20 facts about Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Self-Government

439 voters out of 475 voted YES to approve the Agreements—that means 92% of persons who voted, voted YES! For the purposes of 6.1 of the TH Final Agreement, which provides that persons who did not vote were effectively considered to have voted no, 76.2% of eligible voters voted yes. This was, and remains by far the strongest endorsement for any land claims agreement in the Yukon and, as we know, in Canada.

Don't forget about the amazing women who were a huge part of helping us get where we are today! 

There were 13 witnesses to the signing of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch’in Final Agreement. The first three witnesses were former Chiefs Peggy Kormendy, Hilda Titus, and Angie Joseph-Rear. Aside from Steve Taylor and Percy Henry, these three women were all of the living TH chiefs. Every person who was at one time a TH Chief signed or witnessed the Agreement.

Check out those youthful faces! 

The final two witnesses of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch’in Final Agreement were TH land claims grunts, Ed Kormendy and Tim Gerberding. Bonus fact: after 26 years of service, Tim retired in 2017. Mähsi cho, Tim, for all your hard work!

The movement toward self-government was a community effort. Fact #7 recognizes those efforts. 

A big part of the amazingly high turn-out of voters was thanks to the work of the Ratification Committee, which included Margie Kormendy, Wendy Cairns, John Ferby, and Art Christiansen. The Ratification Committee provided Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in citizens with a package of information, which consisted of a book summarizing the Umbrella Final Agreement (commissioned by the Council of Yukon First Nations), a copy of Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Final Agreement and Self-Government Agreement, and a video narrated by Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Chief Steve Taylor about the Agreements. Every possible action was taken to find Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people and provide them with a copy of the ratification package within a 90 day period.

At the behest of the Department of Indian Affairs, most Yukon First Nations had an elected Chief and Band Council by the late 1950s. The Moosehide community, however, anticipated this trend by over 30 years and elected a council in 1921. Using traditional chieftainship combined with the Indian Affairs approach, the people of Moosehide established a simple, yet effective government that allowed Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in to maintain their traditional values while mediating with the new government (Canada) on behalf of their community.

According to Elder Archie Roberts, the council looked after community matters, while the Mounted Police oversaw serious breaches of the law:

“…when people get making trouble, or something like that, they make their own court… and they pay fine. See otherwise, if it’s really serious trouble we send them to Dawson City… under the law.”

Although there were probably times that the Council was more active than others, it continued until the early 1950s, shortly before most people moved to Dawson.

In February 1973, several Yukon leaders, including Percy Henry who was chief at the time, presented Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau with the document Together Today for our Children Tomorrow: A Statement of Grievances and an Approach to Settlement by the Yukon Indian People. This was the first comprehensive claim to be submitted to the Canadian government by any First Nation group and the Prime Minister at the time, Pierre Trudeau, accepted it as the basis for further negotiations. The document laid out Yukon First Nations' history and presented a way forward, setting in motion the modern land claims process.

“First, remember, there were never any wars between Indian and White in the Yukon.

Second, remember, there were no treaties signed in the Yukon.

Third, remember, the first Indian Act was designed to protect the Indian from the Whiteman. This concept was never applied in the Yukon.

These three things are important, because they combine to make the YUKON claim different from other Settlements.
The objective of the Yukon Indian people is to obtain a Settlement in place of a treaty that will help us and our children learn to live in a changing world.

We want to take part in the development of the Yukon and Canada, not stop it. But we can only participate as Indians. We will not sell our heritage for a quick buck or a temporary job.” (Taken from the document Together Today For Our Children Tomorrow, 1973)

In 1990, the Umbrella Final Agreement was signed. This document was the framework for Yukon First Nations to negotiate our Final and Self-Government Agreements. Angie Joseph-Rear, Chief at the time, described the amount of work that went into negotiating these agreements.

“It was an intense negotiation. It was Umbrella Final Agreement. So it was throughout the night. And we have maybe—Federal government have about 10 negotiators and lawyers and YG had the same, but we had our own people. We had Dave Joe as our lawyer, and we had Victor Mitander as our chief negotiator. And all the chief are behind them. So we had to go and sit through all the negotiation—this the truth, that we go, we take turns to sit through the night and all. And, yeah, I called Steve Taylor and said, ‘gonna need you, so we really want you to come.’ We completed it five o’clock in the morning.

“So we come home and we took it to the Council of Yukon Indians general assembly—and it was hard work. It was hard work. And I said to Steve, ‘Steve’—gosh, it’s 1990—I said, ‘next election, please be our chief.’ And he said, ‘Angie, I’ll run for chief if you run for council’ [laughs]. He said, ‘I need you too!’ So that’s exactly what I did.”

