See also Geography of Yukon. In — the first census for which data on the Yukon is available — the population of the territory was 27, After the close of the Klondike Gold Rush the population declined to 8, in The population of the territory declined further to 4, by and would not experience significant growth until after the Second World War.
It was not until that the population of the territory surpassed the number recorded in In , the population of the Yukon was 35,,which represents a 5. George Mercer Dawson. The capital until , it was the centre of the Klondike Gold Rush and, for a period, was the largest city north of Seattle and west of Winnipeg. The community serves as a service centre for the southeastern Yukon.
Faro , located in central Yukon, was home to one of the largest lead-zinc mines in the world. In , the annual unemployment rate in the Yukon was 9. By industry sector, the largest number of Yukoners were employed in public administration, health care and social assistance, and retail. Employment in the Yukon in many industries is seasonal, which has resulted in a migratory labour force.
In , the most cited ethnic origins were English, Canadian and Scottish. Visible minorities made up 8. Aboriginal peoples make up The majority of Yukoners have English as their mother tongue Christian denominations accounted for 46 per cent of the population followed by traditional Aboriginal spirituality at one per cent.
While it is one of the youngest parts of Canada in terms of European settlement, the Yukon along with Alaska is the oldest continuously inhabited part of North America. The earliest human inhabitants arrived via a land bridge across the Bering Strait from Asia. The date this occurred, however, is subject to considerable debate amongst archaeologists.
Archaeological sites in the Old Crow basin in the north of the territory place the arrival of humans at least as early as 10, BCE and possibly much earlier. The majority of Aboriginal peoples of Yukon belong to the Na-Dene linguistic group.
They included the Nahanni in the east with Kaska , Goat and Mountain groups , and several groups in the south and west Teslin , Tutchone and Tagish. Close interaction through trade and intermarriage between the Tutchone and coastal Tlingit in the southwest resulted in strong Tlingit influences on, and even dominance of, Tutchone language and culture.
The geographic and linguistic boundaries between different groups are fluid and generally blend into one another. As a result, these divisions into different groups are somewhat arbitrary. See Demography of Aboriginal Peoples. Aboriginal peoples in the Yukon felt the influence of Europeans even prior to actual contact. News of the arrival of Russian explorers in the Pacific Northwest in the s and British explorers in the s quickly spread through pre-existing trade networks.
The presence of Europeans altered these traditional networks as different groups moved to acquire a better position in the growing trade with Europeans. The first lasting contact was made in the s by fur traders of the Hudson Bay Company , using maps and information from early explorers such as Sir John Franklin , who reached Yukon's arctic shore in Traders in the interior and whalers on the north coast were followed by missionaries and the North-West Mounted Police in communities such as Fort Selkirk and at Herschel Island.
By the late 19th century, gold prospectors in growing numbers pushed northwards from the Cassiar and Omineca mountains of northern British Columbia. Crossing onto the Yukon watershed they worked their way along the various rivers.
Others moved inland from the Bering Sea, following up the Yukon River from its mouth by stern-wheeler. Several centres of gold mining developed, often for only a brief period. Forty Mile , almost astride the Alaskan boundary, was one. George Carmack, Skookum Jim and Tagish Charley's discovery of gold on Bonanza Creek — a tributary of the Klondike River — on 17 August , initiated what became the pinnacle of a series of gold rushes in western North America, stretching back to the California Gold Rush of Although there had been a greater amount of gold in California, in the Yukon, the gold was concentrated in a much smaller area.
This meant that individual claims had the potential to be incredibly valuable. As a result, thousands of newcomers poured into this hitherto remote corner of Canada, transforming the Yukon permanently. Most of the gold-seekers arrived by way of Skagway and the upper Yukon River. Others tried the "Overland Route" from Edmonton , via the Peace or Mackenzie rivers, but few reached their destination.
Still others sought an all-American route via Valdez, AK, hoping to avoid Canadian government regulations. Dawson came into existence to serve the influx, at the junction of the Klondike and Yukon rivers, with actual mining taking place up the nearby creeks. In one month, Dawson grew to be the largest Canadian city west of Winnipeg , developing a complete range of services, including water, sewerage, electricity and telephones.
In June , the Yukon was made a separate territory and Dawson named its capital. Whitehorse was established as the point where trans-shipping from rail to river took place, but Dawson was the dominant centre. To maintain order, prevent the lawlessness that characterized frontier towns in the United States, and also to assert Canadian sovereignty, the Canadian government increased the North-West Mounted Police presence in the Yukon from 19in to by the end of , and eventually to more than See also Yukon and Confederation.
