First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun
The First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun is one of the Canadian First Nations in the Yukon . The name goes back to Na Cho Nyak (Great River), with which the Stewart River was referred to.
Most of the members of the tribe live in Mayo . They belong to the Athabaskan language family , more precisely to the Northern Tutchone . The Nacho Nyak Dun not only have Tutchone ancestors, but are also partly related to the Gwich'in and the Dene. However, they are more closely linked to the Northern Tutchone of Selkirk around Pelly Crossing and the Little Salmon / Carmacks First Nation around Carmacks . Together with them, the three groups form the Northern Tutchone Tribal Council , which acts on common matters.
In December 2009, 474 people were recognized as belonging to the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun on the basis of the Indian law. The tribe itself gives the number of its members as 602. Her two reservations, Mayo 6 and McQuesten 3, cover around 114 hectares . The traditional territory covers 162,456 km², of which 131,599 belong to the Yukon and 30,857 to the Northwest Territories .
history
Early history
In early history, the Nacho Nyak Dun were hunters, gatherers, and trappers. The tribe consisted of two Moietys , the "crow" and "wolf" were called. The earliest livelihoods were the caribou herds , but also moose , sheep and marmots , hares and Alaska piping hares . There were also birds and fish, especially salmon . The harsh climate required a semi-nomadic life, with families gathering in spring and summer camps to fish, but also in the short fall to hunt.
Clothing and dwellings were adapted to the climate and the nomadic way of life. Accordingly, they lived in shelters made of twigs, branches and furs. Shamans were considered healers and made contact with spiritual powers. They also helped locate game animals.
Gold and silver finds
The first gold discoveries were made in the Mayo region in the 1880s, and silver was added later. Mayo was supplied by boats until the 1950s, which were replaced by road traffic on the Klondike Highway and the Silver Trail . The Silver Trail connected Mayo to Stewart Crossing .
In 1915, the Reverend Julius Kendi, an Indian, came to the Fraser Falls, where many members of the tribe met to dry the caught fish. Kendi was an Anglican catechist from the Peel River district . He convinced them that it would be better to build their own village 3 km below Mayo, which had arisen since 1903, on the opposite bank of the Stewart River . Albert Tom was chief for 55 years in the resulting village, which was simply called The Old Village . This relocation was noted to be to the satisfaction of the Mayo people and the Indians who had to leave "with the exception of, perhaps, a few squaws."
Overall, the Anglican Church, together with the local police force, reached a phase of relatively stable segregation from around 1905, which lasted until 1942. It could hardly be imagined without the development of stereotypical images of the Indian and the notions of "savagery" and general inferiority in the white society of the corridor between Dawson, Mayo and Whitehorse. The Indians were withdrawn from the perceived harmful influence of the whites, on the other hand they did not occupy any economically viable land, especially for prospectors, as Indian agent John Hawksley discovered. This removal from the settlement centers took place in all larger towns. As recently as 1947, white parents in Mayo resisted Indian children from attending the local school. The hospital refused treatment for Indians and instead had them placed in a tent behind the building. In 1932, there were 168 whites in the St. Mary Ward and 43 Natives in St. Mark's in the Mayo Ward.
In the 1950s, Catholic missionaries attempted to Teslin and Ross River, but also to gain Mayo followers. In 1950 there were 80 Anglicans and 11 Catholics in the village. The Anglican Indian communities were mostly cared for by catechists, as in the case of Old Village by John Martin, who came from McPerson in the Northwest Territories. He requested ordination in 1932, but this was refused. Therefore he turned to Archbishop Isaac Stringer (Rupert's Land), who, however, also considered him to be theologically insufficiently trained. Martin never became a priest and died, apparently highly regarded, on March 8, 1937.
Road construction, land claims and self-government
From 1973 to 1984 the northern Tutchone and the governments in Whitehorse and Ottawa negotiated in vain for land claims and the rights of use attached to them, as well as for forms of self-government. It wasn't until 1993 that there was a breakthrough and, as a result, a contract. Accordingly, the tribe owns and legislates an area of 1,830 square miles and will receive $ 14,554,654 over 15 years . Chief is Simon Mervyn Senior.
Current situation
Together with the Tr'ondek Hwick'in First Nation , they signed a contract with Yukon Energy to supply Dawson with electricity via the Mayo Dawson Power Line .
In May 2008 the tribe merged with the Alexco Resource Corp. a tentative silver mining agreement in the Keno Hill Silver District near Mayo Lake . There, in the area around Keno and Elsa , Alexco owns around 40 silver mines.
The language that is no longer in use is to be revitalized, the oral tradition is to be collected by interviewing the elderly. Places such as the Old Village, where 117 participants gathered for the annual celebration in June 2009, and Lansing Post, which are important for the history of the tribe, are also being restored.
In addition, there are efforts to create ecologically and culturally valuable plans and areas, such as the Peel Watershed Land Use Planning process , the Ddhaw Ghro Habitat Protection area or the Devil's Elbow Habitat Protection Area . A five-year plan was adopted in 2004 for this purpose.
literature
- First edition of Na Cho News and Events , November 2009 (PDF, 11.2 MB)
See also
- First Nations history
- List of Indian tribes recognized in Canada
- List of North American Indian tribes
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ According to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development : First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Ken S. Coates: Best Left as Indians. Native-White Relations in the Yukon Territory, 1840-1973, Montreal, Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press 1991, Paperback 1993, p. 166.
- ↑ Ken S. Coates: Best Left as Indians. Native-White Relations in the Yukon Territory, 1840-1973, Montreal, Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press 1991, Paperback 1993, p. 95.
- ↑ Ken S. Coates: Best Left as Indians. Native-White Relations in the Yukon Territory, 1840-1973, Montreal, Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press 1991, Paperback 1993, Table 19, p. 131.
- ↑ Ken S. Coates: Best Left as Indians. Native-White Relations in the Yukon Territory, 1840-1973, Montreal, Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press 1991, Paperback 1993, Table 20, p. 133.
- ↑ The contract (PDF, 499 kB, 69 pages) with Canada and Yukon can be found here ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . A summary is provided by the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun Self-Government Agreement
- ↑ Alexco Resource Corp. and the First Nation of the Na-Cho Nyak Dun Sign Cooperation Agreement , May 22, 2008 ( Memento of the original from April 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ 'No cloud' over mining plans after Alexco, Yukon First Nation sign deal, in: CBC News, May 26, 2008
