On another blindingly bright, dead-still day in Dawson we headed back to Moosehide Village. This time for the bi-annual Moosehide Gathering. Held over four days, the gathering is a sharing and celebration of Hän culture that has been running since 1993.

We lined up for the boat after getting our info packs and waited. Small dots would appear in the distance down river. Eventually the sound traveled to our ears, the hum of a boat, and then another. Each pushing against the torrent of the Yukon to reach us. The boat ride was just as fun as the first time. The still air became cool on my skin as the boat rushed us down river and past the skeletons of the old paddle steamers.

Moosehide sounded different. It was still quiet and peaceful like before, but there was also a busy hum. The stillness and heat only added to the anticipation. Because we had arrived early, we had time to relax on the grass and wander around before the opening ceremony at 3.30pm. The sacred fire was lit as part of the ceremony and the Hän singers performed around it.

Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in are reclaiming their songs and the Hän language. In 1896, gold was discovered by gold prospectors in the Klondike River. Thousands of people arrived at the mouth of the Klondike River in the spring of 1897. By 1898, Dawson City had thirty thousand inhabitants and was the largest city west of Winnipeg and north of Seattle. In contrast, there were around 200 Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in living at Tr’ochëk, their traditional fishing settlement where the Yukon and Tr’ondëk (Klondike) Rivers meet.

The newcomers did not stay on the other side of the Klondike River (where Dawson is today). They moved over the river and started building cabins in Tr’ochëk itself. Chief Isaac chose to protect his people by moving five kilometers downriver to a site called Moosehide Village.

Chief Isaac also understood Hän songs could be lost so he sent the gänhäk (dancing stick) to relatives in Alaska to keep them safe. The songs were returned in the 1990s, a century after the gold rush. These were the songs we got to see performed.

We had signed up to volunteer as feast servers so we headed over to help set up. It was fun to feed everyone and have a chat about how they liked Moosehide, or congratulate the performers on their set. After dinner, we caught the boat back to town for the night, sad to be leaving, but excited to come back with a tent to camp tomorrow.

The next morning we were up and out early to get the boat before the crowds and to get a spot for our tent. Moosehide was already pumping by the time we got there but we managed to get a lovely spot up by the bush-line.

We watched a few performances, including the Hän singers, made hoops in preparation for the hoop dance workshop the next day, and went on a Medicine walk around Moosehide with Fran and her younger sister Madou. We learnt about the healing properties of stinging nettle, their childhood memories of Moosehide, saw their mother’s childhood garden and a fish wheel from the days of Chief Issac. We picked rosehips, yarrrow, and ate stinging nettle flowers too.

Afterwards, we served the feast, survived the wasps, and practised some waiata-a-ringa and haka. Eternal twilight dawned so we went to bed, plus it was raining.

Waking up at Moosehide was an experience. It was so still, other than the boats as they chartered people down river for another day. After a slow morning enjoying the scenery, we wandered into the Heritage Celebration tent to see Zhùr, a 57,000 year old, mummified wolf pup found in the Klondike goldmines in 2016. We also sat down with Darcy, who we had met at Dänojà Zho, and beaded salmon for a while. It was a good way to spend the hot part of the day inside the cool canvas tent.

Back at the Arbour, Feryn King, a professional international hoop dancer (and more) from the Mohawk Nation treated the crowd with a hoop dance. William Greenland, our MC, also performed on the flute. A very entertaining hypnotist show followed, interjected by feast preparations. We were getting the hang of it now.

The night closed with a fiddle band and people getting up for a jig. But, because it’s the Yukon, the light was still so nice we decided to go on a wander around Moosehide photographing the scenery.

We ended the night sitting in the warm cookhouse. Some people were playing cards and listening to the radio, which made for a nice background ambience as I looked out the cookhouse window past the drooping birch tree branches and watched the Yukon power along below us.

On the last day, we had breakfast at the concession stand and wandered around before the closing ceremony at 12pm. The flags were lowered and the Hän singers performed around the sacred fire, which was already smoking embers.

Lastly, everyone was presented with gifts before they left, as per Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in tradition. Then we served our last feast. Just as we finished there was a huge downpour of rain, which cleared as fast as it had arrived and left the white marquees dripping rainwater in the sun.

We hung around helping tidy for a bit. I watched a weasel run in and out from under the church freezing anytime it sensed movement. Eventually, we made our way down to the dock and caught the last boat back to Dawson.

We didn’t make it to Beverly’s because we were away at Moosehide, but we made up for it later!

Thanks for reading - Hei konā!

Moosehide Gathering

Orchids, Moosehide & Beverly’s.

LG Photography Co.