Yukon River Summit 2009

One of the big things that I worked on this summer for the Yukon River Inter-tribal Watershed Council was the bi-ennial (that means every 2 years) Summit.
The Summit is a gathering of the First Nations and Tribes of the Watershed. It's part celebration and part business. Overall, it is a time for all the staff, the board members, the member nations and experts in the science and policy to get together. There are a lot of old friends meeting and new friendships forming.

This year the Summit was held at Helen's Fish Camp, on Lake Laberge, which is about 40km north of the city of Whitehorse. It is a great camp that is in the traditional territory of the Ta'an Kwach'an people and there were older summit attendees sharing stories of their childhood experiences at the camp. Across the lake (it's a wide spot in the Yukon River) is the old Ta'an village which we had tours to throughout the Summit (which I missed due to my running around helping out).



One of my roles at the Whitehorse office was to get youth from Yukon First Nations to the Summit. A bit of a challenging task given that most youth are out and about for the summer. However, in the end I think we had over 20 youth come join us and we were pleased to have 3 new preps for the Yukon region come out of it. They went canoeing, created a mural, chose new regional reps and got a chance to meet some of the elders of the YRITWC. Of course they also made new friends and got to get to know each other a little better...it's all about building networks and meeting new people in other parts of the watershed, even if you are only 16! It was great to have the youth with us, providing a visual reminder to the leaders and the elders why their work is so important...as one of the girls said "The Next Generation is coming..." I loved getting to know some of the youth and to find out what they were interested in. They probably didn't know it, but they shared some great pearls of wisdom every once in a while. They were also the instigators of the handgames/stickgambling tournament that went off on the last night at the Summit.



There were many great people at the Summit sharing their knowledge and blessing us with their presence. I've tried to find some good links for them so you can get a better idea...

Oren Lyons: faith keeper for the Turtle clan of the Onondaga Nation and Indigenous activist
Roy Sampsel: Institute for Tribal Governance, Roy has been involved in Columbia River issues
Mitch Factor: Comedian and youth mentor
Clarence Alexander: Gwich'in leader and YRITWC Board Chair from Fort Yukon, Alaska
Carl Sidney ("Uncle Carl" as I like to call him): YRITWC Board Chair from Teslin, Yukon
Sarah James: Gwich'in women full of spunk and fighting for the caribou



We also had lots of northern organizations represented, the United States Geological Survey (our partners in science), the United States Nuclear Regulatory Committee, Yukon government (water resources, environment, etc), and more.

The evenings featured some great cultural performers including dancers from Atlin (Taku River Tlingit), the Dakka Kwan dancers, Dhe Cho drummers, Grandma Suzie (comedian at lunch), Mitch Factor...

Two or Three Trips with Ginger

We made it to Alaska! And the downhill!

Fraser, BC. Canada customs post!
Holly happy to be heading out from our roadside camp!

Leaving Annie Lake Road in somewhat high spirits.
Here's that incriminating photo.
Atlin garage sale at the Festival. Picked up some good bargains here!
Tiger gloves are good for sharing.
Atlin lake paddling.
Beautiful Atlin from Monarch Mountain.

Dinner atop the island in Teslin Lake.

One of the things I heard about the Yukon is how great the people are up here. Well, my friend Holly, aka Ginger, aka Orange Kid, aka Holls, aka Hollster, aka Gingerita is one of them. She's all kinds of fun and is pretty much up for anything. There are lots of good folks that I've met, but for some reason she's in a lot of my pictures so I'm writing about her.

Trip One: Atlin Music Festival.
Atlin is one of the prettiest towns in BC, I'm sure. And the music festival is a great time. Good music, garage sales and a pancake breakfast where we shared our picnic table with "the" Stephen Fearing and "the" Colin Linden. One of the venues is a small church, which is where we saw one of our favorite acts: Headwater. Another favorite was Twighlight Hotel, who we saw with the mandolin player from Dehli to Dublin and the bass player from Headwater at a beautiful and small theater. The only act that disappointed was Mammagaroove cause I'm pretty sure they weren't so werid last time I saw them. Dispite the weirdness the tiger gloves were dancing like mad. The pink sunglasses also made an appearance a few times...Rob, my boss, sported them in the beer gardens long enough for an incriminating photo.

