First Nations

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Barren ground Caribou

Hail brilliant mankind

Cast your eyes upon the wilds of the great land. The wilderness stretches out before you and you are saved. The new land, freshly washed of glacier ice and snow reveals the tundra and the life within. Brave hunters, your lives await you there. Up, way up, above the treeline into the Arctic.
Cast your eyes upon the land and view the newness of the Earth. Your lives await you here, almighty human, the brave explorer, the clever hunter. The wild beasts roam and in your view is the vast herd you’ve been searching for.
Caribou!
Here in the far north is a large migrating herd of caribou. The home of the barren ground caribou as they move across the northern plains of the North West Territories. A way of life for nomadic peoples as they follow the herds for food and clothing. A lifeline, a support, a tradition. Beware, almighty human, the world changes.

Click to access 2011-2015_Barren-ground_Caribou_Management_Strategy.pdf

The barren ground caribou is in decline. It’s once magnificent numbers in the hundreds of thousands of animals is now declining and the great herds are vanishing. A way of life vanishes with them. Gone is the migrating hunter, who’s dependency upon the caribou sustained them in food and clothing. Gone is the sport hunter and with the loss of the wild herds eco- tourism vanishes as well.
Hail bravehearts to the call of the wild.
The exploitation of the far north is a blight upon us. Overharvesting of a national treasure affects our cultural identity. As an environmentalist and a conservationist, the predation of the wild is a long standing concern. Hardship for the people, hardship for the wildlife and loss of culture, a food source, a tourist delight and a way of life.
The sustainability of the land appears consistent. The food source for the animals themselves seems stable. Overhunting is identified as a factor in the rapid decline and the dwindling numbers of caribou are a threat to the sustainability of the wild.
Eager hunters, your bellies are full and hunting of the magnificent wild is no more.
The lands set aside for wildlife habitat is immense in Canada, but still, the plunder increases. The far north, the tundra, uncultivated, unproductive land, whose resource value is low, but for the wildlife that resides there, it sustains them. Specially adapted animals, whose lives have supported the indigenous peoples of northern Canada for centuries. To loose the herds of the wild is to loose our national, cultural identity. The migration of the early peoples, the fur trade, the choice to inhabit the north. The integrity of the wild is essential to us.
Hail mankind. The world is yours, to protect or discard, choose wisely.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 20,2013

The Yukon
by

The Yukon

Good day you awesome human

As the glaciers receded and the snow melted, the animal life moved southward into the continent. With the travel of the wildlife, the human followed. A new world was being carved from the snow caps. New life to discover, new trails to follow, a new path to a new world.
Come almighty human, into the heart of the continent.
The dutiful call to adventure thrust early man deep into the heart of the far north.
Those who loved the fabulous north live there still. In the remote Arctic Circle with its earthly gifts and awesome star struck wonder. Those who ventured forward encountered more snowfall in this chilly climate. But the usual scene of forest, lakes, rivers, wildlife and vegetation kept them alive.
An adventure!
An adventure for early man and an adventure still you awesome human. Into the land of the midnight sun, of perpetual darkness, of northern lights. A land of remote distance and close fellowship, of hardship and earthly delights, of sporting enthusiasts and cultural integrity. Of domiciles of snow and the endless land to stretch and play in.
Here in the vast forests, the lakes, rivers and snow, live and play the early settlers of this nation and their welcomed guests.
Bold bravehearts, the world calls to you. Come almighty human to the heart of the country. Come to the beginning!

http://travelyukon.com/

To climb the highest mountains, to view the colourful meadows, the rich blues of lakes and the dazzling 24 hours of sunlight. Here is the home of thousands of years of human history, of the birth of culture that is Canadian. The evolution of man brings with it dance, song, artwork, cuisine and joy. A human of energy and skill. The talents needed for survival.
We assume the climate is harsh, perhaps unjustifiably. Life is as life is made. Joy to you, mighty brave hearts. To push the limits of life worth living to the darkest corner of our nation.
The Yukon territory has set aside a vast amount of land to National and Provincial parkland, wildlife reserve, heritage rivers and First Nations land settlements. It boasts thousands of kilometers of pristine wilderness for the sports and nature enthusiast to enjoy.

