” and occupied the site to build Dawson City.
As traffic engulfed the routes leading to the gold-bearing creeks in Hän territory, many other Indigenous nations were adversely impacted. This exhibition seeks to provide a fuller understanding of the Klondike Gold Rush by acknowledging the traditional territories and active presence of the Indigenous Peoples who took part in the events.
Next: The Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection – To the Klondike!