Dean & Linda Stock
Well-known member
August 4 Day 79 Whitehorse, YT
The drive from Haines to Whitehorse was smooth 95% of the time, with occasional small wake-up calls to keep us alert. I was a bobblehead looking for the bears we had seen when we came into Haines and for bald eagles through the many miles of the Eagle Preserve. It was an overcast, cooler day, so I thought they'd be out, but they weren't. Bears 0, Bald Eagles 1
Border crossing into Canada-was easy--just a few questions.
After the first 40 miles, we encountered thick fog, so we had to slow down a lot. The fog lasted past 2:00 PM; it didn't burn off like it does at home.
Just past Haines Junction, we stopped at the brand new Da Ku Cultural Center. We were greeted by a sort-of Native guide. Two tribes, the Champagne and Aishihik, have combined. This lady was adopted when she was 9 months by a military family in Quebec. Her drunken mother had abandoned her, her brother, and her sister when their house burned down. She has had a challenging life since she ran away from home at 13. She had a daughter young, which she in turn, gave up for adoption. She feels that she is being blocked form contacting her now 30-year-old daughter because she was adopted by someone in government who is East Indian. She had two more children, who she raised and are now independent. Ten years ago, she returned to her tribal family and has been studying to try to learn all the tribal customs and history. She is trying to re-capture her heritage. The artifacts were beautiful, but new, like these beautiful beaded moccasins. (Pictures 1 & 2) So much of the history has been lost and re-constructing it accurately from bits and pieces of information is difficult. Many of the skins had been hand-tanned. They are teaching members the language. They are teaching men how to make knives and carve the handles and form the blades. They are teaching some of the cooking techniques. However, the moose have moved as the weather here has warmed.
They have a tradition that when a girl had her first cycle and passed to womanhood, she was moved to a separate home, separated from the village so she would not hear tribal members talking. She wore a big embroided mooseskin hood, like an over-sized sweatshirt hood, and her body was totally covered by blankets, with only her hands exposed so she can sew. Sewing while she was all covered up was all she did for several weeks or months. Her mother and female relatives cared for all her needs. Men patrolled the area lest bears be attracted by her bleeding. This sounded really extreme to me, especially in a harsh environment where they had to struggle for survival. Of course, none of the girls today do this.
By the time we left, it was 6:45, and we knew that Whitehorse was over two hours away, but Dean wanted to push on. It was still light when we saw the Takhini Caribou Herd grazing by the side of the road. Most were shy and retreated behind trees to watch us (Picture 3), while another boldly approached us and went where other caribou didn't dare to go (Picture 4). There was only one with a rack, and he was blocked by the RV door. Dean didn't want to scatter them by going outside the RV.
Staying at Pioneer RV--30 amps, FHU, WiFi, Great Cable TV (100 channels) $90.72
The drive from Haines to Whitehorse was smooth 95% of the time, with occasional small wake-up calls to keep us alert. I was a bobblehead looking for the bears we had seen when we came into Haines and for bald eagles through the many miles of the Eagle Preserve. It was an overcast, cooler day, so I thought they'd be out, but they weren't. Bears 0, Bald Eagles 1
Border crossing into Canada-was easy--just a few questions.
After the first 40 miles, we encountered thick fog, so we had to slow down a lot. The fog lasted past 2:00 PM; it didn't burn off like it does at home.
Just past Haines Junction, we stopped at the brand new Da Ku Cultural Center. We were greeted by a sort-of Native guide. Two tribes, the Champagne and Aishihik, have combined. This lady was adopted when she was 9 months by a military family in Quebec. Her drunken mother had abandoned her, her brother, and her sister when their house burned down. She has had a challenging life since she ran away from home at 13. She had a daughter young, which she in turn, gave up for adoption. She feels that she is being blocked form contacting her now 30-year-old daughter because she was adopted by someone in government who is East Indian. She had two more children, who she raised and are now independent. Ten years ago, she returned to her tribal family and has been studying to try to learn all the tribal customs and history. She is trying to re-capture her heritage. The artifacts were beautiful, but new, like these beautiful beaded moccasins. (Pictures 1 & 2) So much of the history has been lost and re-constructing it accurately from bits and pieces of information is difficult. Many of the skins had been hand-tanned. They are teaching members the language. They are teaching men how to make knives and carve the handles and form the blades. They are teaching some of the cooking techniques. However, the moose have moved as the weather here has warmed.
They have a tradition that when a girl had her first cycle and passed to womanhood, she was moved to a separate home, separated from the village so she would not hear tribal members talking. She wore a big embroided mooseskin hood, like an over-sized sweatshirt hood, and her body was totally covered by blankets, with only her hands exposed so she can sew. Sewing while she was all covered up was all she did for several weeks or months. Her mother and female relatives cared for all her needs. Men patrolled the area lest bears be attracted by her bleeding. This sounded really extreme to me, especially in a harsh environment where they had to struggle for survival. Of course, none of the girls today do this.
By the time we left, it was 6:45, and we knew that Whitehorse was over two hours away, but Dean wanted to push on. It was still light when we saw the Takhini Caribou Herd grazing by the side of the road. Most were shy and retreated behind trees to watch us (Picture 3), while another boldly approached us and went where other caribou didn't dare to go (Picture 4). There was only one with a rack, and he was blocked by the RV door. Dean didn't want to scatter them by going outside the RV.
Staying at Pioneer RV--30 amps, FHU, WiFi, Great Cable TV (100 channels) $90.72