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Yukon
*** Shopping-Tip: Yukon
{{Canadian province or territory |
Name = Yukon |
AlternateName = |
Fullname = Yukon |
EntityAdjective = Territorial |
Flag = Flag of Yukon.svg|
CoatOfArms = Yukon coa.png |
Map = Yukon_Territory-map.png |
Motto = none |
Capital =
Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse |
LargestCity =
Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse |
Premier =
Dennis Fentie |
PremierParty =
Yukon Party |
Viceroy =
Geraldine Van Bibber |
ViceroyType = Commissioner |
PostalAbbreviation = YT |
PostalCodePrefix =
List of Y Postal Codes of Canada Y |
AreaRank = 9
th |
TotalArea = 482,443 |
LandArea = 474,391 |
WaterArea = 8,052 |
PercentWater = 1.7 |
PopulationRank = 12
th |
Population = 31,227|
PopulationYear =
2005|
DensityRank = 11
th |
Density = 0.06 |
AdmittanceOrder = 9
th |
AdmittanceDate =
June 13,
1898 |
TimeZone =
UTC-8 |
HouseSeats = 1 |
SenateSeats = 1 |
ISOCode = CA-YT |
Website = www.gov.yk.ca
}}
:''This article is about Yukon Territory in Canada. See
Yukon (disambiguation) for other uses.''
'''Yukon''' or '''Yukon Territory''' or (often) '''the Yukon''' is one of
Canada Canada's northern
Territories of Canada territories, in the country's extreme northwest. It has a population of about 31,000, and its capital is
Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse, with a population of 23,272. People from Yukon are known as ''Yukoners''.
The territory is named after the
Yukon River, which means "great river" in
Gwich'in language Gwich'in.
History
{{section-stub}}
Prehistory
Disputed evidence of the oldest remains of human inhabitation in North America have been found in the Yukon. A large number of apparently human modified animal bones were discovered in the
Old Crow, Yukon Old Crow area in the northern Yukon that have been dated to 25,000 - 40,000 years ago by
carbon dating. The central and northern Yukon were not
Glaciation glaciated, as they were part of
Beringia.
At about 800 AD, a large
volcano volcanic eruption in
Mount Churchill near the
Alaska border blanketed the southern Yukon with ash. That layer of ash can still be seen along the
Klondike Highway. Yukon
First Nations stories speak of all the animal and fish dying as a result. Similar stories are told among the
Athabaskan-speaking
Navaho and
Apache, leading to the conclusion by some anthropologists that the migration of Athabaskan peoples into what is now the
southwestern United States could have been due to the eruption. After that, the hunting technology saw the replacement of
Atlatls with
bows and arrows.
Extensive trading networks between the coastal
Tlingits and the interior First Nations developed, where the coastal peoples would trade
eulachon oil and other coastal goods for native copper and furs found in the interior.
19th Century
European incursions into what later became the Yukon started in the first half of the 19th century.
Hudson's Bay Company explorers and traders from
Mackenzie River trading posts used two different routes to enter the Yukon and created trading posts along the way. The northern route started in
Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories along the
Mackenzie River, crossed the mountains into the
Bell River Bell and
Porcupine Rivers to the
Yukon River. The southern route started at
Fort Liard, Northwest Territories, then westward along the
Liard River to
Frances Lake and then along the
Pelly River to its juncture with the Yukon River.
After establishing
Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories,
John Bell (explorer) John Bell crossed the mountains into the Yukon River watershed in 1845, and went down the Rat River (today the Bell River) to its confluence with the
Porcupine River. After managing the fur trade at Fort McPherson, he returned to the Bell River, and followed the Porcupine to its juncture with the Yukon River, the eventual site of
Fort Yukon. Soon after,
Alexander Hunter Murray established trading posts at
Lapierre House, Yukon Lapierre House (1846) and at
Fort Yukon, Alaska Fort Yukon (1847) at the juncture of the Porcupine and the Yukon Rivers. Murray drew numerous sketches of fur trade posts and of people and wrote the ''Journal of the Yukon, 1847–48'', which give valuable insight into the culture of local
Gwich'in First Nation people at the time. While the post was actually in
Russian Alaska, the Hudson's Bay Company continued to trade there until expelled by the American traders in 1869, following the
Alaska Purchase. A new trading post,
Rampart House was established upstream along the Porcupine, but it also proved to be just inside Alaska's boundary. Gwich'in people, especially under the leadership of
Sahneuti, played off the Hudson's Bay company against American traders from the
Alaska Commercial Company.
At around the same time,
Robert Campbell (fur trader), coming from
Fort Simpson explored a large part of the southern Yukon and established
Fort Frances, Yukon Fort Frances (1842) on
Frances Lake in the
Liard River basin and
Fort Selkirk, Yukon (1848) at the juncture of the
Yukon River and the
Pelly River. In 1852, Fort Selkirk was attacked and burned down by
Tlingit warriors from the coast who objected to its interference with their trade. Fort Selkirk was abandoned and not reestablished until 1889.