http://www.env.gov.yk.ca/camping-parks/federal-protected-areas.php

With such a small population and so much country to enjoy, the remote far north is a breathtaking wilderness of forest and mountain.
As their counterparts travelled the unknown trail to track the wild animals and spread themselves across the continent, the aboriginals of the Yukon stayed.
Stay for the awesome splendor of the great land, the wild life to be viewed, the sports to be enjoyed. Still to be seen from the eyes of the adventurer as mainly untouched, undeveloped and unspoilt. The great land, the far north.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 14,2013

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Above the Arctic Circle

Praises mankind
To your thousands of years of history in the making. To the vast land of the high Arctic, where a small group of people came to inhabit this great land. Approximately 50,000 square miles of remote Arctic wilderness, where the shallow lakes of yesteryear remain an ecological and human delight of today. The proven history of pre history mankind.
Dance, you dazzling northern lights. Fill the skies with the beauty of the night. Dance and play with your dazzling colours, your mesmerizing movements of light and your own sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCqX_aIHQ0I Northern lights and tranquility music.

The vast night sky, with its thousands of twinkling stars, stretches the imagination. What lies beyond this great planet Earth? Into the vastness of the galaxy, our minds roam for answers. Are we alone?
Pre history man, with his small colony in the far north was alone. A group of people who found that perfect place. A land of richness and abundance, of beauty and tranquility. The peace of the great land welcomed them, saved them and they dwelled in relative prosperity.
Hear us, sighs the great planet, as another contract is signed for environmental protection. An oasis, almighty human. Since the dawn of time, this land has been intact, full of the precious life forms and the majestic land of ancient Earth.
The evolutionary path is a trail of archeological treasure. It tells a story of early Canada, of a migration of aboriginal peoples who followed their prey as it moved across the globe. Animals of the great plains of Africa, hyenas, camels and sloth, plus wooley mammoth, tigers, giant beavers and reindeer.
In their own migratory path, the people have come from Africa. So did the wildlife, to the great plains of the far north.
The Earth, the ever changing planet.
Stay, almighty human, in the land of the far north. The animals die out as the planet changes and cools. Other animals arrived to take their place. As the glaciers recede and the rest of Canada warms, the high Arctic cools.
But the land is a massive oasis of life and living, of sport and hunting of play and daring. The adventure of your lives!
For the early human had an aptitude for survival. He was the fittest, he was the strongest and he was the bravest.

Click to access FN_Com_Profile_VGFN_LH_ed.pdf

Come, you bravehearts, come to the land of prehistory mankind. Come into the land of the mighty Yukon territory and explore with us the great secrets of our ancestry.
Hail, you almighty human, for the adventure of your lives.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 8, 2013

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The Dawn of Time

Good morning Bravehearts.
In the beginning, the world was lush with vegetation and wildlife. In the beginning, the far north was the place to be. In the beginning, above the Arctic Circle, was a paradise of habitat for plant and animal and human. In the beginning, before the last glaciers receded, while Canada was under a layer of ice and snow, the far north was home to many residents. It still is.
Come to the beginning, to Vuntut National Park, Yukon Territory, to the dawn of mankind in the Canada.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/yt/vuntut/index.aspx

Here, in this vast and remote wilderness lies the key to prehistory mankind. An unusual ecosystem, high up in the Arctic, with relatively warm climate, berries, birds, animals, fish. Food in abundance and weather temperate enough for survival. Low annual snowfall lightly covers the winter ground, sub zero temperatures to -35C. An oasis of lakes, marsh, pond, vegetation. This large protected area is where the story begins. Here in the mighty north.
Praises mankind, to your thousands of years of human habitation in the far north. Your story will be told.

http://www.taiga.net/wetlands/oldcrow/oc_gen.html

The peoples are the Vuntut Gwitchen, the settlers and survivors of a world of constant change. They came to a land of plenty and stayed for the life that the land provides. A life of hunting and gathering, trapping, boating. A life of relative ease with food in abundance. Sports, fishing. The endless beauty of the Earth, the endless beauty of the sky.
With so much provided there’s time to think and time to play, time to imagine and time to work. Time to investigate and explore. Time to build a nation, a culture, a language, dwellings a home. With glaciers receding there’s an opportunity to travel south, but they stayed. Stay in your own vast oasis of relative warmth and adventure. Of food and prosperity.
The great Earth provided an immense land of abundance and opportunity. The land of and the lands surrounding Vuntut National Park.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 3, 2013