UBC Digitization Centre
The University of British Columbia (UBC) Digitization Centre works in collaboration with UBC departments, UBC Library branches and other groups within the UBC community to build our digital collections. We also partner with public libraries and archives throughout British Columbia and academic institutions around the world to create the digital resources available through our Open Collections. These partnerships make our work possible by providing access to rare and unique materials worth preserving.
In accordance with our digital collection development policy, we are interested in building our collections in the following broad areas: British Columbiana, materials which directly support the curriculum, Faculty and Student research output, the material record of the University, and those materials which are considered to be rare or unique.
Indigenous Stories of the Klondike Gold Rush: Part 1 – The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in
A version of this article was originally published on the website of the University of British Columbia (UBC) Digitization Centre.
In a blog post in April, we provided an introductory tour of the realities of the Klondike Gold Rush era alongside the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection. In Part 1 of this two-part series, we continue this tour, focusing on the Indigenous stories of the Klondike Gold Rush, namely that of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people.
In Part 1, we identify the Indigenous people central to the Gold Rush’s discovery narrative. We also explore the history of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people, and the crucial role they played during the Klondike Gold Rush era.
A note on historical photographs of Indigenous people
It is difficult to ascertain the context or intent behind the photographs of Indigenous people in the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection. 19th and 20th century settler photography of Indigenous people was sometimes shot under exploitative circumstances, or misidentified its subjects. However, many photographs from this time were produced with full control and consent from their Indigenous subjects.
For more information, refer to Looks Can Be Deceiving: Issues Regarding 19th-Century Native American Photographs, which guided the above statement.
Indigenous people, who have inhabited the land now known as the Yukon Territory for millennia, have long been excluded from Gold Rush narratives. While photographs of Indigenous people in this collection may have been produced from a colonial or voyeuristic perspective, they are visual evidence of the presence and impact of Indigenous people during the Klondike Gold Rush era. These photos have been included in this post as a means of revising Eurocentric Gold Rush narratives that invisibilize both the labour and the existence of Indigenous communities during this period.
A note on outdated language in the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection
Outdated terms for Indigenous people exist in this collection, and are present in two photographs in this post. Inclusion of these materials is not an endorsement of this language. In addition to the above noted purpose, these documents also preserve “historical evidence of social conditions and attitudes” of the era.
These photos are intended to be viewed through a critical lens, keeping in mind their historical context.
Indigenous Icons of the Gold Rush
For decades after its end, the lore of the Klondike Gold Rush primarily credited George Cormack, a white settler, with spotting the first traces of gold in the Yukon River. While it was often noted that Tagish men Skookum Jim (Keish) and Tagish Charlie (K̲áa Goox̱) were by his side, cultural representations portrayed them as just that: sidekicks.
History of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in
The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people, or the People of the Hammer-Rock River, are descendants of the Hän, who have inhabited the Yukon Territory for thousands of years. For centuries, the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in traversed their territory as the seasons shifted, gathering berries in the fall and hunting in the winters.
Photos in the Phil Lind Collection show the vastness of the Yukon River, where the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in spent summers fishing for salmon.
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Territory
The territory of Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people extends from the Yukon River valley through to the Blackstone Uplands.
The Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection features many photos of the landscape surrounding the Yukon River, where the traditional Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in territory is located.
The “heart” of their territory is Tr’ochëk, the land between the Klondike and Yukon Rivers. The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in fished, hunted, and held cultural events on this land for hundreds of years before the Gold Rush. In the late 1800s, stampeders would occupy this area, displacing the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in.
This photo from the Phil Lind Collection shows Tr’ochëk:
Role of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in in the Gold Rush Era
During the Klondike Gold Rush, the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in worked as hunters, porters, and traders, as well as on paddlewheelers, at building sites, and on claims.
Their expertise was invaluable to prospectors who were unfamiliar with the territory, and their skills were often preferred over those of settlers. The meat supplied by Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in hunters was at some points crucial to the survival of Dawson City residents.
While they tried to coexist harmoniously with stampeders, the Gold Rush had dire social and environmental implications for the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in. Despite this, their culture and tradition has endured, and they remain a strong, self-governing nation to this day.
Stay tuned…
… for Part 2, where we delve into the impacts of the Klondike Gold Rush on the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and explore the nation’s contemporary history. We also meet Chief Isaac, the revered chief of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in during the Klondike Gold Rush.
References
Chief Isaac’s People of the River. (n.d.) Culture and Religion. http://chiefisaac.com/culture_and_religion.html.
Gray, Charlotte. (2021, September 2). Reconsidering the Gold Rush. Canada’s History. https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/peace-conflict/reconsidering-the-gold-rush.
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Government. (n.d.). Tr’ochëk. https://www.trondek.ca/our-story/our-territory/trochek/
Further Reading and Watching on NiCHE
- 2024 David Neufeld Memorial Lecture: Tr’ondëk-Klondike Panel Recording
- “Drifting towards an Environmental History of the Yukon River Valley” by David Neufeld
- “Historical Mining and Contemporary Conflict: Lessons from the Klondike” by Heather Green
- “Luck in the Archives: How One File Shaped My Dissertation” by Heather Green
- “The Klondike Rainmakers Battle” by Heather Green
- “Place-Based Learning from the Arctic to the Maritimes” by Heather Green
- “Sport Hunting Tourism and Indigenous-Settler Histories in the Yukon Territory” by Heather Green
- “Storying Tr’ondëk-Klondike: Disrupting Settler Colonial Narratives Through UNESCO Designation” by Emily Witherow
- “Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow: Mapping the way to Yukon First Nations governance and environmental stewardship” by Shirley Roburn
Jill Henderson