The Yukon Historical & Museums Association (YHMA) has announced the four recipients of the annual Yukon Heritage Awards, who will be recognized at an upcoming awards ceremony on Monday, February 17, 2025.
The public is invited to attend the ceremony in person at the Yukon Archives or on the YHMA Facebook page, where the event will be livestreamed, to help celebrate the award recipients. The event will start at 7 pm, with doors opening at the Yukon Archives at 6:45 pm. No registration is required.
“As National Heritage Week will be kicking off, we are excited to have the public join us in recognizing these amazing award winners,” says YHMA Executive Director Lianne Maitland. “The heritage sector is lucky to have such dedicated individuals and organizations, and the Yukon is richer for them. The community focus of these recipients demonstrates how central heritage is to the cultural fabric and well-being of the territory.”
Two deserving individuals will be honoured with History Maker Awards; also being presented are the Helen Couch Volunteer of the Year Award and Innovation, Education, and Community Engagement Award. There will be no Annual Heritage Award or Heritage Conservation Project of the Year Award presented this year.
Prior to the awards presentation, guest speaker Graham Cubitt of the Ontario-based social enterprise Flourish will give a talk focusing on adaptive re-use of heritage and older buildings to meet community needs such as affordable and supportive housing. A reception will follow the ceremony.
About the Recipients
For over 30 years, History Maker Award recipient Benjamin Charlie has hosted radio programming in the Gwich’in language at CHON-FM Indigenous Radio for Northern Native Broadcasting Yukon. When NNBY produced both television and radio Ben also worked as a television reporter in his native language. At 84, he still goes to work five days per week. On weekdays, Ben hosts a live show, Vuntat Njiik Nakaii, and every Saturday he hosts Vun Drin So. Both programs are presented in Gwich’in. During his work as a reporter, Ben interviewed other Gwich’in citizens in the Gwich’in language for a special segment of the Nedaa news program, Haa Shagóon. These language episodes continue to be recognized as priceless education tools and vital resources in the preservation of Gwich’in language and culture. Ben is also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from CHON-FM, an accomplished fiddler, and a former competitive cross-country skier.
Sally Robinson will also be receiving a History Maker Award, for her decades of professional, volunteer, and personal work in Yukon heritage. Having moved to the Yukon in the early 1970s, Sally spent 20 years working for museums in Dawson and around the territory. She then joined Yukon Historic Sites as an interpretive planner, a role she held until retirement. Since then, Sally has continued her involvement in the heritage sector as a consultant, contractor, and volunteer. As a director of YHMA, she has served several terms as President, represented YHMA on various boards and committees, and assisted with numerous projects and programs. Sally’s love of heritage also comes through in her personal endeavours. Most recently, she launched Yukon Who Is Who, an online wiki that grew out of decades worth of notes on significant Yukoners. With over 3,500 entries, this fantastic resource can be accessed at https://yukonwhoiswho.ca/.
Helen Couch Volunteer of the Year award recipient Sylvia Burkhard has been a stalwart and passionate advocate for the Dawson City Museum for fifteen years. She has shown exceptional dedication as a board officer and member of the Museum’s collections committee, while also volunteering for every Museum event and program. Sylvia’s expertise and experience are relied on for everything from providing historical details to building maintenance. Her fierce commitment to Klondike heritage is also evident through her involvement in the City of Dawson’s Heritage Advisory Committee and countless other local committees and organizations. She also operated Claim 33 Gold Panning and the Jerry Bryde Mining Museum for over a decade and continues to restore her historic home while collecting and caring for all things Dawson. Sylvia’s contributions have had a lasting impact on both the museum and the community. Her continued dedication is invaluable to the preservation and celebration of Klondike heritage.
Société d’histoire francophone du Yukon’s recently launched podcast series, Récits de vies de nos aînés franco-yukonnais (Stories of the lives of our Franco-Yukon seniors), is being recognized with the Innovation, Education, and Community Engagement Award. Featuring eleven Yukon Francophone seniors and seven volunteer interviewers, the podcast records first-person oral histories with a particular focus on the post-war period (1950) until the creation of the Association franco-yukonnaise (1982), a lesser-known period of the Yukon Francophonie. To facilitate the involvement of multiple interviewers, SHFY organized French-language training in the recording and transcription of oral histories, as well as podcast production. Overall, Récits de vies de nos aînés franco-yukonnais is an important avenue to educate the public about the history of Yukon Francophones in an accessible, modern, and dynamic way, and is also a valuable resource for researchers. The full, eleven-episode podcast can be found at https://shfy.podbean.com/.
Award descriptions can be found here.