Intergenerational Wisdom and Research Priorities

The Yukon Salmon Knowledge Hub

Revitalizing Culturally Rooted Connections to Salmon, Fostering Land-Based Knowledge Exchanges, and Directing First Nations-Led Research Across Generations

Canadian Mountain Network logo

The Yukon Salmon Knowledge Hub is a three-year initiative funded by the Canadian Mountain Network and administered by the Council of Yukon First Nations.

The main goals of the Knowledge Hub are to:

  • Revitalize the connections between salmon, people, and landscape through culture, ceremony, language and story.
  • Support knowledge production and transfer across generations.
  • Co-develop Yukon First Nations-led and community-based salmon programs to enhance fisheries research, management and restoration efforts.
  • Support Yukon First Nations-led research through partnership and within the intersection of different knowledge systems.

Our Members

The Yukon Salmon Knowledge Hub is made up of Yukon First Nations, knowledge keepers and youth, as well as academic, non-profit, and industry partners.

A coluorful hand-drawn illustration featuring a grizzly bear looking down into a river at a large salmon resting on a rocky bed. The scene includes a mountainous landscape background and is framed by the handwritten text "Annual Salmon Ceremony + Gathering 2022" in blue and purple script, with a bright orange wild rose in the bottom right corner.
Heidi Marion • Graphic Recording
A close-up, shallow-depth-of-field photograph of a person's hands holding a piece of textured, purple-dyed fish leather over a woven willow basket. The basket is filled with various other scraps of tanned fish skins in natural and dyed tones, showcasing the intricate scales and patterns of the material.
Peter Mather

Calling the salmon back

On February 21 – 22, 2022, the Yukon First Nation Salmon Stewardship Alliance (YFNSSA) supported by the Council of Yukon First Nations, hosted the first Annual Salmon Ceremony and Gathering.

Marking the establishment of the Yukon Salmon Knowledge Hub—a three-year initiative funded by the Canadian Mountain Network and administered by CYFN—the event featured youth and Elders sharing ceremony, songs, stories, language and wisdom that will help salmon in the future.

The Ceremony and Gathering brings together knowledge holders, youth, and scientists for land-based knowledge exchanges, training, and workshops to share knowledge and identify priorities around salmon. Activities include the telling and recording of salmon stories, language-revitalization programs, and opportunities to share YFN in-season management approaches to harvest or ceremony. This unique event provides a watershed-focussed ethical space to foster mutual trust, respect, equality, and collaboration.

"Calling Salmon Home" video is from the Annual Salmon Ceremony and Gathering in 2022. This trailer captures the essence of the salmon ceremony and gathering and shows how traditional knowledge plays a crucial role in salmon stewardship. The gathering unites Yukon First Nations wisdom with scientific understanding with an aim of rekindling our connections to salmon culture. Filmed by Darcie Profeit and hosted on the traditional lands of the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation.