Sylvie Binette
Sylvie Binette was born in Les Cèdres, Quebec and came to the Yukon in 1985 as a French language teacher’s assistant with the national language program Odyssey.1) She then worked at jobs including head cook and maintenance manager at a North Canol Road lodge, contract worker for a needs analysis on Yukon francophone women, supervisor of the French language section of Macs Fireweed Books, guide interpreter at the Yukon Beringia Centre, supervisor of family programs at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, and manager of the George Johnson Museum in Teslin.2)
In the 2000s, Sylvie did some genealogical research and discovered that she was related to Joseph Eugène Binet, called Gene Binet in Mayo. No one else in Sylvie’s family had moved from Quebec, and now she felt that she had strong roots in the Yukon. In 2017, Sylvie worked on the redesign of the historic Binet House exhibits. She also participated in the association franco-yukonnaise (l’AFY) history project “De fil en histoires: Les personnages d’un territoire” and made a doll version of Eugène Binet for an associated exhibit.3)
Sylvie launched two businesses, Binette Cultural Solutions in 2010 and Heavenly Wild in 2022.4) In April 2021, Yann Herry and some like-minded history lovers, including Sylvie Binette, founded the Societé d’histoire francophone du Yukon to collect and share stories that will keep the francophone language, culture and stories alive for future generations.5) Sylvie is a long-time supporter and board member of the Yukon Historical & Museums Association (YHMA). The Societé d’histoire francophone du Yukon volunteers were awarded YHMA’s 2024 Récits de vies de nos aînés franco-yukonnais (Innovation, Education, and Community Engagement) award.
In 2022, Sylvie received the exceptional Commitment Award from the Association franco-yukonnaise. She also received the Alma Castonguay Award for a remarkable woman in 2011, and the Binet-Dugas Award for excellence in services in French in 2004.6)