Sarah Gaunt (1946 – 2003)

Sarah Gaunt emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1966. She received a BA in cultural geography from McGill University.¹⁾ In the 1970s, she worked for the Inuit of northern Quebec and Baffin Island, and the Inuit Claims Commission. In 1980, she moved south to Whitehorse, and began working on land claims, first for the Council for Yukon Indians and other regional groups, and later, for Champagne and Aishihik First Nations as the Heritage Planner. Sarah was responsible for a variety of programs, including co-operative land use planning, development of the heritage program, transboundary negotiations with the British Columbia and Canadian governments, and then worked towards co-management of protected areas within the First Nations' traditional territory. These include Kluane National Park, Shäwshe-Dalton Post historic site, and Tatshenshini-Alsek Park. Gaunt was the CAFN staff member responsible for bringing Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi [Long Ago Person Found] matters to CAFN membership, and from the membership back to the Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi Management Group. She also oversaw consultation with neighbouring indigenous communities regarding their interests in the discovery. Continuing regional ethno-history studies were also her responsibility. With her knowledge of Tatshenshini-Alsek Park landscape, and as a member of the Park Management Board, Gaunt also had a strong interest in studies related to the park environment. She worked with Lawrence Joe, Director of Heritage, Lands and Resources, and Diane Strand, Heritage Resources Officer, and CAFN's other representatives on the Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi Management Team.²⁾

Before she died, Sarah Gaunt established the Tatshenshini-Alsek Foundation to promote cultural, ecological education, stewardship and co-management studies, programs and projects related to the place she loved so well.³⁾ Sarah Gaunt received a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award from the Yukon Historical & Museums Association in 2003.