{"id":7369,"date":"2021-01-21T00:25:02","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T05:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7369"},"modified":"2021-01-21T00:30:29","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T05:30:29","slug":"episode-232-yukon-diary-moses-lord-and-his-people-the-na-cho-nyang-dun-people-of-the-great-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7369","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 232 YUKON DIARY: MOSES LORD AND HIS PEOPLE, THE \u201cNA CHO NYANG DUN\u201d (people of the great river)"},"content":{"rendered":"
EPISODE  232    MOSES LORD AND HIS PEOPLE, THE \u201cNA CHO NYANG DUN\u201d (people of the great river)<\/font><\/p>\n

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alan  skeoch<\/font><\/div>\n
Jan. 20 2021<\/font><\/div>\n

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 Moses Lord in 1962\u2026enjoying a fruit salad lunch with our crew in August 1962<\/font><\/div>\n

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This is Moses Lord, a leader figure among the Na Cho Nyang Dun First Nation people.   I got to know him very well as one of our <\/font><\/div>\n
key employees and also as a friend.  His people were  centred in Mayo Landing\u2026: \u201cNa Cho Nyang \u201c means  “the Great River\u201d, renamed the Stewart River which drains a large part of the eastern Yukon.<\/font><\/div>\n

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It is  now 58 years since I worked in the Yukon yet I remember Moses as if we  met  yesterday. Especially Mid August 1962.<\/font><\/div>\n
 Poured rain incessantly.    Our work could not stop even in cases fo sickness. Moses caught the Flu\u2026weakening his normally robust<\/font><\/div>\n
nature.   Too sick  to eat.  All he really wanted  to do was sleep but that was not possible.  If he was not available to work then our<\/font><\/div>\n
whole crew would be down.  So Moses slogged through  the swamps, up the hills, across  the creeks, through the stunted forests of<\/font><\/div>\n
Yukon pine.  He was not well but never quit.  He did not complain. Stoic.  His sickness bothered however me and is noted in my 1962 journal. <\/font><\/div>\n

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Sunday August 19, 1962<\/font><\/div>\n

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Up early and out with the Ronka. Did lines 2 and 4 North with 200 foot and 300 foot spreads.  Checked lines 26 north on Peso Silver property<\/font><\/div>\n
Spent dreadfull day in the rain\u2026.poor lunch with no drinking water while rain poured down.<\/font><\/div>\n

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Moses Lord has the flu but had to use him all the same.   Bad situation.  But being sick is no excuse. We came across 5 ptarmigan.  Ate low bush<\/font><\/div>\n
cranberries and blueberries. <\/font><\/div>\n

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Monday August 20, 1962<\/font><\/div>\n

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Up early\u2026plotted some results on graph paper\u2026quick  breakfast and then out on the trail\u2026did lines 8, 10,  12, 14 with <\/font><\/div>\n
300 foot spread.  Then lines 16, 18 with 200 foot spread.<\/font><\/div>\n

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Moses Lord is very sick  and went to bed early.  I opened a can  of chicken stew for supper then began plotting<\/font><\/div>\n
the results for several hours.<\/font><\/div>\n

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Tuesday  August 21, 1962<\/font><\/div>\n

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Got Moses  out of bed\u2026he is dreadfully ill.  Spent day extending the western grounding rods then did<\/font><\/div>\n
lines 16N, 20N, 24N,28N, 32N, 36N, 30N,  44N.  It was a hard  day  for Moses who should  be in bed.  Must be<\/font><\/div>\n
something I can do? I cooked<\/font><\/div>\n
supper and he went to bed immediately.<\/font><\/div>\n

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Apparently Bill Dunn got into trouble by leaving a  loaded  30-06 rifle on the bar and<\/font><\/div>\n
Al, the bartender, pulled the trigger.  WHAM!   Everyone hit the floor.  Bill caught hell.<\/font><\/div>\n

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Also received my copies  of the Peso Silver and Silver Titan properties.    <\/font><\/div>\n
A new man arrived\u2026First Nations person to replace poor Moses.<\/font><\/div>\n

