Yukon who is who

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Clara Schinkel (1935 – 2006)
	
Clara Schinkel was born in Carcross to parents Peter and Agnes Johns. She was their third of nine children. She celebrated her Tagish and Tlingit heritage and held two Tlingit names: Satlendu.u (Owner of a big name) and D'esadl'i (Colour Grey). Clara was a patriarch of the Daklaweidi Clan and the mother of five children (Geraldine, Kirk, Georgie, Leslie, and Tahirih), grandmother of twelve, and great-grandmother of eight.((“Clara Marie Schinkel. October 16, 1935 - October 1, 2006.” Funeral pamphlet.))

In the 1960s, Clara was the first person in her family to belong to the Baha'i Faith. She travelled the world and Canada teaching her faith with her cousin Mabel Baker. In 1973, Clara worked in the Carcross school with the assistance of her Auntie, Angela Sidney, to re-establish Tagish and Tlingit dance and song. She taught the children to be proud of their culture. She also taught the traditional form of storytelling. In the same year, Clara worked for the Council of Yukon Indians as Liaison for Education. This was the formal beginning of her twenty-six-year commitment to education and developing First Nation school curriculum.((“Clara Marie Schinkel. October 16, 1935 - October 1, 2006.” Funeral pamphlet.))  

Clara Schinkel and her aunt Angela Sidney were named to the Order of Canada in 1992 for their work in preserving language and culture within the Carcross Tagish First Nations. The two introduced traditional songs and dances by forming the Tagish Nation Dancers. In 1998, the forty-member multigenerational group had forty members when they celebrated their 25th anniversary. They have performed at the Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec, at a giant powwow in Albuquerque, New Mexico and at Whitehorse’s sister city in Japan, Ushiku.((Amy Steele, “Tagish Dancers celebrate 25th birthday.” //The Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 2 December 1998.))

After she retired, Clara stayed busy on a local and national level. She belonged to the Yukon College's Elder Council, CYFN, CTFN's Main Negotiating Team, Language and Heritage steering committees and countless others. She was president of the Yukon Historical and Museums Association (YHMA) for three years. She served on the board of governors for Yukon College and was an elder advisor to the college's Yukon Native Teacher Education Program. Clara was also the first Yukon governor for the Heritage Canada Foundation, a position she held for six years. She received the Governor's General's Award for her work in preserving the language and culture of her people. She continued to teach Tagish language lessons and was involved in the creation of the First Voices website.((“Clara Marie Schinkel. October 16, 1935 - October 1, 2006.” Funeral pamphlet.))

Clara was survived by sisters Doris McLean and Frances Neumann and brother Clifford Johns and pre-deceased siblings include Betty Pope, Shirley Lindstrom, Peter Johns, Charles Johns, Howard Johns, Charlotte Johns, Patricia Johns, and Johnny Johns.((“Clara Marie Schinkel. October 16, 1935 - October 1, 2006.” Funeral pamphlet.))