Raised by the Yukon

I mentioned in the About Me section that I grew up in the Yukon, a magical place, where the winters are blistering cold and seem to last eight months of the year. With the first snowfall in September and the last one sometimes in May. There is a beauty in the silence of the winter, where everything gets still and crystal clear, and if you are lucky, the Aurora Borealis will dance across the evening sky for you. In the short summer months, you will be welcomed by long days and a sun that doesn’t sleep. In the Land of the Midnight Sun, there is an abundance of mountains to climb, trails to wander, and lakes to fish in. This place is in my blood, and it is the place I will forever call home.

For those of you who might not be familiar with the Yukon, it is Canada’s smallest most Western Territory. It is known for its long summer days with 24-hour daylight in June and July and long, cold, dark winter months which peak from December to February and can drop down to -50 degrees Celsius temperatures.

The Yukon has 14 First Nations and 8 language groups, making up for about 25% of the population, as compared to the 5.9% of the indigenous people in BC. “The Yukon has been inhabited for centuries, holding some of the earliest evidence of the presence of humans in North America” (according to Travel Yukon)

I am one of the 1,400 members of Liard First Nation, one of the four Kaska Nations. Liard First Nations inhabit a broad area in the southeastern Yukon and Northern BC. Kaska people consider the land and everything on it sacred and consider themselves stewards of the land. The land has provided and guided the Kaska people from time immemorial.

History of the Yukon

The Yukon is popularly (and colonially) known for the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1800s. Where thousands of people set out in search of adventure and striking it rich. In the hundreds of writings you can find stored in the archives you will find tales of the harsh and unforgiving weather; the rowdy energy of the prospectors after spending weeks and months, isolated in the vast wilderness mining the rivers for gold.

I would argue that much of this spirit still lives on in the Yukon. The mining industry is still alive and thriving, making up about 14% of the Yukon economy. Offering well-paying jobs without the requirement of post-secondary education. These jobs require hard physical labor, a driver’s license, and working 12-hour days for weeks at a time. Being home with friends and family only a quarter of the time. Working hard and playing hard is part of the culture. It is a tough balance and the alternatives for that kind of pay are few.

Connections

I mentioned earlier that I am a member of Liard First Nation, which I am, but I’m also mixed race. My mom, a white woman, grew up in the Lower Mainland, followed her sister to the North in the early 80s looking for work and in search of something new. A city girl, settling in the North. My dad, a quiet and strong indigenous man from a small community about five hours south, down the Alaska Highway from the town where I grew up in. He still lives in this town, and leads a very quiet and traditional life ( it took me a long time to understand and appreciate this).

I didn’t grow up with my Nation or on my reserve. While my dad often found work in his hometown and would travel back and forth to see us; I was raised full-time with my mom. I grew up in Whitehorse, the capital city, which makes up for approximately 70% of the entire Yukon population. Which for most of my upbringing sat at a population of almost 20,000 people. (For context, in 2023, the municipality of North Vancouver has a population of 92,000). I would be what you would call urban indigenous, meaning I grew up away from my Indigenous culture and traditions.

What’s it like in the Yukon ?

The first thing that you will likely notice when arriving in the Yukon is the vastness of untouched land. The eight municipalities cover only 0.2% of the territory’s land mass. Driving to Whitehorse, from any other major city is about a ten-hour drive in any direction. This seclusion meant that that time works differently there, the pace being much slower. That outside influences felt light years away and we always seemed to be at least a few years behind on many trends. The Yukon sort of feels like it has its own little bubble around it, with the opportunity to really just stay protected if you want.

The communities in the Yukon are small, with between 300 and 1000 people per community. Too small for the children to go all the way from kindergarten to grade 12. So, the youth travel from the communities to move to Whitehorse for high school, often leaving their families behind. Coming home for long weekends, Christmas, and Summer breaks.

In Whitehorse, we have three major high schools. We have Yukon University (when I went there it was still a college). We have 6 grocery stores, a Canadian Tire, and a Walmart. Our Main Street might be as long as one block on Granville Street. We have two gyms and a big beautiful community center that was built in 2005. We also have a stunning performance Theatre, a bowling alley, but no movie theatres.

There is a lovely community feel when you walk around town. A lot of friendly faces, people holding the doors open for each other, and strangers waving at each other when they drive by (especially in the smaller communities). And if you don’t know everyone personally, there is a good chance that you will recognize them just from seeing them around town.

