Champagne and Aishihik First Nations
Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN) has their traditional territories in Yukon and northern British Columbia. Their Final Agreement came into effect in 1995, and they have more than 1,200 citizens, which makes them one of the largest First Nations in the Yukon. Their government center is based in Haines Junction, with another office in Whitehorse.
Since entering into their self-government agreement, CAFN has been working hard to decolonize their governance. They are doing this in two main ways: through the Dän Tän Gà Dījäl (“We all walk along the Dän K’e trail”) initiative and language immersion programming.
The Dän Tän Gà Dījäl initiative is still in early stages, but it is an attempt to move the whole-of-government approach away from the colonial legacy of Canada and instead create a holistic and comprehensive approach to program and service delivery that reflects CAFN values and traditions.
As for the language program, CAFN runs a two-year adult immersion language program designed to help revitalize and strengthen the Southern Tutchone language. This is a great example of self-government in action, because although the program is focused on language immersion, it is more all-encompassing, including components on cultural teaching and healing.
CAFN understands that to successfully run a government grounded in their own culture and ways of being, their citizens need to be fluent in their language. Successful Indigenous self-government is aligned with culture and language. Further, CAFN, like many Indigenous governments, has passed a language law which outlines things such as using the language in day-to-day operations of government.
True self-government requires that the government represent the language, culture and other aspects of the people it represents. CAFN is working to make this happen.