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Wednesday August 22,  1962<\/font><\/div>\n

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Joy!  We covered  4.28 line miles with the new Turam\u2026.half finished Base Line #1\u2026Moses Lord wanted<\/font><\/div>\n
to work so joined new man John Peter.  Rained all day long.  <\/font><\/div>\n

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Found old prospectors cabin plus lots of  fresh bear shit.  No danger as bears  are<\/font><\/div>\n
quite happily wolfing down blueberries, swamp apples. red currents and  cranberries.<\/font><\/div>\n

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Moses  Lord  has recovered. Joking about.  Really good fellow to work with.  Seems  other First Nation<\/font><\/div>\n
people look up to him.<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Moses Lord and Dinky\u2026showing me an old miners adit clothed in permafrost<\/font><\/div>\n

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  Moses  seemed a father figure.  And he was treated that way by his own people as well as me. <\/font><\/div>\n
 Sometimes  he seemed Amused by what  we were  trying to do\u2026i.e. trying to find galena (silver and lead mineralization) deposits in the veins that <\/font><\/div>\n
spread erratically through the bedrock.  We were doing this without excavating.  Our machine received pings that told where<\/font><\/div>\n
the silver containing galena might be.  Using some kind of  electric current.   Who could believe that was possible?  But Moses said nothing  critical.  He just did<\/font><\/div>\n
what was asked of him and he set a great example for our other First Nation employees.  Not an easy job but most of<\/font><\/div>\n
us were young.  Full of piss and vinegar.   Moses was older.<\/font><\/div>\n

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He drank with us in the Chateau  Inn on occasion. Sometimes too excess like the rest of us. At times I thought our work was fuelled by alcohol.  Too much alcohol.<\/font><\/div>\n
I am not sure what Moses thought of that.   He always had that amused\u2026intelligent\u2026\u2019hell, I may as well join them\u201d expression<\/font><\/div>\n
on his face.  One day I had to gather my team together  fast.  Moses was living in a house  filled with women\u2026wife, sisters,<\/font><\/div>\n
daughters.   Another two Anglo-Canadians I found dead drunk in the Chateau Inn.  I was surprised to find Moses in a family setting.<\/font><\/div>\n

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He knew I was interested in his people  but he  never went overboard talking  about them.  Nor did I want to <\/font><\/div>\n
seem like some 19th century missionary.   I would like to have asked him how  he  got his name  but didn\u2019t;  <\/font><\/div>\n
 Moses was also a name used by their tribal chief I seem to remember*.<\/font><\/div>\n

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(*Later I read that an Anglican priest named Rev. Julius Kendi   had a strong influence on the Na Cho Nyang Dun people in the early 20th century which<\/font><\/div>\n
may account for so many obviously Christian names.)<\/font><\/div>\n

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The most unforgettable thing that Moses did was give me a set of caribou antlers on my last week on the job.  \u201cAlan, do you<\/font><\/div>\n
want a set of  caribou antlers?\u201d  was the way he phrased it.  Like it was no big deal\u2026no big presentation. \u201cThere\u2019s a set<\/font><\/div>\n
leaning against our house if  you want them.”<\/font><\/div>\n

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caribou antlers<\/font><\/div>\n
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Caribou antlers in movie<\/font><\/div>\n

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I still have them.  Currently they are part of a movie set being filmed in Toronto\u2026same antlers.<\/font><\/div>\n

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Probably  the strangest reminder of Moses Lord happened about 20 years ago when I was asked<\/font><\/div>\n
to do a CBC national broadcast on mining  exploration or was it just s talk about the Yukon.  I forget the particulars.<\/font><\/div>\n
In the course of the broadcast I mentioned Moses Lord.   When we went off the air the producer said \u201cAlan, there\u2019s a call<\/font><\/div>\n
for you from the Yukon.\u201d  It was Moses Lord\u2019s daughter saying  she was so pleased to have her father mentioned<\/font><\/div>\n
over the radio  Moses had died a while ago.   We chatted for a few minutes.  Nice.  <\/font><\/div>\n

