Vuntut Gwitchin rejoin Council of Yukon First Nations after 16-year absence

CBC
·2 min read
Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Pauline Frost and Council of Yukon First Nations Grand Chief Peter Johnston at a news conference in Whitehorse on Wednesday. (Travis Burke - image credit)
Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Pauline Frost and Council of Yukon First Nations Grand Chief Peter Johnston at a news conference in Whitehorse on Wednesday. (Travis Burke - image credit)

Sixteen years after severing political ties with the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN), the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation has rejoined the political organization as a full voting member.

Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Pauline Frost and CYFN Grand Chief Peter Johnston made the announcement at a news conference in Whitehorse on Wednesday.

"Up to this point, we have essentially been observers," Frost said. "We voice our opinions and our thoughts at the table, but we were never presented with an opportunity to vote on resolutions."

She said Vuntut Gwitchin members decided at the First Nation's general assembly in the summer to rejoin CYFN. The First Nation has been an associate member of CYFN since 2019.

"I'm happy to say that we we did not have one opposition to the resolution as it was presented to the general assembly. We have full consent to rejoin," she said.

The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation split from CYFN in 2008, citing discontent with the council's political direction. Then-chief Joe Linklater accused the organization of centralizing authority "in the grand chief's office."

"We just feel that we can't be part of an organization like that," Linklater said at the time.

Speaking on Wednesday, Frost preferred to dismiss all that as water under the bridge.

"I'm not going to speak about what happened historically," she said.

Frost said Vuntut Gwitchin has unique challenges when it comes to things such as health care, climate change, and Arctic security, but said there are also many issues where CYFN can advocate with more impact.

"Unity and having a voice, a collective voice, is more powerful. It's powerful in that we present one voice of Indigenous Yukoners, one voice representing our interest," she said.

Johnston said he's worked hard over his term as grand chief to build and maintain a strong relationship with the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, and that work has now paid off.

"When I reflect over the leadership that I've been able to provide for the last eight and a half years, this will be one of the highlights," he said.

"Today is a great day for us as a council, but it's also a great day for Yukon First Nations and the territory in general."

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