The Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFN) or Kwänlin Dän kwächʼǟn (″Whitehorse People″) is located in and around

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. The Kwanlin Dün is the largest First Nation in Yukon. Linguistically, the Kwanlin Dün are affiliated with the Southern Tutchone Tribal Council. The Kwanlin Dün include members who are Southern Tutchone, Tagish Ḵwáan (''Tágür kwächʼan'' - "Carcross-Tagish People"), and

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

(''Łìngit'' - "Coast People").

Territory

Their traditional territory extends from

Marsh Lake Marsh Lake (Mud Lake) is a widening of the Yukon River southeast of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. It is over 30 kilometres long and ranges from three to four kilometres wide. The co-ordinates of the lake are , and is 2,147 feet above sea level. The ...

Lake Laberge Lake Laberge is a widening of the Yukon River north of Whitehorse, Yukon in Canada. It is fifty kilometres long and ranges from two to five kilometres wide. Its water is always very cold, and its weather often harsh and suddenly variable. Names ...

(''Tàa’an Mǟn'' - “Head of the Lake”) along the

Yukon River The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercour ...

(Southern Tutchone name: ''Tágà Shäw'', Tagish name: ''Tahgàh Cho'' - both meaning "big river").

Name

Their name is referring to a section of the Yukon River from Miles Canyon Basalts to the

White Horse Rapids The Whitehorse rapids were rapids on the Yukon River in Canada's Yukon Territory, named for their supposed resemblance to the mane of a charging white horse. The rapids formed where the Yukon River flows across and cuts down through lava flows of ...

which their ancestors called Kwanlin in Southern Tutchone meaning "running water through canyon". Together with the Southern Tutchone word Dän or Dün for ″people″, they referred to this location for naming the KDFN.

Government

The Kwanlin Dün First Nation signed a

land claims A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...

and self-government agreement on February 19, 2005. As part of the land claim agreement, KDFN received 1042 km² of Settlement Land within the traditional territory. Over 30 km² of KDFN's Settlement Land are within the City of Whitehorse boundaries. As a self-governing First Nation, KDFN has its own constitution. Doris Bill was elected as the Chief of the First Nation in March 2014, succeeding Rick O'Brien. Council members as of 2014-2015 are: Jessie Dawson, Judy Gingell, Charlene Charlie, Sean Smith, Alicia Vance, Howard MacIntosh, Dennis Calbery, and Youth Council representative Tayler Vallevand-Vance.

Programs

KDFN was involved in the building of a new

Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre The Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre is a cultural centre of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation located in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The centre opened in June 2012. The centre consists of a long house, artists studios, a gallery, classrooms, and an outdo ...

on the banks of the Yukon River, in downtown Whitehorse. The official opening of the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre occurred in June 2012. Youth For Lateral Kindness

References

External links

Kwanlin Dün First Nation websiteKwanlin Dün First Nation Facebook pageKwanlin Dün Cultural Centre websiteGovernment of Canada's Department of Indian and Northern Affairs First Nation profile
First Nations in Yukon First Nations governments in Yukon Southern Tutchone Yukon River {{FirstNations-stub