Gwich'in Gathering and
CYFN General Assembly
July 7-18 2002
The Biennial Gwich'in Gathering and the Council of Yukon First Nations General Assembly were back to back events held in Old Crow. The population in Old Crow grew from 300 to more than 700 people during the two weeks of meetings, dancing, and games.
With no road access into Old Crow, all food, supplies, and people were flown in except for some Alaskan and NWT visitors who traveled to Old Crow by boat via the Porcupine River. Airnorth Airlines provided charter service with 9 charter flights and additional flights carrying more than 30,000 pounds of food and supplies.
We would like to recognize and thank those who helped to plan and implement these very successful events.
A Message of Appreciation from
the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Chief and Council
The Creator blessed us with beautiful, safe and wonderful days in which to meet and celebrate with each other. The Elders are our foundation and they have always taught us to work hard, be generous and to have fun too. We have made our Elders proud with the respect we have shown to each other while working together. Our younger generation witnessed their people working toward a better future, as past generations have done so before them. We have celebrated our culture and renewed our common ties with each other and we will continue to do so as we move forward together.
On behalf of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation and the community of Old Crow, we would like to thank every person who helped to make these events a success.
Respectfully
| Joe Linklater Chief | William Josie Deputy Chief | Sandra Newman Councillor | Harvey Kassi Councillor | Roger Kyikavichik Councillor |
Gwich'in Gathering and CYFN General Assembly Committee Members
 |
Gathering Committee Renee Frost - Events Coordinator Committee Members L-R |
The Cooks
Over the days of the Gathering and CYFN GA, it took 10 cooks to prepare 3 meals per day for up to 700 people. They worked each day preparing meals sometimes with only 2 or 3 hours of sleep. They served Moose meat from Venetie, Muktuk from Inuvik, Salmon from Fort Yukon, White fish, Beaver, and Caribou meat. At times, lineups at meal times extended outside the Community Center and down the street. Thank you for your hard work in preparing the best meals ever.
 L-R. Margaret Frost, Donald Frost, Rosalie Abel, and Alice Vittrekwa. |
 Louise Linklater |
Music and Dance
The singing, dancing and music played during the evenings entertainment at the Gathering and CYFN General Assembly was awesome and showed the diverse musical talent amoung Gwich'in and First Nation musicians. The following people played, sang, or danced during the Gathering and GA.
| LaValee Tradition - Meti band from Manitoba Mary Nathaniel and Sally Henry - Gospel Bishops Larry Robertson and Terry Buckle - Gospel Henry Nukon - Guitar, Vocals Wilbert Kendi - Guitar, Vocals Dennis Thompson - Fiddle Harold Frost - Fiddle Marvin Frost - Guitar, Vocals Allan Benjamin - Fiddle, Bass Guitar, Drums Robert Linklater - Fiddle Walter Newman Sr. - Guitar, Vocals | Trimble Gilbert - Fiddle Charlie Furlong - Guitar, Vocals Ben Charlie - Fiddle, Vocals Bob Charlie - Guitar, Vocals Gwich'in Nation Dancers - Dance Alaskan Drum Dancers - Dance Old Crow Dancers - Dance Faith Gimmell - Traditional Drum Evon Peter - Traditional Dance Talent Show Participants - Vocals, Guitar, Fiddle, Traditional Drum, and Keyboard |
Thank you to all the musicians and Talent Show participants. Your music, song, and dance was both entertaining and inspirational and contributed greatly to the success of the Gathering and General Assembly.
The Sound Guy
 Steve Philp known to everyone as the "Sound Guy" managed the sound system for the Gathering and General Assembly. Steve works out of Whitehorse (867-667-6500) for Unitech Sound and Lighting. Steve was at the sound controls sometimes to 5:00 in the morning for the dances and would be back at the controls for the 9:00am meetings. Thanks Steve, great job. |
The Bus Driver
 During the Gathering and General Assembly, Earl Benjamin drove Elders and delegates to wherever they needed to go day and night. |
The Cleaning Crew
 L-R - Mary-Louise Charlie, Lyle Charlie, Sarah Netro, Randall Kendi, and Florence Thomas. The cleaning crew including Brandon Kaye, Harlan Nukon, and Brian Lord did an excellent job of making sure the whole town was kept clean during the Gathering and CYFN GA. They assisted the cooks, provided beverages and snacks at the meetings, and assisted at the evening events. Well done. |
The Truckers
 The Red Truck. Leonard Nukon and Lyle Charlie hauled freight and passenger's luggage to and from the airport. |
 Curtis Netro spent long hours hauling anything and everything. |
 Ken Arnold of Arctic Circle Services, Old Crow, hauled freight and supplies from the airport during the Gathering and GA. |
 Andrew Charlie, Bobby Benjamin, and Ronald Benjamin employed by YTG Community and Transportation Services, increased water and sewer services from 3 days to 7 days per week during the Gathering and GA. |
Old Crow's Website
 Old Crow's Webmaster provided pictures and did the HTML for the Gathering and GA. Sketch by: Megan Garrett of Old Crow
|
 Rick Morrill is on a Fellowship from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine USA. He came to Old Crow to donate his time for the Gwich'in Gathering. Rick helped with the picture taking, text, and HTML for the Gathering section of our website. Thanks Rick. With your help we got the job done. Pictured left, Chuck Hendrie of CHON FM radio in Whitehorse helped with the text for the CYFN General Assembly section of our website. Thanks Chuck for providing your experience as a news reporter. |
We must thank YKnet of Whitehorse; the host of Old Crow's web pages. In talking to Rick Steele, Manager of YKnet, he stated that he had noticed a substantial increase in the storage space we used on their servers after the Gathering. This increase can be attributed to the 190 pictures of the Gathering and GA we added to Old Crow's Website. Thanks Rick for all your service and support; now and over the years.
The People
Finally, Massi Cho to all the people of Old Crow who worked behind the scenes and who opened their doors and took in guests during the Gathering and GA. Those of you who traveled from the Gwich'in villages in Alaska and NWT, Premier Pat Duncan and staff, Minister Robert Nault and staff, National Chief Mathew Coon Come, Reggie Leach #27, and the Yukon Chiefs and delegates who came for the CYFN GA, thank you for coming to Old Crow and making these events a success. See you all at the 2004 Biennial Gwich'in Gathering in Circle, Alaska.