Trip Two: Teslin Lake paddle and camp

Ginger and Brook and I borrowed a kayak from our friend Karl and paddled across Teslin Lake to a little island to camp for the night. I don't what to say except that it was my first sea kayak expereience and when I finally figured out how to keep it straight it was a good time!
We then went to the big Tlingit gathering in Teslin. All of the Tlingit groups get together to celebrate, meet with family and friends and share their culture and traditions. It was "Taku River Tlingit Day" and two young guys from Atlin were happy to invite us to the feast that night...of Taku River salmon. We saw women preparing the salmon, we were taught one of the many steps in tanning moosehide by hand, saw the traditional canoes come in and chatted with a YRITWC friend, Carl Sidney. Our stop was too short, as there was a lot going on that would have been great to be part of!

I don't have any photos as I want you to come and experience Tlingit culture for yourself!

Trip Three: Road-ride from Annie Lake Road to Skagway.
It goes like this: Ginger and I left Annie Lake Road (the road I live on) after much frustration on my part getting my gear to work, at 7:45pm to ride to Skagway. We were on the 140km mark meaning that it was that distance to Skagway. And as I would later find out, a LOT of uphill to the summit of the Klondike highway which is at over 3000 meters!
The first day we rode until about midnight...yes, it actually does get dark, unlike I had predicted when I said "let's just ride through the night". My bearanoia was on overdrive and my quads were on underdrive, a terrible combo for such an adventure! We found a flat spot on the side of the road and slept for a few hours. Got up at 6am to hit the road for another 76km of headwinds past mountain lakes, through the moonscape of the summit, over the border and then, for the loooong downhill into Skagway! The border guard was suspicious of us for some reason, I don't know if it was the bikes or he thought that I must have had something hiding in my spandex shorts?!
On getting into Skagway, we got info for the ferry to Haines, relaxed a bit, and then went over to Haines to meet some friends. It was the South East Alaska State Fair weekend in Haines, so we were able to go dancing, have some beers, meet with friends, eat corn on the cob and watch some fun bands.
Have I ever expressed my love for Haines on this blog? If not, I will right now. I love Haines!

Water Quality

One of the major projects that the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council undertakes is an impressive water quality monitoring project.

Maya and I got sent out when our water tech was away for a vacation. We went out to 2 locations: Tagish Lake and Marsh Lake, which are essentially wide spots of the Yukon River. We took basic WQ measurements and also prepared samples to be sent off to the USGS, our partner in this long term sampling program, a unique collaboration between the YRITWC, the Indignous people who live on the river and the USGS.

It was a beautiful day and after some time sorting out the equipment (thank goodness Maya has a background doing this work!), we were off in the boat to collect the water and the measurements. The day ends by re-filtering some of the samples, preparing them for shipping and a call to the friendliest FedEx guy on the PLANET!

A good day of work, being out on the River, in the sun!

Visitors from Home!

Obligatory roadside bear, Haines Junction.

When I asked the people at work who I looked like, they said my dad. I don't know what they are talking about ;-)

Mom and I at Kathleen Lake in Kluane National Park. Super windy!

QT with the 'rents.

Mom and Dad at the BC/Yukon border. They hated having this picture taken, but look how cute they are!

This way to Skagway!
Taking a roadside break enroute to Skagway.


It's always nice to have some visitors. Mostly because they bring thoughts of home and, when it's your parents, they take you for dinner. It's also a great excuse to visit the S.S. Klondike, drive up to Grey Mountain, go to Skagway and generally be a tourist!

I think I already told this story, but it rounds out the visitor entry because I only had two: My first visitor was my cousin Lauren, who got a grad gift from my mom's family of a trip to Whitehorse to visit me (Whitehorse = cool, visiting your crusty old cousin = less cool). I'm not sure what Lauren thought of the mosquitoes and the lack of running water at the Cabin, but then again, I'm not sure what I think of that either!

A few weeks later, mom and dad came up to visit for the weekend. They wanted to see a few things: Kluane National Park, floatplanes and when I suggested a brewery tour at Yukon Brewing they jumped all over that too! We also visited the S.S. Klondike and revived a piece of family history, as the boat was so similar to the boats that my dad's grandfater worked on the Kootenay River and Lake. There is a similarity in the history of the Kootenays and the Gold Rush history of the North...makes me feel kind of at home. We also went to the USA together...I was hoping Pops was going to spring for some diamond earrings in Skagway but as usual he is way too practical for that and knows my mom and I better than to buy us the "Cruise Ship Special" anyway!