Anglican and
Roman Catholic missionaries followed in the wake of the fur trade. Of note is
William Carpenter Bompas who became the first Anglican
bishop of the Yukon. Catholic missionaries were mainly from the order of
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who still retain a presence in the Yukon today.
Expeditions:
Frederick Schwatka,
George Mercer Dawson,
William Ogilvie (surveyor) & the boundary,
mining along the
Porcupine River,
Stewart River, arrival of
NWMP
Klondike Gold Rush
{{Main|Klondike Gold Rush}}
The
Klondike Gold Rush was the seminal event in the Yukon's history. A party led by
Skookum Jim Mason discovered
gold on a tributary of the
Klondike River in August 1896. An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people braved numerous hardships to reach the
Klondike, Yukon Klondike gold fields in the winter and spring of 1897-98 after the discovery became known in 1897. With the influx of American stampeders, the Canadian government decided to create a separate territory to better control the situation. In 1901, after many had gone back, the
Census in Canada Census put the population of the territory at 27,219, a figure that was not reached again until 1991. The influx of people greatly stimulated mineral exploration in other parts of the Yukon and led to two subsidiary gold rushes in
Atlin, British Columbia and
Nome, Alaska as well as a number of mini-rushes. Transportation needs to the gold fields led to the construction of the
White Pass and Yukon Railway.
Twentieth century
mining, decline, YCGC, Alaska Highway, revival, Dempster, land claims
Economy
image:yukonwikimap.PNG thumb|left|Large map of the Yukon
The territory's historical major industry is
mining, including
lead,
zinc,
silver,
gold,
asbestos and
copper. Indeed, the territory owes its existence to the famous
Klondike Gold Rush of the
1890s. Having acquired the land from the
Hudson's Bay Company in
1870, the Canadian government divided the territory off of the
Northwest Territories in
1898 to fill the need for local government created by the influx of prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush.
Thousands of these prospectors, led by the chance at gold, flooded the area, creating a colourful period recorded by authors such as
Robert W. Service and
Jack London. (See also
Royal Canadian Mounted Police.) The memory of this period, as well as the territory's scenic wonders and outdoor recreation opportunities, makes
tourism the second most important industry.
Manufacturing, including furniture, clothing, and handicrafts, follows in importance, along with
hydroelectricity. The traditional industries of
trapping and
fishing have declined.
Today, the government sector is by far the biggest employer in the territory, directly employing approximately 5,000 out of a labour force of 12,500.
Transportation
In the past, the major transportation artery was the
Yukon River system, both before the Gold Rush and after. As well, the coastal
Tlingit people traded with the Athabascan people using passes through the coastal mountains. See also
Chilkoot Pass,
Dalton Trail.
From the Gold Rush until the 1950s,
Riverboat riverboats plied the
Yukon River, most between
Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse at the head of navigation and
Dawson City, Yukon Dawson City, but some going further into
Alaska and down to the
Bering Sea, and others along tributaries of the Yukon River such as the Stewart River.
Most of the riverboats were owned by the British-Yukon Navigation co, an arm of the
White Pass and Yukon Route, which also operated a narrow-gauge railway from
Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse. The railway ceased operation in the 1980s with the first closure of the
Faro, Yukon Faro mine. It is now operated as a summer time tourist train, though not on any Yukon section of the line.
Today, major land transportation routes include the
Alaska Highway, which passes through Whitehorse; the
Klondike Highway going from tidewater in
Skagway, Alaska through Whitehorse to Dawson City; the
Haines Highway from
Haines Borough, Alaska Haines, Alaska to
Haines Junction, Yukon, and the
Dempster Highway from the Klondike Highway to
Inuvik, Northwest Territories. All these highways, except for the Dempster, are paved. Other highways with less traffic include the Campbell Highway which goes from Carmacks on the Klondike Highway, through Faro and Ross River, and veers south to join the Alaska Highway in Watson Lake, and the Silver Trail which forks off the Klondike Highway at the Stewart River bridge to connect the old silver mining communities of Mayo, Elsa and Keno City. All Yukon communities except one are accessible by mostly paved roads, but air travel is the only way to reach one remote community in the Far North (
Old Crow, Yukon Old Crow).
The air transport infrastructure is well developed with
Whitehorse International Airport serving as the hub with direct flights to
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver,
Calgary, Alberta Calgary,
Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton,
Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks,
Juneau and
Frankfurt (summer months). Every community is served by an
List of airports in Canada airport, and the air charter industry is quite extensive serving mainly the tourism and mining exploration industries.
