KFN Land Introduction
Introduction
Lù’àn Män Ku Dän (Kluane Lake People) have lived in the Shakwak Valley of Southwest Yukon for over 10,000 years. Oral histories and stories from long ago times, Kwäday Kwändür, teach us that Lù’àn Män Ku Dän’s ancestors have been here since time immemorial. Self-identifying as Part of the Land, Part of the Water, the people of Kluane First Nation have a long and rich history connected as one with the natural environment, the plants, the animals, and all the elements. Lù’àn Män Ku Dän know well the practices of resilience, perseverance, adaptation, innovation, and growth.
To recognize that change is needed, to be able find new ways of doing and knowing, to learn from and adapt to what is right in front of you, is how Lù’àn Män Ku Dän has survived, not just the harsh landscape and climate, but through many additional hardships, subjugation, and discrimination. The cumulative knowledge gained through all these experiences is immense. Not unlike scientific researchers need baseline data as a comparison to measure changes over time, the first peoples of Kluane have a wealth of traditional knowledge that has been gifted through oral histories and teachings from the collective knowledge of their ancestors’ experiences.
Kluane people remain strongly rooted in the knowledge of traditions and oral histories. As the nations moves forward, they continue to practise adaptation and embrace modern techniques, redefining what it means to be a Self-Governing First Nation in a colonial modern world.
Traditional Territory
Self-governing and self reliant, Kluane First Nation stands proudly and with honor as land guardians, over their ancestral homeland.
Kluane First Nation Traditional Territory is situated in Southwestern Yukon, centred around the village of Burwash Landing.
Traditional Territory
The Kluane Traditional Territory is about 33,000 km 2 , which is similar to the size of Belgium.
Traditional Territory
The Kluane First Nation Traditional Territory extends from the St. Elias Mountains in the South, encompasses Lhù’ààn Mân (Kluane Lake) and the Ä’äy Chù (Slims River) to the southwest, and is bordered by the Ruby Range to the north, and the Yukon Alaska Border to the west. The Tachàl region of Kluane National Park and Reserve are included in the Kluane Traditional Territories.
The Kluane Lake people have inhabited the Shakwak Valley for over 10,000 years. It is the homeland of the Southern Tutchone people.
In very generalised terms, this area of historic use and occupation extends from the southeastern end of Kluane Lake northwest to the Alaska border and from the St. Elias Mountains north to the Donjek-White River confluence.
The Ä’äy Chù is an important river that feeds into Kluane Lake. This river has experienced significant changes in recent years. To learn more, click on the link below:
The community of Burwash Landing is situated on the southwest shore of Lhù’ààn Mân. This area is rich in First Nations culture and history. The Southern Tutchone people have traditionally moved across the landscape, hunting, fishing and harvesting the land. The site of Burwash Landing was once a seasonal fishing camp for the Southern Tutchone.
Kluane First Nation acknowledges that portions of its Traditional Territory are overlapped with the Traditional Territories of neighbouring First Nations. However, Kluane First Nation retains constitutional rights as contained within the Kluane First Nation Final Agreement and has jurisdiction over its Settlement Land, Citizens and resources as set out in Kluane First Nation Self Government Agreement. This gives Kluane First Nation primacy of governmental authority within the Core area of the Kluane First Nation Traditional Territory. The Core Area concept was developed through negotiations with the Governments of Canada and Yukon.
The Core Area concept for Kluane First Nation is now constitutionally protected under Kluane First Nation Final Agreement. Kluane First Nation recognizes the actual Shared Area with White River First Nation is located between the Dań Zhùr Chù’ (Donjek River) and the ʼAt’aayaat Chù’ (White River) and is identified in the Kluane First Nation Final Agreement (Appendix B, Sheet 22) as a cooperative management area between Kluane First Nation and WRFN. The map attached to this submission outlines the Kluane First Nation Traditional Territory, including the Core Area and Shared Area, which are identified in our Final Agreement."
Settlement Lands
Settlement Lands are identified in each Yukon First Nation's Final Agreements as those that are owned and managed by the First Nation. As identified in the terms of the Umbrella Final Agreement finalized in 1990 and Kluane First Nation’s Final and Self-Government Agreements with Yukon and Canada signed in 2003, KFN owns two categories of Settlement Lands.
Category A Lands
Kluane First Nation has 647.5 km² of Category A Land – meaning that the First Nation owns the rights to both the surface of the land as well as what is below it (such as minerals, oil and gas).
Category B Lands
Kluane First Nation has 259 km² of Category B Land – meaning that the First Nation owns the right to the surface of the land but not what is below the surface.
Of the 33,000km 2 of Kluane First Nation Traditional Territory, less than 3% of lands are Settlement Lands.
Modern Parks and Sanctuaries
Kluane National Park and Reserve is located in the southwest Yukon, Canada. The park extends over an area of 21,980 km 2 , and is dominated by two northwest–southeast-trending parallel mountain systems. It’s a vast wilderness of towering peaks - including Mount Logan - ice fields, glaciers and forests. Kluane National Park and Reserve was first established as a game reserve in 1942. Later a portion of the game reserve was transformed into a National Park and Reserve in 1972. It was designated as part of a regional UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.
Kaskawulsh Glacier in Kluane National Park and Reserve (within Kluane First Nation Traditional Territory).
Ä́'sía Keyi was written and performed for Kluane National Park and Reserve by Diyet van Lieshout, a member of the Kluane First Nation. The song, written in Southern Tutchone, shares the feelings and connection to the land of the First Nations peoples who have traditionally called the park lands their home.
Outline of Kluane National Park and Reserve (green) and Kluane First Nation Traditional Territory (white).
