Yukon who is who

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John Joseph “John Joe Kaye” Kyikavichik (1925-2011)  
	
John Joe Kyikavichik was born near Old Crow to parents Joseph and Katherine Kyikavichik. His grandparents were Joe and Ellen Kyikavichik and Old Edward and Susanne. John Joe married Sarah Tizya and they had six children.((“John Joe Kyikavichik.” //Old Crow: Home of the Vuntut Gwitchin: Elders,// 2022 website: https://www.oldcrow.ca/elders.htm)) 

John and his son Joe travelled to Gwich’in in camps in the Porcupine River area to hold services and minister to the people’s spiritual needs.((“The Exham Years: The Church, Art, and Life in Old Crow, 1965-1969.” 2020 website:  https://www.exhamexhibit.com/the-catechists.)) As a young man John Joe gathered the people from their tents to attend a service. He bought his own Bible, Prayer Book and Hymnal in the Tukudh Gwich’in] language and learned how to read them.((“The Exham Years: The Church, Art, and Life in Old Crow, 1965-1969.” 2020 website:  https://www.exhamexhibit.com/the-catechists.))

Joe Kyikavichik was a champion of environmentalism, cultural preservation, and land claims negotiations. Kyikavichik means “bow and arrow carrier” in the Vuntut Gwitchin language and he carried the traditional teachings, stories and knowledge of his people and ensured that these lessons were passed on to subsequent generations. He taught his lessons in stories and was respectful and dignified in conveying the messages. He served three terms as chief at Old Crow from 1972 to 1978.((“Late chief praised for dedication to his community.” //Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 1 September 2011.))

He travelled to Ottawa with the late Elijah Smith and met with Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau in the early 1970s. He got $10,000 and came home and said – it’s time to organize. There was lots of oil and gas exploration during his time as chief and he feared for the preservation of the land. He invited then-Governor General Jules Leger to Old Crow and they toured by helicopter, landing at each family’s camp to show Leger their reliance on the land. Trudeau also accepted an invitation and Kyikavichik hosted him.((“Late chief praised for dedication to his community.” //Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 1 September 2011.)) 

Kyikavichik remained a community leader well into old age, actively promoting the protection of the Porcupine caribou herd. He also promoted the traditional fiddle music of the Vuntut Gwitchin to his last days. He won the 2003 Commissioner’s Award for Public Service on Preserving First Nations Traditions and a 2000 KEISH Elders Award for his contribution to life in Yukon communities. His family lives in Old Crow, Fort MacPherson, Tuktoyaktuk, Aklavik, Sachs Harbour, and Inuvik.((“Late chief praised for dedication to his community.” //Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 1 September 2011.))