Shirley Adamson Zhürá (1952 - 2023)

Shirley Adamson was born in Whitehorse to the Wolf Clan. Her mother, Irene Adamson, is Ta’an Kwäch’än and her father, John Adamson, was coastal Tlingit. Shirley was raised in the Lake Laberge area, living with her grandparents Celia and Frankie Jim. ¹⁾ Shirley’s grandmother's grandmother was Klon-day, mother of son Jim Boss and daughter Shuateen. Shuateen married “Dutch” Henry Broeren and became Maggie Broeren. Their daughter Celia married Frankie Jim. When Shirley’s grandfather, Frank Slim, received his captain's papers to pilot the riverboats he had to renounce his First Nation status, making his children and grandchildren non-status. Adamson's parents moved to Whitehorse and the children attended Whitehorse elementary. ²⁾

Shirley Adamson was elected to the executive council of the Yukon Association of Non-Status Indians in 1975 and was responsible for health, education and housing. She moved into the national arena and was on the board of the Native Council of Canada. In the 1980s, Adamson was a journalist for the CBC in the Yukon. She asked for, and received, more time spent on indigenous issues. She resisted demands from superiors to broadcast in southern Tutchone as she wanted everyone to hear the issues that affected Yukon First Nations. She worked nine years for CBC, and for four of those she was on a union negotiating team. In the late 1980s, Adamson translated the Yukon First Nations’ Umbrella Final Agreement (UFA) into layman’s language. She became the communications advisor for the Council of Yukon Indians and briefed politicians and the media about the UFA. The Ta’an Kwäch’än asked her to negotiate for them and she got a special clause that established the Ta’an as a separate negotiating body. In the mid-1990s, Adamson was elected [northern region] vice-chief of the Assembly of First Nations responsible for intergovernmental and veterans’ affairs. Adamson was elected the grand chief of the Council of Yukon First Nation in 1996 and was in the position through 1999. She fought against gun control and dealt with a relationship crisis between First Nations and the RCMP. She became the general manager of Northern Native Broadcasting Yukon in 2000. She was also a director with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and a director of the University of the Arctic. ³⁾

For decades, Shirley Adamson had a high-profile in Yukon politics, business, and cultural life. She held traditional teachings and was generous in sharing her experience and knowledge. She was fearless in the face of challenges and led with integrity. ⁴⁾