Lena Tizya (b. 1934)
	
Lena Tizya was born in Old Crow. She was one of the first Indigenous students to attend public school in the Yukon and was also the first to graduate from high school.((Ashley Joannou, “Girl guides celebrate a century in the Yukon.” //Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 15 August 2014.)) Lena joined the Girl Guides when her family moved to Dawson [in 1946].((Ashley Joannou, “Girl guides celebrate a century in the Yukon.” //Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 15 August 2014.)) She continued with the Guides through her years at the Chooutla Indian Residential School and was persuaded by her mother, Clara Tizya, to stay with them even after she graduated.((Mildred Tizya Poplar, “My sister Meets Royalty” in Laura Harris Stanger, //Laughing Water.// Laura Harris Stanger, 2012: 134-136.))

In 1952, the Guides entered a cross-country crafts competition where the winner could attend Princess Elizabeth’s coronation [in 1953]. Lena entered a beaded purse and won first prize, but her family did not have the money to send her to England. Mr. Hughes, a family friend and the Whitehorse city clerk, organized a fund raiser and money came in from all over the Yukon, from organizations, churches, and businesses. One organization bought Lena a suit and Lena’s mother made her a beaded shoulder bag. Local media were on hand to wish her well as she travelled across Canada to Montreal and then set sail for Scotland. At the coronation, the Canadian youth representatives became part of the Worldwide Youth Movement and the organization chaperoned them wherever they went. Wherever they toured, Lena was asked to receive gifts on behalf of the Youth Movement. In May 1954, the organization gathered in Vancouver and Lena attended the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. Prince Philip also attended the games, and his next scheduled stop was in Whitehorse. The organizers decided to have Lena meet him and she was flown back to Whitehorse for the event. Lena was beside her sisters Helen and Millie when she was introduced to Prince Philip, and her sister Mildred was with her fellow high school students in the crowd.((Mildred Tizya Poplar, “My sister Meets Royalty” in Laura Harris Stanger, //Laughing Water.// Laura Harris Stanger, 2012: 134-136.)) 

In 2014, the beautifully beaded purse that Clara Tizya made for her daughter was displayed at MacBride Museum in an exhibit celebrating the 100th anniversary of Girl Guides in the Yukon.((Ashley Joannou, “Girl guides celebrate a century in the Yukon.” //Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 15 August 2014.))