Government and Politics
Image:Chief Isaac of Han.jpg thumb|250px|Chief Isaac of the Han, Yukon Territory, ca. 1898
Like the provinces, and unlike the other two territories, the Yukon's
unicameralism unicameral Yukon Legislative Assembly legislature has a
party system. Prior to 1979 the territory was administered by the
Commissioner#Canadian territories Commissioner who is appointed by the federal
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada) Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The Commissioner used to chair and had a role in appointing the territory's ''Executive Council'' and used to have a day to day role in governing the territory. However, a significant degree of power was
devolved in 1979 from the federal government and Commissioner to the territorial legislature which, in that year, adopted a party system of
responsible government.
The territory is presently represented in the
Parliament of Canada by a single
Member of Parliament and one
Senate of Canada senator. In contrast to United States territories such as the Virgin Islands, Canadian territories' members of Parliament are full and equal voting representatives.
The Yukon Act, passed in 2002, formalised the powers of the Yukon government and devolved a number of additional powers to the territorial government (e.g. control over land and natural resources). As of 2002, other than criminal prosecutions, the Yukon government has much of the same powers as provincial governments and the other two territories are looking to obtaining the same powers. Today the role of Commissioner is analogous to that of a provincial
lieutenant-governor however, unlike lieutenant-governors, Commissioners are not formal representatives of the
Queen of Canada Queen, but are employees of the Federal government.
In preparation for responsible government, political parties were organised and ran candidates to the territorial legislature for the first time in 1978. The
Yukon Party Progressive Conservatives won these elections and formed the first party government of Yukon in January 1979.
The
Yukon New Democratic Party NDP formed the government from 1985 to 1992 under
Tony Penikett and again from 1996 under
Piers McDonald until being defeated in 2000. The
Yukon Liberal Party Liberal government of
Pat Duncan (Yukon) Pat Duncan was razed in elections in November
2002, with
Dennis Fentie of the
Yukon Party forming the government as
Premier.
Although there has been discussion in the past about the Yukon becoming Canada's 11th province, it is generally felt that its population base is too sparse for this to occur at present.
Much of the population of the territory is
First Nations. An umbrella land claim agreement representing 7000 members of fourteen different First Nations was signed with the federal government in
1991. Each of the individual First Nations then has to negotiate a specific land claim. To date (December 2004), eleven of the 14 First Nations have a signed agreement. The land belonging to one such nation — the Vuntut Gwitchin — is the northernmost land controlled by
Native American (Americas) Native Americans on the entire North American continent; its administrative centre, at
Old Crow, Yukon Old Crow, is the only such community found north of the
Arctic Circle.
The territory once had an
Inuit settlement, located on
Herschel Island off the
Arctic Ocean Arctic coast. This settlement was dismantled in
1987 and its inhabitants relocated to the neighboring
Northwest Territories. The island is now a territorial park and is known officially as
Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park, Qikiqtaruk being the name of the island in
Inuktitut.
Yukon was one of eight jurisdictions in Canada to offer
same-sex marriage before the passage of Canada's
Civil Marriage Act, along with
British Columbia,
Manitoba,
Newfoundland and Labrador,
Nova Scotia,
Ontario,
Quebec and
Saskatchewan. See
Same-sex marriage in Yukon same-sex marriage in Yukon.
External links
-
The 1898 Yukon Act
-
The 2002 Yukon Act
-
Yukon Government
-
Yukon Romance: Virtual exhibit
-
Tall Tales and True Stories of the Yukon
-
Attraction & Service Guides
See also
*
Prefecture Apostolic of Yukon
*
List of Yukon premiers
*
List of Yukon commissioners
*
List of communities in Yukon
*
List of Yukon territorial highways
*
List of Yukon Territory general elections
*
Yukon Legislative Assembly
*
Yukon (electoral district) Yukon Members of Parliament
*
List of Yukoners
*
Yukon College
{{Canada}}
Category:Census divisions of the Canadian territories
Category:Yukon
bg:Юкон
ca:Yukon
da:Yukon
de:Yukon-Territorium
eo:Jukonteritorio
es:Yukón
fi:Yukon
fr:Yukon
he:יוקון
it:Yukon
ja:ユーコン準州
ka:იუკ�ნი (ტერიტ�რი�)
kw:Yukon
ko:ìœ ì½˜ 준주
la:Yukon
nl:Yukon Territory
no:Yukon
pl:Jukon (terytorium Kanady)
pt:Yukon
ru:ТерриториÑ? Юкон
sk:Yukon (teritórium)
sv:Yukon Territory
vi:Yukon
zh:育空
zh-min-nan:Yukon
Yukon is a
List of Canadian provinces and territories territory of
Canada.
Category:1898 establishments
Category:Provinces and territories of Canada
Category:Arctic
de:Kategorie:Yukon
fr:Catégorie:Yukon
ko:분류:ìœ ì½˜ 준주
pt:Categoria:Yukon
sk:Kategória:Yukon
*** Shopping-Tip: Yukon
