"Long Ago Peoples Place" - A Yukon MUST STOP Along the ALCAN (Alaska) Highway

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' Journeymakers  are those people who elevate your travel experience with the passion and enthusiasm for the place they call home and for the interest and kindness they give you, the traveller. '

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In 2000 we made a stop at "Long Ago Peoples Place" during our van shuttle to the Tatshenshini/Alsek River(s) put-in for a rafting trip. We enjoyed that visit so much we decided it was time to return there and see what had changed.  ... the answer was lots had! 

We met Harold Johnson there ... Harold is a Journeymaker!

Called Kwäday Dän Kenji in Southern Tutchone; the Long Ago Peoples Place is an outdoor museum of traditional Southern Tutchone culture located outside of Whitehorse, near the community of Champagne. 

Harold calls this special place ... 'His Vision'. He grew up in the bush here, near Champagne; his peoples Crow and Wolf Clans claim this land. We spent over two hours with him and listened to his stories handed down from 'The Elders'. He described how ancient shelters were built, how tools were created, how animals and fish were trapped/caught and smoked, how his people lived.

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Hunting   Trapping   Fishing

Harold demonstrates how an Atlatl (or throwing stick) is used to throw an arrow.

Harold hit the tree with his arrow.

So did Dann (sort of ... it was the wrong tree). 
Note the log building; this was used as a temporary winter shelter; a spruce log would be placed in the open area of the building and would keep the occupants warm. The log was lit in the middle and pulled together from the ends as the centre burned through.

Dead Fall Trap
Demonstrating how to use a dead fall trap to catch medium sized fur-bearing mammals; wolverine, small wolves, coyotes, lynx. An assembly of large logs, weighing between 300 and 400 pounds total, were held upright by a small wooden brace, set tenderly and vertically (see in front of Harolds knee between the 2 horizontal logs). The brace was attached to a cord holding food at the back of the trap. Once an animal tugged on the food, the brace would collapse and drop the logs swiftly. Harold told us the weight dropped immediately and would crush the spine of an adult Wolverine, killing it instantly and humanely.

Fish Trap

Harold explains the intricate method of snaring a gopher (Arctic Ground Squirrel) - ingenious and just a bit tricky! When asked who the first person was that thought of it was, he answered simply ... "The Creator". Trappers would carry a dozen or more snares on a belt and would set and check traps frequently. 100 gopher pelts would make a good-sized blanket or cloak.

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The Buildings

Harold's vision for Long Ago Peoples Place began in the 1980s when he saw a need to cultivate his peoples heritage. After years of consultation with elders, he was confident he could ensure the authenticity of the tools and structures that would be displayed and Long Ago Peoples Place opened its doors to the public in 1995.

The museum includes dwellings from pre-contact (with Europeans) society when aboriginal people would travel and build temporary shelters. These dwellings made from tree-bark, spruce and insulated with dried mud and moss weren't intended to last the winter, so would be rebuilt or repaired every year. Harold has taken on that task of rebuilding  ... just as his ancestors did.

Food Cache
There would have been a lot more sticks and heavy logs on top in order to ensure it was 'bear proof'

A Winter Shelter 
Logs are angled so that a bear leaning on the structure could not collapse the walls. It was then covered with mud and moss and banked over with snow.

Cache of Animal Bones 
The bones were dried and used to make various tools. Every part of an animal was harvested, nothing was wasted. Harold volunteered that in ancient times his people used everything from a harvested animal except ... 'The Shit Pile'.  

A Dog House

A Temporary Summer Shelter 
A spruce log would be placed in the middle and set on fire to add warmth and to help keep the insects away. Before bed, bunches of green alder branches and leaves would be laid on the fire to keep bears out of camp. Bears associate the smell with wildfires burning and would move away from the area.

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The Puberty Shelter

A person's survival and future depended on the knowledge and skills acquired through puberty. At the onset of puberty boys and girls began rigorous ritual training. 

A Boy ... underwent a period of rigorous physical training to prepare him for life as a hunter. Daily, he had to plunge into ice cold water, regardless of the weather or the season, and afterwards, endure beatings with a willow brush, administered by elders. The boys first kill was cause for a small celebration.

A Girl ... was secluded in a puberty shelter for a period of one month to a year (depending on how well off her family was - the better off they were the longer she stayed). She wore a puberty hood and was not allowed to see any males face or the sky. The girl was also forbidden to eat fresh fish or meat or have water touch her teeth. She would drink through a drinking tube normally made from a swans bone. During this time she worked at tasks like sewing, beading and basket making. She was also taught the oral stories from the elders and would have to memorize them word for word.

The Puberty Shelter

Log cabin built by Harold's grandfather and moved from it's original location near Champagne. When the  ALCAN (Alaska) Highway was built it ended up being only a few feet from the front door. Along with the highway came disease and Harold's grandfather lost 3 daughters.

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You    Must    Visit!  

The couple of hours we spent with Harold were definitely a highlight of our time in the Yukon this season. He is a very knowledgeable spokesperson for his people and by using story-telling revealed the resilience, resourcefulness and ingenuity of his ancestors. 

If you book ahead you can even arrange for some bannock and traditional food.  Make sure you check out his website Long Ago Peoples Place

Tom   Peg   Harold   Helen   Dann

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