INTRODUCTION

Fort Selkirk has been visited by the Northern Tutchone people for thousands of years. For a short period in the mid-19th century and from 1889 onward, the First Nation has shared the site with European traders, missionaries and settlers. As the two cultures came into contact they became increasingly dependent on one another. The Northern Tutchone adapted readily to new technologies brought by the white man, while the European newcomers relied on aboriginal people to teach them the means of survival on the land.

There were negative aspects to the relationship between the Northern Tutchone and the white inhabitants of Fort Selkirk. People of the First Nation, in particular, suffered with social change, epidemics, and game depletion. Nevertheless, the two groups became linked through work, crises such as forest fires, and sometimes marriage. Fort Selkirk provides an historic example that difference doesn’t necessarily mean separation or conflict, but diversity.

Since 1982 members of the Selkirk First Nation and the Heritage Branch of the Yukon Government have worked together to preserve and maintain the townsite. In 1990, these two groups agreed on a plan to protect and manage the site for the benefit of all Yukoners. The Fort Selkirk Management Plan recognizes the area as a living cultural site and as part of the Selkirk First Nation homeland.

Today the fruits of joint efforts past and present are being reaped. Each summer a small, government and First Nation funded, work crew made up of members of the Selkirk First Nation return to the town to maintain and restore Fort Selkirk to its past beauty.