So, what is there to do in the Yukon you might ask? That’s a great question.

Outside activities are probably the number one thing to pass the time since we have such an abundance of land. Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, boating, softball, snowboarding, skiing, and skidooing are some likely ways people are spending their free time. The pace, of a smaller place is much slower, so gardening, cooking, and crafting are likely another. The city stores and café close early, and it only takes 15 minutes to drive anywhere in Whitehorse. So there’s potential for a lot of downtime.

the shadow side of the culture

It’s hard to describe to people who don’t come from the Yukon that drinking is a part of the culture. That having multiple drinks on any occasion is part of the social norm. It can be difficult to find activities that don’t involve the consumption of alcohol. Upon doing some research I found an article in the Yukon News stating how the average Yukoner consumes between 3.8-10.4 drinks per occasion, and that the Yukon has been known for the most alcohol sales per capita.

 But why are drinking and party culture so active? Is it the long dark winters? The lack of organized activities? Is it intergenerational trauma? Or maybe it’s a direct reflection of colonialism. Possibly the isolation? I can’t say for sure. But my guess is it the compounding affect of all of them combined.

I didn't grow up in a drinking house. My parents decided to stay sober once they had children. I learned about substance use from my friends. From house parties, to joyrides and late night bush parties with mile-high bonfires. There was an abundance of opportunities for shenanigans and trouble. My generation in particular seemed to know how to throw down (maybe all generations say this). From mid-teens to adulthood, we all seemed to know where to gather, to celebrate, to mourn, to dance, to laugh, to fight and to be together.

Throughout all these years it’s been heartbreaking, inspiring, and hopeful witnessing my peers going through the peaks and valleys of life. Many of my friends stayed in the Yukon and started families of their own. Others continued down the same path of partying that we all started on, some finding themselves choosing the way of sobriety later in life, some who didn’t get to choose and we’ve lost along the way, and others who chose to end the pain inside.

My own path is full of the same peaks and valleys, but my route, a bit different. I often say I grew up working in mental health. I started working in the treatment program at the age of 19, working with adults struggling with substance use. While other people my age were working at restaurants and bars, I was attending AA meetings with my clients, and learning about the big book and the stages of change.

A young adult, learning to be a space holder in abstinence-based culture, while simultaneously holding my own substance use close to me led to a lot of internalized stigma and shame. Stigma and shame that I am still untangling myself from. I still identify as a substance user, while an addict never seemed quite right. I’ve experienced the first hand the benefits and the risks, and made plenty of the mistakes. My relationship with substances has continued to grow and shift and change with me as I grow older. I’ve seemed to land somewhere in the in-between, a place that I am getting more comfortable with. A place of harm reduction acceptance.

In conclusion

If you ask me about my relationship with the Yukon, I’ll tell you that it is complicated. I love my Yukon, my home, it holds so many of the moments that make me who I am. But the peaks and valleys associated with life there are equal to the beauty of the peaks and valleys of the landscape. The culture can be as harsh and unforgiving as the winters. But the community can be as warm and bright as the midnight sun. It is the people I love, my family and friends, that keep me coming home.

I tell you parts of my story, in case you recognize parts of your own. I tell you parts of my story to let you know where my ideas come from. I tell parts of my story to offer a glimmer of hope in case you are in those valleys or maybe you’ve been hiking up for a long time and the journey just never seems to end. Keep going my friend, the view from the peak is well worth the climb.

With love,

Chantelle

Resources

Statistics Canada (2007). Whitehorse, Yukon. 2006 Community Profiles - Find the link to the original article here

Canada Visa (2023). About the Yukon - find the link to the original article here

World Data Info (2023). Climate in Yukon Canada. - find the link to the original article here

Pfeiffer, C (2020). Travel 2 Travel. 35 Incredible Facts about the Yukon - find the link to the original article here

Yukon.ca (2023). Find out about Yukon First Nations. Government of Yukon - find the link to the original article here

Liard First Nation (2023). Us - Liard First Nation - find the link to the original article here

Halliday, K (2022). Yukonomist: The past, present and future of mining and the Yukon economy, Part 1. The Yukon News - find the link to the original article Here

Yukon News (2022). New Research guidelines lower recommended drinks per week - find the link to the original article Here

CBC (2016). Yukoners drink too much, says territory’s top doctor on latest report - find the link to the original article Here