Beaver Creek, Yukon
| Beaver Creek | |||
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 Visitor Information Center |
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| Location in Yukon | |||
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| State : |
 Canada
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| Territory : | Yukon | ||
| Coordinates : | 62 ° 23 ′ N , 140 ° 53 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 760 m | ||
| Residents : | 112 (as of 2006) | ||
 Catholic Church Lady of Grace |
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Beaver Creek is a community in the Canadian Yukon at the Alaska Highway near the border between Canada and Alaska .
It is around 760 m above sea level, represents the westernmost town in Canada and is the center of the White River First Nation . The place had 112 inhabitants in 2006.
The place has an airfield, Beaver Creek Airport . The site also has a library, the Beaver Creek Community Library , and a visitor information center. A Canadian border station is located directly at the entrance to the town and not, like the US border station, directly on the border. The local First Nation maintains a cultural center.
history
The traditional territory of the White River First Nation stretches from the south shore of Kluane Lake to Alaska. Also, the Mount Logan , Canada's highest mountain, in this field, as well as the drainage areas of Donjek and White River . The White River Indians mainly settled around Snag and Scottie Creek. Originally, various groups of the Upper Tanana-speaking Indians who lived nomadically settled here.
After 1900 a border police station was established here to secure the newly established Yukon territory. With the construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942, numerous construction workers came to the region, but they returned to the USA after the war. In 1948/49 the Alaska Highway was opened to private traffic and a customs post was established. The Catholic Church Lady of Grace was created from the remains of the construction phase.
In 1961, the government moved the White River Indians to Burwash Landing , along with the Kluane Indian Band. It wasn't until 1991 that the White River group moved to Beaver Creek and left the forced community. It does not have a regular reserve, but only lands-set-aside, i.e. land that is not used for other purposes. There is no treaty with Canada or the Territory, so there is no self-government like the Kluane. Nevertheless, the tribe insists that any land use must be discussed with them, i.e. that there is an obligation to consult. This is all the more serious as the Alaska Highway Pipeline Project continues, and TransCanada is exploring traditional oil and gas fields .
There is now a cross-border Tanana Chief Conference , which, in addition to cultural and social tasks, tries to negotiate with the government, for example to promote the protection of the caribou.
Web links
- Community Profiles. Beaver Creek , archive.org, July 25, 2013
- White River First Nation ( June 3, 2008 memento in the Internet Archive )