A tourism business owned by Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFN) is the first recipient of money through a federal fund aimed at supporting the growth of “signature” First Nations Tourism experiences.
The fund is the Signature Indigenous Tourism Experiences stream of the federal government’s Indigenous Tourism Fund.
On Dec. 5 in Ottawa it was announced that the fund would offer $750,000 for Sky High Wilderness Ranch to support building on the 60-acre property adjacent to Fish Lake. On hand for the announcement coinciding with Yukon Days, the annual forum for Yukon government and First Nations leaders to meet with federal ministers in the capital, were Yukon MP Brendan Hanley, KDFN chief Sean Uyenets'echįa Smith, Yukon tourism minister John Streicker and federal tourism minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada.
Hanley described the project being funded as a chance for cultural preservation and economic empowerment.
Martinez Ferrada said she sees Indigenous tourism as a way to help preserve the culture and stories. She noted that growing interest in Indigenous tourism reflects a worldwide trend of travellers adjusting their tourism priorities in favour of more authentic, meaningful and sustainable experiences. The minister added that the Sky High Wilderness Ranch expansion comes at a time when international visits to the Yukon jumped 20 per cent last year with further growth expected.
Smith explained how KDFN purchased the wilderness ranch in 2023. It sits on 60 acres of land but has an attached 500-hectare grazing lease and trapline, Smith said.
The chief said the money from the federal fund will assist with the building of new cabins and a new visitor experience centre and elders centre. He said the result will be new opportunities for KDFN citizens and tourists alike.
“We're going to be able to host workshops, and those other opportunities for us to provide transmission knowledge, culture history in connection with that amazing, beautiful area, enhancing the tourism opportunities and providing new employment and cultural engagement opportunities within the Yukon and those that come to visit as us from from outside,” Smith said.
Also on hand for the announcement was Elaine Chambers, a Champagne and Aishihik First Nation citizen and chair of the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA) was also on hand for the announcement. NACCA plays a major role in administering the fund and Chambers said she knows the impact that ventures like the Sky High Wilderness Ranch project have on local economies and communities.
Chambers explained that intake for the fund was handled by Indigenous Financial Institutions, with the local example for the Yukon being däna Näye Ventures. Those institutions reached out to groups that might be interested in the fund and had them submit an application. Chambers said there was strong interest with a NACCA committee having to sort through more than 250 applications.
Speaking at the announcement Streicker said tourism is a bigger piece of the Yukon economy than it is for any other Canadian jurisdiction and he has been happy to see the sector rebound since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com
