Introduction
I chose “Yukon 125” for my work, on which several articles are written on the portal. The Arctic Ocean borders the Yukon to the north, the Northwest Territories to the east, British Columbia to the south, and the United States State of Alaska to the west. The articles touch on entirely different aspects of the Yukon’s history and the population’s problems.
Articles on this theme include “Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow: Mapping the Way to Yukon First Nations Governance and Environmental Stewardship,” “Land Beyond the Borders: Wildlife at the Peripheries of the Yukon Territory,” “Re-storying Reclamation in Yukon: Confronting Extractive Colonial Histories or Quantifying Baselines?” and “The Klondike Rainmakers Battle.” The authors argued that the multifaceted history of the Yukon, including the gold rush and Native contributions, can be helpful to educators and constituents in improving people’s lives in the future.
Blog Post Summaries
Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow
“Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow: Mapping the Way to Yukon First Nations Governance and Environmental Stewardship” by Shirley Roburn discusses the Yukon’s Indigenous culture and environmental stewardship. The author examines Yukon treaties that have created specific ecological governance and touches on Indigenous peoples’ views that all legislation should be taught to their children in school.
The author addresses Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives, making the work helpful and extensive. It helps to understand the perspectives of different ethnic groups, which can serve to solve pressing problems in the Yukon. The work also describes the bodies that significantly affect the lives of the Indigenous peoples of Yukon. It helps to understand how these people live, their principles, and how the environment is protected.
The author also mentions that “eleven Yukon schools have joined a council developing a curriculum that focuses on the needs of Indigenous students.” This contributes to understanding how the territory’s problems are addressed and how respect is shown to the Indigenous population. This article can be helpful to me as an NGO creator because it identifies issues related to Indigenous people. I could create an organization that intends to defend the rights of the Yukon people.
Land Beyond the Borders
Land Beyond the Borders: Wildlife at the Peripheries of the Yukon Territory, written by author Glenn Iceton, focuses on the wildlife of the Yukon Territory and the issues surrounding the topic. The author cites his observations as a child as a resident of the land. This helps the reader to get a feel for the atmosphere of life in the Yukon Territory, which is very important for understanding the topic.
The author emphasizes the topic of the boundaries between Alaska and British Columbia and the problems associated with it. According to Icetonne, Native people felt some disadvantage in hunting rights under the influence of boundaries and restrictions. The author also recounts the laws that were passed about the Yukon Territory, which aids in tracing how the legislation evolved and how it impacted the territory’s Indigenous inhabitants.
The author mentions the population’s concern: the overlap and inconsistencies in the legislation of several neighboring areas might make it impossible to protect species. Cooperation was required on this topic, resulting in a coordinated effort by Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia. The author also claims that the introduction of aircraft in the Canadian North compounded the issues of providing animal protection in border regions. This material emphasizes the significance of territorial legislation. In the author’s opinion, this boundary continues to be controversial among people who interact with it in one way or another.
In summary, this post is quite informative and helpful to the reader in that it also, like the last one, helps to better understand the history of the Yukon. This article draws attention to the problem of boundaries in the Yukon Territory, which can contribute to its solution. It may also be useful to me as an NGO builder, as the issues identified by the author require a solution that can only be achieved by working together.
Re-Storying Reclamation in Yukon
The following article, titled “Re-storying Reclamation in Yukon: Confronting Extractive Colonial Histories or Quantifying Baselines?” written by author Caitlynn Beckett, recounts the history of the Yukon Territory and the extractive industry and the issues surrounding the topic. This article may overlap with the previous one as it also refers to abuses such as illegal mining in the Yukon Territory.
The author shows the Yukon as a mining site and mentions historical events such as the gold rush that influenced modern times. This is why this article is handy to read and gives a basis for understanding the territory’s past. It is also worth mentioning that many people used mercury during gold mining, which harmed the environment. This article can be helpful to me because it contains fascinating information about the Yukon as an extractive territory.
The author also talks about how people engaged in illegal mining by exploiting the open mines. The author notes that the initial theft moments were obvious but overlooked in modern realities. For this reason, their mention in the article may help to draw attention to this aspect of the territory’s history. Beckett also highlights the Yukon Territory’s water scarcity situation and miners’ criminal activity. It is important to note that the water shortage occurred because intruders purposely contaminated thousands of gallons of water.
Following the dissolution of the water intake organization, a reclamation plan was proposed that emphasizes waste rock backfilling and water treatment. However, the author claims that no efforts have been made to attain the goals in the previous 20 years. This information helps us comprehend the problem’s scope while also drawing public attention to it. Thus, I think this article is very informative as it emphasizes the problems that usually go unnoticed.
The Klondike Rainmakers Battle
Heather Green wrote the essay “The Klondike Rainmakers Battle.” It relates how several people attempted to make it rain during the Yukon Territory’s droughts. This article may be similar to the preceding one because it also discusses the topic of water shortage. In addition, the material in the post may be excellent for a history lesson because it is exciting.
The author emphasizes how individuals in the Yukon Territory managed to cope with the drought and restore mining activities. The author concludes that incidents such as the fight against rain summoners indicate the close interaction of the people with their neighbors. This history also shows that some Yukon Natives, such as Chief Isaac, who sought to capitalize on his shamanic activities, found financial, social, and diplomatic opportunities to assert their status in this colonial territory. As a result, this piece is both intriguing and helpful in learning how Yukon Natives interacted with outsiders.
Conclusion
Thus, on the general audience side, every post on Yukon 125 can be helpful to the average reader, NGO creator, or educator. It is worth emphasizing that studying a region’s history will assist in making effective policy decisions and avoiding past mistakes. Furthermore, studying history is beneficial to the public since it helps individuals examine their present lives objectively. Others adopt their experiences by researching how others lived in the past. It is difficult to understand the present and predict the future without understanding history.
History helps people better grasp their culture, way of life, and thinking. It is also worth noting that reading these postings may assist a person in understanding particular elements and stimulate patriotism and love for their country. The writers’ identification of difficulties, such as illicit water theft activities and a lack of territorial cohesiveness in drafting laws, also draws the administration’s attention. This will contribute to resolving the issues above and improving the lives of Yukon’s Indigenous people. It will also aid in conserving the territory’s wildlife, which is especially vital in today’s world when global environmental challenges are incredibly pressing.
Bibliography
Beckett, Caitlynn. “Re-Storying Reclamation in Yukon: Confronting Extractive Colonial Histories or Quantifying Baselines?” The Otter~ La loutre, 2023. Web.
Clackett, Sydney P., Trevor J. Porter, and Igor Lehnherr. “The Tree-Ring Mercury Record of Klondike Gold Mining at Bear Creek, Central Yukon.” Environmental Pollution268 (2021): 115777. Web.
Edwards, Rick T., David V. D’Amore, Frances E. Biles, Jason B. Fellman, Eran W. Hood, Joel W. Trubilowicz, and William C. Floyd. “Riverine Dissolved Organic Carbon and Freshwater Export in the Eastern Gulf of Alaska.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 126, no. 1 (2021). Web.
Green, Heather. “The Klondike Rainmakers Battle.” The Otter~ La loutre, 2023. Web.
Iceton, Glenn. “Land beyond the Borders: Wildlife at the Peripheries of the Yukon Territory.” The Otter~ La loutre, 2023. Web.
Roburn, Shirley. “Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow: Mapping the Way to Yukon First Nations Governance and Environmental Stewardship.” The Otter~ La loutre, 2023. Web.
Tosh, John. Why history matters. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.