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Carcross/Tagish First Nation
Gary Sidney
Gary Sidney calls himself a Carcross must-see. That’s because a lot of the local tours Sidney offers focus on the rich history of the land and its people in a way that isn’t as widely known by visitors. Take the Chilkoot Trail, for example. “That trail is glorified with tales of the Gold Rush, but there’s more history to us than that,” says Sidney of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation, of which he’s a citizen. He likes to tell tourists who was on the land there first and why, and to talk about the differences between the trail stampeders used versus the traditional trails he has hiked along the famed passageway.
“Our trail was smart and it stuck to land formations and ridgelines. The settlers’ trail, if you looked over the cliffs you’d see fallen carts and garbage and dead horses,” he says. “Our trail might have been another 100 kilometres long, but it was smarter.” Sidney, who also goes by Mr. Carcross, doesn’t offer set tours on specific topics at pre-determined times, but you can usually find him around Haa Shagóon Hídi (Our Ancestors House) where he might be talking about the artists whose work is on display in the cultural centre; the history of the clans in the area; or how Cacross is short for Caribou Crossing because so many caribou used to pass through it, Elders have told him it felt like an earthquake every morning at 5 a.m. “The mountain used to look like it was breathing,” he says. “Like it had a pulse, it had so many caribou on it.”
Blake Shaá'koon Lepine
A walk in the woods is what Blake Shaá'koon Lepine calls “going shopping for ideas.” “I keep my antennas up,” says Lepine, a Tlingit, Cree and Hän artist whose inspiration always comes from the land. Living in Whitehorse, Lepine says he’ll regularly catch sight of something simple that he may not have paid much attention to in the past. A closer look often leads to an idea, which he explores through carving, sculpture, jewellery, printmaking, painting and even his work as an herbalist. Among other things, Lepine used balsam poplar as part of a general salve for coughs and colds, and as part of a cream for muscle aches. It’s one of many lessons he learned from the land around Carcross, where part of his family has been for generations.
Walking the railroad toward Bennett Lake or Whitehorse makes for a beautiful day. Lepine also enjoys following the river to the beach in Carcross. He says it almost doesn’t matter where you go, as long we you keep your antennas up too. “I just think we’re really blessed and lucky here to have such beauty and pristine wilderness and I really want people to take that in,” he says. “Because I feel like a lot of people come here who live in the concrete jungle and have never seen wilderness like that before. I hope they just spend a minute appreciating it.”
Margarata Sheyamdusti
Margarata Sheyamdusti feels lucky to call Carcross home, even if she’s currently living in Whitehorse. “I grew up there and always had my family around me,” says Sheyamdusti, a woman of the kookhittaan clan who goes by her Lingit name. “My grandma would teach sewing and fishing, berry-picking and gathering medicine … I deeply cherish those traditions.” And she carries them on. Sheyamdusti, who works for the Carcross/Tagish First Nation (C/TFN) as a youth translator, is currently enrolled in a full-time program at the Yukon Native Language Centre, where she’s learning Tlingit.
“The more I work with the language, the more I feel like I’m being given the key to unlocking the language,” she says of the program, which is giving her guidance when it comes to both the grammar and meaning of Tlingit. When she has spare time in Carcross, Sheyamdusti spends it in some of her favourite places, including Nares Mountain, known for its hiking trails, and Montana Mountain, famous for its single-track mountain biking opportunities.
For Sheyamdusti, the views are only part of the reason she climbs so high—the greater reason is the sense of peace and connection she feels simply being outdoors in the North.