Another challenge with selecting lands was the choice of Tr’ochek, an important heritage site for Tr'ondëk Hwëch’in. Although the site has hosted several identities since the Klondike Gold Rush, it has been an important fish camp and base for moose hunting expeditions for Tr'ondëk Hwëch’in for a long time. During the land claims process, Canada did not want TH to select any settlement land that was encumbered with mining claims, thinking (rightfully) that the mining rights could be affected. TH was not prepared to settle on that basis as the Klondike Valley was staked rim to rim with placer claims. If TH had avoided those claims, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in—who take their name from the Klondike river—would have had no settlement land in the Klondike Valley.

In 1991, TH heard that mining was occurring at Tr’ochek without a water licence. At the time it was legal to mine without a water license if there was no surficial (over the surface) discharge of water. Three TH employees took a boat to the uppermost part of the Tr’ochek flat, approaching surreptitiously by travelling up the middle of the river to well above Tr’ochek and then idling back to the upper landing. They then snuck through the trees, avoiding detection, and took pictures of the mining operation. There was a huge open pit where the mining was taking place and a vigorous flow of clear water was bursting from the pit through the gravel about 15 feet down. At the bottom of the pit, two huge caterpillar pumps were pumping the water out of the pits into an adjacent shallow pond. Two streams flowed out of the pond over the surface, one to the Klondike River and the other to the Yukon River. The TH employees took the pictures of this illegal activity to the mining recorder and a mining inspector was dispatched—but nothing happened. For three days the employees carefully monitored and recorded the activity and complained to the mining recorder, but nothing happened. The following week TH took legal action by way of interlocutory injunction (a court order to make a party stop what they’re doing until the final judgement of the case) arguing irreparable harm to the site. The mining was halted overnight.

This represented a major challenge not only to the Tr’ochek claims, but to all mining and third party activity in Yukon. We asserted that the claims were illegal because they had been staked in the absence of a land claims treaty. Our argument was based on the 1870 order, which is part of the Constitution of Canada. It states that “upon the transference of the territory in question to the Canadian Government, the claims of the Indian tribes to compensation for lands required for purposed of settlement will be considered and settled in conformity with the equitable principles which have uniformly governed the British Crown in its dealings with the aborigines.” This meant that without a treaty, no third party assignments of land were valid. All were null and void. TH argued that the Tr’ochek claims were unconstitutional as no treaty had been made that settled the claims of TH “in conformity with the equitable principles.” Canada eventually agreed to settle the litigation by paying $1 million to buy out the claims. In the end, TH won and secured the Tr’ochek Heritage Site.

The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Final Agreement is a modern-day ‘treaty’ recognized in Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution Act. The Final Agreement asserts and retains Aboriginal rights, titles and interests with respect to its traditional territory and, more specifically, to its settlement lands.

All Yukon First Nations have traditional territories, but only self-governing Yukon First Nations have settlement lands. For the purposes of the land claims process, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Traditional Territory is not legally owned by TH, but we maintain certain rights (like Aboriginal hunting rights) within the territory, and we have responsibilities and authorities regarding activities and decision-making within the traditional territory. Settlement lands, however, are legally and communally owned by the First Nation. Tr'ondëk Hwëch’in own 2,598.51 km2 of settlement land.

The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Final Agreement provides for the creation and protection for all time of Tombstone Territorial Park. On August 28, 2009, Chief Eddie Taylor and Minister of Environment Elaine Taylor signed the Tombstone Territorial Park Management Plan. The plan provides for the protection of the natural, historic and cultural resources of the Park for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations. The plan was prepared by the Park Steering Committee, half of which is made up of representatives appointed by Tr’ondek Hwech’in and the other half by Yukon Government.

“‘Our people’s history is written all over this country: in the stories our Elders tell us, in the artifacts we still find, and the animals and plants that have nourished our culture and traditions for generations,’ Chief Eddie Taylor says. ‘The Tombstone Management Plan ensures we’ll play a lead role in protecting those values.’

“‘The area in which the Tombstone Park falls had been selected by TH during the land-claims process for its heritage values and importance to TH people. This proved a contentious selection for the Yukon government of the day, who wanted the area for a park.

“Over the course of negotiations, a compromise was reached that proved to be a selling point for TH citizens. This compromise was enshrined in the Final Agreement: the area would be protected for all time as a co-managed, natural-environment park. The details of that arrangement are contained in the Tombstone Management Plan.
There were other obstacles to overcome during the development of the plan, including the staking of mining claims in the middle of the park.

“‘It hasn’t been an easy getting this plan signed,’ said Taylor, ‘which is why it feels great to finally have it completed.’

‘Congratulations and thank you to everyone— the Elders, staff and citizens—who supported this process and played a role in its success. I know our ancestors, the first people to populate the Dempster region, would smile knowing their first home in North America has been respected.’” - Taken from the October 2009 Këntra Täy (Vol. 9, Issue 4)