Yukon Wildlife: A Social History

Bruce Grainger is head of Public Services at the Macdonald Library,
McGill University.

The author of this book, who is employed by the Environmental Protection Service of Environment Canada in Whitehorse, describes the unique policies and attitudes towards wildlife that prevailed in the Yukon from the Gold Rush until 1947. In his initial chapter, the author traces the origins of royal and aristocratic control over hunting rights in England and discusses the development of wildlife conservation attitudes and laws in North America. Succeeding chapters describe the very different attitudes to wildlife shared by Indians and whites alike in the Yukon. Beginning with the Gold Rush, a commercial market in game meat developed to feed the expanded population employed in towns and mining camps. The popularity of fur garments in North America and Europe made trapping a profitable activity in which Indians participated fully. Big game hunting by wealthy outsiders was another source of income for those employed by guiding parties. The Yukon government itself received a substantial share of its revenue, second only to mining, from the various licenses and taxes relating to wildlife. McCandless makes a convincing argument that all groups in Yukon society — Indians, Métis, and whites — benefitted from this stable economy in which the use of wildlife played a major role.

External influences, of which the Alaska Highway project was but the first, destroyed this economy, with severe consequences to the Indian population. Yukon and federal government officials often complied with American wishes, such as permitting U.S. Army personnel to decimate game along the Alaska Highway. The growing number of white residents led to a shift in wildlife policies, which tended to reflect the attitudes of the neighbouring province of Alberta. As a consequence, registered traplines were implemented by the Yukon government in circumstances that were not advantageous to Indians. The federal government introduced family allowances that were tied to the enrollment of children in schools — a requirement that encouraged migration to towns and villages, thereby undermining the traditional hunting life. Changing fashions led to lower fur prices, further undermining the trapper economy. The more recent attack by the animal rights’ movement on the fur industry, which the author does not discuss, has also had a depressing effect on fur prices. It is only with the land claims process of the 1970s that the author sees a potential for enhancing the economic well-being of the Yukon Indian people.

While statistics are generally considered boring, a few well-chosen time-series would have enhanced the author’s comments regarding the importance of wildlife to the economy, fluctuations in the composition of the population due to white migration, etc. The author’s notes and bibliography indicate extensive use of archival and other sources. Also included are many interesting photographs, a map, a good index, and an appendix containing the tape-recorded reminiscences of three oldtimers who were actively involved in the wildlife economy.