Beaver Creek (Yukon)

It is located around 760 meters above sea level, represents the westernmost city in Canada and is the center of the White River First Nation. The place had 2006 112 inhabitants.

The place has an airfield, the Beaver Creek Airport. Also maintains the site of a library, the Beaver Creek Community Library, as well as an information center for visitors. A Canadian border station is right at the entrance and not, as the U.S. border station, right on the border.

History

The traditional territory of the White River First Nation extends from the south shore of Kluane Lake to Alaska. Also, Mount Logan, Canada's highest mountain, in this area, as well as the drainage areas of Donjek and White River. The White River Indians settled mainly to Snag and Scottie Creek. Originally settled here different groups of the Upper Tanana -speaking Indians who lived a nomadic.

After 1900, here was a station of the border police to secure the new founded Yukon Territory. With the construction of the Alaska Highway from 1942 numerous construction workers came to the region, who returned, however, after the war returned to the USA. 1948/49, the Alaska Highway was opened to private transport and a customs station was built. From legacies of the construction phase, the Catholic Church Lady of Grace was born.

1961, the government moved the White River Indians by Burwash Landing to, along with the Kluane Indian Band. Only in 1991 the White River group moved to Beaver Creek and left the forced community. It has no regular reserve, but only on lands set -aside, land so that other uses is withdrawn. There is no agreement with Canada or the territory, so there is no self-government, as in the Kluane. Nevertheless, the master insists that each land use must be agreed with him, so consultation is mandatory. This is all the more serious as the Alaska Highway Pipeline Project will be continued, and is wanted on the traditional territory for oil and gas by TransCanada.

There is now a cross-border Tanana Chief Conference, which strives next cultural and social tasks to negotiate with the government to move ahead as to protect the caribou.