The Hän people historically lived along the Yukon River near the border of eastern Alaska and western Yukon Territory. One of their largest and most important sites was Tr’ochëk, where the Klondike and Yukon Rivers meet. It was there that the Klondike Gold Rush started in 1896 and within a few years thousands of people had come to Hän lands hoping to find gold. The prospectors drove game animals away and took over the land, which threatened the Hän people's traditional lifeways. Chief Isaac of the Hän people, shown here, saw the impacts that the Gold Rush had on his people and their culture. In response, he moved them three miles downriver to Moosehide and entrusted knowledge of many of their songs and dances to Indigenous people in Alaska for safekeeping. In the aftermath of the gold rush, the Hän strove to balance Indigenous traditions against cultural influences from the settlers. Chief Isaac continued to lead the Hän until his death in 1932. Today, most Hän people are part of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation in Dawson City. The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in began negotiating their Land Claim in 1991 and it came into effect in 1998.

Curtis no. 46,136
SHS category: Alaska - Indians

Caption information source: “Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in,” FirstVoices, retrieved from https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/FV/sections/Data/Athabascan/H%C3%A4n/H%C3%A4n
Caption information source: "The Chiefs," Chief Isaac's People of the River, retrieved from http://chiefisaac.com/the_chiefs.html