Yukon who is who

Richard Martin (1879 - 1975)

Richard Martin was born at the head of the Peel River to parents Martin Njootli Sha-un-Nakhya (Old Martin) and Jane Chiljulthoo. Martin’s family was Tukudh, a group of Gwich’in-speaking people living in the upper Porcupine River and upper Peel River region.¹⁾ Richard and his brother John were both known as Martins – taking their father’s first name. Their mother died around 1874. Martin Njootli remarried to a Slavi girl from Fort Good Hope who grew up in the care of the missionary at Fort McPherson. Another Slavi girl at the mission was Julia Kutug who married Reverend Robert McDonald. The Martins were semi-nomadic, travelling along the Peel River between Fort McPherson and the Blackstone River. They were very familiar with the route between Fort McPherson and Dawson.²⁾

Richard Martin was blind in one eye from a childhood accident but was still a skilled hunter, trapper and guide. In 1901, he was among the first group of Gwich’in hunters and traders to sell caribou meat in Dawson. In 1904, the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) started annual winter patrols between Dawson and Fort McPherson and later to Herschel Island and Martin guided two of these police patrols. He was an Anglican, trained by his uncle, Amos Nijootli, who was a First Nations catechist.³⁾ Richard Martin was a catechist at the head of the Porcupine River in 1920.⁴⁾

Rev. Martin ministered to people in remote regions of the Peel watershed and was ordained as a deacon by Bishop Stringer in 1926. In January 1927, his hunting rifle exploded blinding one eye. During a hunting trip, he seriously damaged his good eye, leaving him completely blind.⁵⁾ He found the camp by following the sound of wood chopping and Martin's son Joseph and Joe Henry put Martin into a dog sled and took him to Dawson. It was a four-day trip. Martin was sent to Vancouver, but he lost his vision.⁶⁾ He was no longer able to bring services to those in the bush and it ended his active life as a trapper.⁷⁾

Bishop Stringer wanted Martin to relocate to Fort McPherson but Martin chose to live in Moosehide where a church had been built in 1908. He was the mainstay of the church for many years, holding services and assisting other ministers. He was one of the last people to live in the village year-round. Most others had moved to Dawson after 1957 when the government shut down the school. Martin remained until 1962 and then he moved to Dawson and became part of the St. Paul's Anglican Church.⁸⁾ Martin preached every second Sunday and held school and bible class in the mornings. He also acted as a translator for Reverend Totty.⁹⁾

Richard Martin was married four times in his life. He and his last wife, Mary Tetlichi, had eight children, and raised them and a boy from a previous marriage.¹⁰⁾ Rev. Martin lived in MacDonald's Lodge at the end of his life. The Richard Martin Chapel beside St. Paul's Church in Dawson was named in his honour after his death.¹¹⁾