By , however, the most easily worked placer mines were finished, leaving claims to be mined by large companies using expensive dredges. The population of Dawson began to decline almost immediately as those seeking easy riches were soon discouraged and lured by reports of gold discoveries elsewhere.
Yukon's economy shifted from gold to other minerals beginning in when its first hard rock mine started silver and lead production at Keno Hill in the central Yukon. The remote location and rugged landscape of the Yukon as well as volatile world market for minerals hindered development and prevented stability in the mining industry. The Yukon contributed several hundred men to the Canadian effort during the First World War despite having a population of roughly 7, in The exodus of so many men had a detrimental effect on the economy of the territory, causing labour shortages and forcing some mines to restrict operations.
High fur prices made trapping an important seasonal activity in the interwar years for Aboriginal peoples and prospectors, in the absence of any other industry. The fur trade also helped create a nascent tourist industry drawing in wealthy big-game hunters.
This spurred the construction of the Alaska Highway, the Canol pipeline and a better road infrastructure as a means of shoring up defenses in the region. These controversial projects expedited new mineral exploration activity as well as bringing people, services, industries and tourists to the Yukon.
With the highway came a permanent non-Aboriginal population that outnumbered Yukon's indigenous peoples for the first time. Yukon's capital was transferred from Dawson to Whitehorse in , two years after the initial announcement. In , a major hydroelectric plant was built in Whitehorse.
The largest economic development in the postwar years was the opening of a major open-pit lead-zinc mine and town at Faro in Low metal prices and the recession in the mids resulted in mine closures throughout the Yukon, and increased government efforts to strengthen other economic sectors such as tourism and renewable resource development. Primary resource extraction has always been the foundation of the Yukon economy. Furs, the original trading commodity, continue to be harvested and exported.
Although of declining importance to the economy overall, the fur harvest remains a vital source of income. During a brief but hectic period at the turn of the century an active Arctic whaling industry was based on Herschel Island , the only sheltered harbour along the Yukon's Arctic coast.
The economy is vulnerable to reversals in mining, for example, in the s all of the major Yukon mines closed due to depressed world markets, resulting in a serious economic crisis and a decline in population. Farming was significant at the time of the gold rush, but subsequently became negligible because of high costs, low profits, marginal soil, climatic restrictions, topography and improved transportation that lowered the price of agricultural imports.
Aided by new technologies and favourable government policy, agriculture has showed slow but steady growth. Placer gold mining was the mainstay of the Yukon's economy from the time of the Klondike Gold Rush up until the development of silver and lead mines in the Keno Hill area in the early s. Following the Second World War , placer gold production dropped off leaving silver and lead as the mainstays. During the s and s, several new mines were developed and production values were dominated by zinc , lead, copper , silver and asbestos.
Following the closure of the asbestos and base metal mines in the late s and early s, and rises in the price of gold, there was renewed interest in placer mining, and a couple of small-scale hard rock gold mines operated briefly. There has also been limited production of coal intermittently since the turn of the century. Production values are now dominated by zinc , lead and silver , but placer gold production continues to be important.
There are many large mineral deposits in the Yukon and new mines are currently under development, which will likely increase the production of copper , hard rock gold and silver over the next few years. In —14, there are currently three producing mines and two new mines to open, both in the Keno Hill silver district. The major hydro power facilities are at Whitehorse , and on the Aishihik and Mayo rivers. In , the Canada-Yukon Oil and Gas Accord transferred authority and control over onshore oil and gas resources from the federal to the territorial government.
While the territory is home to potential oil and gas resources, development is limited to date. Granatstein, J. Confederation to the Present. Local histories are some of the most valuable sources for family history research. They describe the settlement of the area and the founding of churches, schools, and businesses. You can also find lists of early settlers, soldiers, and civil officials.
Even if your ancestor is not listed, information on other relatives may provide important clues for locating your ancestor. A local history may also suggest other records to search. Published histories of towns, counties, districts or other municipalities, and provinces often contain accounts of families. Many district, county, and town histories include sections or volumes of biographical information.
These may give information on as many as half of the families in the area. The Family History Library has about district histories from the Prairie Provinces and fewer township and county histories from the rest of Canada.
Similar histories are often at major Canadian public and university libraries and archives. Family History Library. Memories Overview Gallery People Find. Sign in Create Account. Family Tree. Remember me. I forgot my password. Why sign up? Create Account. Suggest an Edit. Enter your suggested edit s to this article in the form field below. Accessed 11 November In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published December 19, ; Last Edited February 20, The Canadian Encyclopedia , s.
Thank you for your submission Our team will be reviewing your submission and get back to you with any further questions. Thanks for contributing to The Canadian Encyclopedia. Article by Jon Tattrie.
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