Yukon who is who

Andy Carvill

Andy Carvill was born in Whitehorse and raised in Carcross. Of Tlingit and Northern Tutchone ancestry, he is a member of the Carcross Tagish First Nation and also a Selkirk First Nation descendant on his mother’s side. Carvill held the position of Khà Shâde Héni (Chief) of the Dakh Ka Tlingit Nation from 2004 to 2005. During that time, he was instrumental in moving the Tlingit/Tagish Cultural Protocol project to a place where Elders, leadership, and community citizens were able to use the protocol for much needed direction with respect to language, culture, and history.¹⁾

Andy Carvill was sworn in as Grand Chief of the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) in 2005. He continued to be an advocate for the environment and land for First Nations in Canada. He sat on the Yukon Indian Development Corporation and strongly believed that economics are the First Nations foundation for the future.²⁾ In 2010, Carvill resigned as the grand chief of the Yukon First Nations after a meeting where the council was trying to recover from years of infighting, declining membership, and a loss of the original mandate to support land claim negotiations. The chief had planned to sign off on a plan to restructure the council but one big point of contention remained around the extent of the grand chief’s power.³⁾

Carvill started Carvill Contracting in 2013. He was elected again as chief of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation in 2016. In 2019, he was accused of sexual harassment in the workplace. His apology was accepted but he was later removed from office by the council after an independent investigation.⁴⁾