When they got home, on a phone call with my mom I asked "how are things?" and she replied "It's terrible Carmen!". This worried me, so I asked what was wrong. She replied "it's just awful. When I went to bed last night, it was DARK out". To which I laughed and valued my summer of light even more!

An absence explained

It's been far too long since I updated this blog, especially for those of you who actually use it to keep track of me. My apologies but I don't have internet at home in the cabin and work was just too busy to be on the blog.

It is now almost time for coming back south, so I will try to write a few quick entries on some recent experiences...

Thanks for reading, I hope these next entries will explain why I love it up here so much!

Inspiration

When I got back to Whitehorse last week, Rob and Loni said that they were going out to visit a carving camp out near/on Lake Laberge. Although I was anxious to get home to the cabin to check the mouse traps, I thought it would be a few hours that would be well spent so asked them to see if they could get me on the boat, and they did.

The Sundog Carving Camp is situated on the banks of the Yukon River, on an island that of course, is only accessible by boat. The camp (referred to as Fort Dugout by the youth) is 18 First Nations and non-FN youth who are working with master carver Wayne Price (Haines Alaska) to carve a traditional Chilkat cedar dugout canoe. A special place indeed. At that point, they had spent 22 days carving the canoe and had been at camp for one month. A tremendous committment not only to the canoe and to each other but to themselves...no drugs and alcohol, no parties, a summer in the bush learning traditional skills, spiritual healing and as is the case for all of us spending time away from the built environment...about themselves.

We went with a delegation of parents, grandparents and friends. To my surprise, there was also going to be a special visit to the camp by the dancers from Carcross. The carvers didn't have any idea that they were coming. The boat took them around the island so that they could drift in from upstream. We had just finished eating and were listening to Josh, one of the carvers, play a song he had written on his guitar. From a distance came this sound of drumming and singing...some people started to go to the water to see what was going on. "What is that?" "Do you hear that?". Soon the boat carrying the dancers (and some elders) came around the bend and into sight. Drums went down to the dock with the carvers and there was a beautiful and moving singing between the groups in Tlingit (so I didn't understand any of it). The dancers then asked to come on shore and the carvers welcomed them.

The sound of drums and Tlingit song over water, reverberating in the trees and off the banks was beautiful. The strong calls of these young men on shore reaching up to the sky, echoing back to them. For me, somebody from the South, on their land, it was very moving.

Once the dancers and more guests came on shore and everyone had been greeted and fed (I forgot to mention that there was a special meal this night...Pizza Hut delivers EVERYWHERE!), I was honored to be able to take part in a pretty special night. The Tlingit dancers danced and sang traditional songs...with the carvers and elders taking part. They shared the translation of some of the songs. Many of the carvers got up to join the dance in the end. There was a small fire (used to warm the drum skins) and the dust was coming up, people sweating and this powerful drumming and singing echoing back...a remarkable scene.

The next thing that happened was a ceremony to bless the canoe, to hear its story and what this group of carvers was accomplishing one wood chip at a time. To honour those before and to honour the work of these youth. I just tried to follow the lead in the dance around the canoe, to remember how to smudge, to respect and have an open heart to the traditions of the people whose land I was visiting.

A thought came to me during this, when I really was feeling like an outsider, like an observer...that I was so honoured to be welcomed to be part of this. That there was a time (and still is in some ways, in some places) that the opposite would never be imagined...that the Natives wouldn't be welcomed into the community celebrations, the sacred times and places of the generations that came before me. I think it is a powerful statement to the day when we can finally heal our collective wounds of a shameful history that dispite the way that they have been treated, First Nations communities continue to open their arms, their hearts and their land to us. I was really moved by that, and really honored to be part of this evening of celebration.

Those young carvers are doing something tremendous. I can't wait to see the cedar dugout come down the river with paddles dipping, drums beating, voices raising to the sky!

And as for this "few hour" field trip...well, next time I'll pack a sweater when it's a "few hours"...Yukon time!

Points North

Last week we spent a few days heading further North, into the communities to meet with First Nations and other people along the way.





