Yukon who is who

Joseph Billy, Ch’itwú (1921 – 1996)

Joe Billy was named Ch’itwú (a kind of white bird) after the late Slim Jim [son of Marsh Lake Jackie, chief of the Marsh Lake people in the late 1800s?]. Joe was born at Marsh Lake to Kitty and Whitehorse Billy [Smith?]. Joe worked for White Pass as a section hand and he worked on the sternwheelers. He worked as a truck driver and grader operator during the construction of the Alaska Highway. He loved the outdoors and guided to various big game outfitters.¹⁾

Later in his life, Joe Billy was a woodcutter for the Ryders.²⁾ Ryder’s Fuel Service, started by George Ryder, cut cordwood near Whitehorse and delivered it first by horse-drawn wagon and then by truck to Whitehorse homes.³⁾