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alan skeoch<\/font><\/div>\n
Jan. 20, 2021<\/font><\/div>\n

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BACKGROUND OF THE NA-CHO NYAK DUN TRIBE OF MAYO LANDING YUKON.<\/font><\/div>\n

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“The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun represents the most northerly community of the Northern Tutchone language and culture group. In the Northern Tutchone language the Stewart River is called Na Cho Nyak, meaning Big River. The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun resides in the community of Mayo, Yukon, and a town that had its beginnings during the boom years of the silver mines in the area. First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun\u2019s Traditional Territory covers 162,456 square kilometers of land, that being 131,599 km2 in the Yukon and 30,857 km2 in NWT.<\/font><\/p>\n

Historically, the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun lived and trapped throughout the area surrounding Mayo. In early times, the ancestors of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun lived off the land, using the rich supply of game animals, fish, birds, and numerous plants for food and for medicinal purposes. Their lifestyle required traveling throughout the First Nation\u2019s traditional territory at various times of the year, for hunting, fishing, and gathering food to survive.<\/font><\/p>\n

The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun is culturally affiliated with the Northern Tutchone people of the Pelly Selkirk, and the Carmacks Little Salmon First Nations. These three First Nations form the Northern Tutchone Tribal Council, an organization which deals with matters and issues that affect all three First Nations. The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun represents the most northerly community of the Northern Tutchone language and culture group. Some of the members of the First nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun trace their ancestry to the Gwitchin people of Northern Yukon and the Mackenzie people of Eastern Yukon.<\/font><\/p>\n

The First Nation of Na-cho Nyak Dun is culturally affiliated with the Northern Tutchone people of the Selkirk First Nation and the Little Salmon and Carmacks First Nation. During these times, the Northern Tutchone dictated the terms of exchanges with their foreign trading partners. The oral history of the Na-Cho Nyak Dun also reveals early contact and trade relationships with explorers and traders coming into the area.<\/font><\/p>\n

The 19th century brought dramatic changes to Yukon First Nations. The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun readily accepted these new challenges. In 1915, Reverend Julius Kendi arrived at Fraser Falls, where many people of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun were drying fish. Reverend Kendi was a Native catechist of the Anglican faith, from the Peel River district. Reverend Kendi asked the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun to decide on a site where they could establish their own Village. The decision was made to locate two miles below the Village of Mayo on the banks of the Stewart River. Albert Tom was the traditional chief at Village on the Stewart River for 55 years. The area is now known as \u201cThe Old Village\u201d.<\/font><\/p>\n

The First Nation has been very active in the Land Claims movement since its beginnings in 1973. Members of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun were instrumental in helping to guide the Council of Yukon First Nations and its member First Nations during the critical times ending in the 1984 breakdown of negotiations and rejection of the agreements. Two of the crucial issues were the absence of self-government and the extinguishment of aboriginal rights. These two important elements, self-government and the retention of aboriginal rights on settlement lands, were eventually included in the 1993 agreements.<\/font><\/p>\n

The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun today has a membership of 602. As a self-governing First Nation, the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun has the ability to make laws on behalf of their citizens and their lands. Under the land claims agreement, the First Nation now owns 4,739.68 square kilometers of settlement lands and has received in compensation $14,554,654 for which a trust has been established. The First Nation has been actively involved in affairs of the Mayo community, attempting to promote a better, healthier lifestyle for its future generations and a strong economy based on its rich natural resources. (Source<\/a>)”<\/font><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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EPISODE  232    MOSES LORD AND HIS PEOPLE, THE \u201cNA CHO NYANG DUN\u201d (people of the great river) alan  skeoch Jan. 20 2021  Moses Lord in 1962\u2026enjoying a fruit salad lunch with our crew in August 1962 This is Moses Lord, a leader figure among the Na Cho Nyang Dun First Nation people.   I got […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7369\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}