Dakwakada dancers Haines Junction Yukon
These Southern Tutchone people were located throughout the southwest Yukon and into northwestern British Columbia. The name is derived from two of their historic settlements: Champagne, located on the Dezadeash River; and Aishihik, situated at the headwaters of the Alsek River drainage.
The area around what is now Haines Junction was used as a seasonal gathering place for trapping, hunting and fishing trips. The Southern Tutchone name for the area is Dakwakada, meaning a high cache. Caches were built high off the ground, out of reach of predators, to store food and furs while the people were away hunting and fishing. It was also an important trade route for the coastal Tlingit and Chilkat people of Alaska who traded with the people of the Yukon interior. The Southern Tutchone acted as intermediaries in trade between other First Nations people on the coast and in the interior.
The Klukshu Village is a living traditional fishing village utilized by the Southern Tutchone as well as the Tlingits. Today many people continue to utilize this fishing village for traditional pursuits. The village has attracted such people as The Governor General of Canada, Michaëlle Jean and a recent US Senator tour with Senators John McCain, Susan Collins, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Lindsey Graham.