Kathy Birckel Kwän Shā, nee Joe (1933-2021)
Kathy Birckel was born at Hutshi Village into the Agunda (Southern Tutchone) and K’etl’embet clans. Her parents were Harry and Jessie (Hume) Joe. When Kathy was young her family travelled between Hutshi, Chimnea, Champagne, Klukshu, Dezadeash, and Shäwshe. She and Paul Birckel were married in 1960 and lived in Haines Junction where their home became a social hub for family and friends. Kathy was a talented sewer. She ran the Klukshu Craft Shop and Museum and encouraged her family to make things to sell. From the mid-1980s to 1997, she managed Yukon Native products and showcased the skills of Yukoners at Expo ’86 in Vancouver, British Columbia. She gained a diploma from the Yukon Native Language Centre and taught Southern Tutchone at Elijah Smith School from 1995 to 2004. Kathy and her husband Paul passed away just months apart.1)