The thesis argues that contrary to the present opinion in the Yukon that there was little or no early Yukon First Nations art, there was in fact an established First Nations artistic tradition in... Show moreThe thesis argues that contrary to the present opinion in the Yukon that there was little or no early Yukon First Nations art, there was in fact an established First Nations artistic tradition in the Yukon before the coming of the white man and also into the early contact years. It is also the general belief of the people of the Yukon that the traditional art is the Northwest Coast Indian art even though there are very few examples of that art style seen before the mid-1980s. The thesis presents a case that the adoption of the Northwest Coast Indian art style is a recent development and has no roots in the early Yukon. Furthermore, the thesis describes what the problems are and how the early Yukon First Nations art almost vanished from the present day Yukon visual culture, what the early art looked like and how it was used. The thesis ends with a description of the situation in the present day Yukon. Because of the lack of historical resources this thesis now becomes the foundation for further research into the history of Yukon First Show less
