Parks
Heritage
Carcross / Tagish First Nation

Tséi Zhéłe / Sinwaa Éex’i Yé / Conrad Historic Site

black and white photo of historic buildings with mountains in the background
Conrad Townsite, courtesy of the Donaldson Collection, Yukon Archives (YA-80-15-21)

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

The Tagish name for Conrad is Tséi Zhéłe (Howling rock). The Tlingit name for Conrad is Sinwaa Éex’i Yé (Grey Ridge Yelling Place). The historic site is situated on the shore of Tséi Zhéłe Méne’ (Howling Rock Lake), also known as Windy Arm, near the base of Chílíh Dzéłe’ (Montana Mountain, or Gopher Mountain) about 16km south of Carcross, Yukon.

The site was a traditional harvesting place, located on Windy Arm. The place became known as Conrad after the development of the townsite in 1905. The Indigenous and English names help to tell the story and illustrate the heritage values of this important place.

a lake with a mountain in the background and the crumbling remains of a mine artifact
Venus Mine at Conrad Townsite

Use of the site by the Carcross/Tagish people for traditional practices was punctuated by the development (1905) and subsequent abandonment (1914) of the Conrad townsite. Conrad was developed because of mining interests on Montana Mountain, which led to a period of intense exploration and development in mining, technology, and transportation in the region. Continued use by Carcross/Tagish people demonstrates the resilience of their traditional practices, the values of a living heritage, and the Carcross/Tagish people’s longstanding connection to the area.

Chapter 13, Schedule B of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation Final Agreement that the Conrad Historic Site shall be co-owned and co-managed by the Carcross/Tagish First Nation and Government of Yukon and protected under the Historic Resources Act.

The Historic Site Management Plan (the Plan) provides long-range goals and objectives that will guide the protection, conservation, and interpretation of the heritage resources of the Historic Site, the Plan recommends moderate intervention, with a phased approach.

Since 2015, Carcross/Tagish First Nation and Yukon Government have worked together to research, conserve and interpret the historic site.

The Tséi Zhéłe / Sinwaa Éex’i Yé / Conrad Historic Site Management Plan was approved and signed by the Carcross/Tagish First Nation and Government of Yukon on July 20, 2022, at Tséi Zhéłe / Sinwaa Éex’i Yé / Conrad Historic Site near Carcross, Yukon.

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