WHITEHORSE - The Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) and Yukon College today unveiled Yukon First Nations 101, an online course built in partnership with the 14 Yukon First Nations with the focus on Yukon business, service providers, government, and non-government organizations to provide education on the history and culture of Yukon First Nations.

Northwestel is the first corporate partner to participate in the course, which was developed by CYFN and the Yukon College First Nations Initiatives department, and will be delivered by the College’s Northern Institute for Social Justice (NISJ). All Northwestel executives and people leaders will complete this program, with the goal of understanding and creating stronger partnerships, better serving our customers of the North.

Whitehorse – Opening Doors: From Yukon to Côte d’Azur, an exhibit by Yukon artist Deanna Bailey, will open Thursday, January 28 in the Hilltop Bistro at Yukon College. The opening is from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. with the artist in attendance. There will be hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar.

The exhibit features Bailey’s intricate modelling clay paintings, which here explore the visual richness of comparing and contrasting doorways in Yukon and the South of France. The images in ‘Opening Doors’ represent nature intertwined in harmony with communities as well as new opportunities and paths.

“One of my primary goals as an artist has been to interest viewers in nature in hopes that more people will consider and respect what we have around us. I also enjoy depicting everyday beauty that one might forget to notice during a busy day,” said Bailey in her artist statement.

WHITEHORSE - Yukon College’s Ayamdigut campus has created five gender-neutral washrooms in the main campus building. One multi-use male, one multi-use female, and three single-use washrooms have been given the gender-neutral designation.

The washrooms were re-designated this month following a student request in September. The entire project cost $3132.00 for new signage, increased privacy for multi-use washroom stalls, and the removal of urinals and installation of counters and mirrors in the previously male-only washroom.

A gender-neutral washroom is where persons of any gender can use the facility and signage is not gender-specific. The space is beneficial for transgender persons and those who identify as agender (not aligning with any gender), gender non-conforming, gender fluid and anyone who requires a multi-gender washroom, such as a parent and child or a support worker and their client.

WHITEHORSE–This week Northern Tutchone artist, Dr. Ukjese van Kampen, will unveil seven paintings and mixed-media works, three sketches and several photographs that were inspired by ten days spent at an archaeological camp on the Yukon/Alaska border last summer.

van Kampen was the first ever participant in the Little John Archaeological Site Artist-in-Residence program, which was sponsored by the Yukon Arts Center’s Culture Quest program, Yukon College, and White River First Nation.

“Rather than go in with any specific ideas, I approached this opportunity with an open mind and in turn found myself influenced by a number of sources,” said Dr. van Kampen.

WHITEHORSE-Yukon College is not renewing a contract with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to host the Enhanced Language Training program. The program is an initiative offered free to help newcomers to Canada who have work experience, settle in their new community and connect with job opportunities.

“In most other jurisdictions across the country the Enhanced Language Training program is hosted by community organizations not post-secondary institutions and we believe such an arrangement would be a better fit for our community as well,” said Margaret Dumkee, Dean of Applied Science and Management at Yukon College.

“The costs to deliver the program have increased and the funding the College receives to run the program has not always covered the expenses involved in delivering it,” added Dumkee.

Yukon College has created a new position to support the research needs of Yukon First Nations. David Silas, a Yukon College student and a Yukon First Nation citizen, is the newly appointed First Nations Engagement Advisor.  

This position will act as a liaison between researchers at the Yukon Research Centre (YRC) and the 14 Yukon First Nations and the bordering First Nations. Silas will begin by exploring the research priorities of First Nations and strengthening the capacity of the Yukon Research Centre to support these priorities.

WHITEHORSE – The Government of Yukon, Yukon College and the University of Saskatchewan (uSask) are providing a launching pad for the development of a circumpolar innovation ecosystem. They are bringing together academics, stakeholders, and business analysts from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Greenland and Wales with Yukon industry leaders for a two-day workshop in Whitehorse this week.

The workshop, Circumpolar Innovation: Making Science and Technology Work for the North, is a partnership between Yukon Economic Development, the College and the International Centre for Northern Governance and Development (ICNGD) at uSask. The goal of the workshop is to develop a Circumpolar Innovation Strategy and Research Agenda.

WHITEHORSE – A group of Yukon College staff and students is working to raise funds to sponsor a Syrian student refugee to attend Ayamdigut campus in Whitehorse under the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) Student Refugee Program.

Adult Basic Education coordinator Gabriel Ellis and instructor Martha Burkle, along with Student Engagement Coordinator Allison Furniss and Liberal Arts students Ulrich Trachsel and Matthew Landry have formed a local committee to spearhead fundraising, make a formal application to WUSC, and provide ongoing support to the student once they are living in Whitehorse.

The committee estimates it will take $24,000 in cash and donations to support the individual for one academic year. They have already raised $10,000.

Yukon College (YC) and Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in (TH) have launched a website that incorporates both traditional knowledge and plant ecology to support mine site restoration with local native plants.

The website includes a seed source map of the Coffee Creek area, as well as videos provided by Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Elders. The map identifies the location of potential plant species that could be used for restoration, while the videos give a description of some of the traditional uses for plants found on-site.

WHITEHORSE-Global engineering company CH2M Canada has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Yukon College’s Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining (CNIM) that will provide students with access to world-class expertise and field lab opportunities.

The MOU builds upon a partnership that in the past year has given students hands-on experience with a water monitoring field event, as well as a panel discussion on environmental issues related to resource extraction.

“CH2M is delighted to support learning and research endeavours at Yukon College, we are deeply committed to supporting programs that enrich our communities,” comments Alan Cary, Regional Managing Director, CH2M Canada.

Under the partnership CH2M personnel will undertake guest lecture opportunities and provide field lab experiences where possible to students engaged in water sampling, groundwater monitoring and mine reclamation courses as part of their CNIM programs.