We had a few places that we wanted to visit to do some water quality monitoring, as well, Maya was going to meet with Lands departments staff to discuss some of the key issues around contaminated sites and issues for discussion at the Summit. It was also a way for us to get a better idea of what the communities, River and people were like outside of Whitehorse.

We drove up to Dawson City the first day and camped overnight. The next morning we went in to the Tr'ondek Hwechin office for a meeting. We discussed a few issues around Dawson...a long history of mining (placer gold mining) and human settlement (historic landfills) has left a few spots that may be impacting the river and/or Settlement land (FN land). With some help we identified a few sites that would be good to stop at and have a look at some preliminary water quality measurements...downstream of old mines and landfills mostly. We also looked at the water in the River itself.

Dawson City is a great little town on the banks of the Yukon River. Like most of the Yukon, it's got a rich history from the Klondike days that were preceeded by the First Nations people living there. It is now a vital stop on the modern stampede of motorhomes cruising up to Alaska from all over...my how our adventures have changed! It is also well known for its annual music festival, coming up this weekend.



After Dawson we drove back down south to Mayo. Where they have a sign on the highway "Mayo-Heart of the Yukon" and stencilled underneath, as an afterthought, yet important consideration..."Good Fishing". We sayed at a glorious lake where, for the first time this summer we could actually enjoy the water long enough to put our whole selves in, to swim around and enjoy being submersed! The Yukon has a lot of lakes and rivers, but most are painfully cold to try to swim in (see a later entry about Atlin Lake). In the morning we went up to Keno City, an old mining town in the mountains. Like most communities built on a single resource, it had its heydey and is now a few homes, a museum and of course the leftover fortune seekers. We had coffee with the old boys at the Keno Cafe and then went out to monitor a nearby creek while we waited for the Mining Museum to open up. Keno is an absolutley beautiful setting, up in the back of a valley so close to the alpine. In the old days they lived up closer to the mines, in tents at the top of the mountain. View was great but can't imagine the winters. We toured the museum, which is very well kept and has some great exhibits by the way, and I imagined the generations of my family living in mining towns in the Kootenays...much the same way the Kenoites seeking the fortunes of mining had. The crisp photos of everyday life in the 50's in Keno really brought that to my mind.

Anyway, so here we are in Keno and we run across this spunky lady out walking her little dog. She started to tell us about the proposed mine and how the community (not an anti-development communtiy by any means) had been trying to have thier voice heard about concerns they had regarding the tailings, the mill site and the pollution that would be coming from the mine. It is a story that is common, about a small, rural community that wants to be part of the decision making process that is going to impact the water they drink, the food they eat and the livlihoods they make. This isn't even getting into any First Nations issues. At any rate, I think it's so important for rural communties whether Native or not, to be meaningfully involved in the decision making process and for people to have the capacity to engage in these processes. We ran around to a few places in Keno to monitor water and then we headed down the road to see if we could walk in and meet with somebody from Na-cho Nyuk Dun. Alas, the people we wanted to see were out, and the office was a bit busy as it looked like they were just moving in to a new building.

We continued driving South to Carmacks (stopping at Five Finger Rapids on the way). The Village of Carmacks had invited us to attend a Council meeting to discuss them signing on as an affiliated organization with the Watershed Council. On the drive Maya asked something about coffee and cookies at the meeting...I said no way, you never get food at a council meeting! Well, low and behold, the Village of Carmacks knows what is what and had a bag of cookies for their guests. I was proven wrong. They agreed to sign on as an affiliated organization, essentially saying that they support protection of the Yukon River. Our first Yukon non-Indigenous government signer!

The next day, after camping out roadside, we went to meet with the Little Salmon/Carmacks Land Manager. We spent a while discussing mining operations in the area, proposed mines and what Little Salmon/Carmacks was concerned about. It was good to get an idea of the scale of the development and what is proposed, as well as to put it into a landscape context.

I was also trying to meet with Youth Co-ordinators to do some outreach to youth to attend the Summit...met with mild success on that front as there were new co-ordinators and had trouble getting in touch before I went up (hey, it's summer and there are better things to do up here right now!).

Our little trip up North came to a close. Many, many kilometers, 3 nights in Maya's camper and some new friendships formed...well worth it!