Collection yuk-847 - Their Own Yukon Project collection

The Their Own Yukon project is a photographic record of social, economic and cultural changes experienced by First Nations living in the Yukon Territory. The majority of photographs were taken by First Nations men and women who kept them as records of daily life in the early decades of the 20th century. The project resulted in a book titled "Their Own Yukon: a photographic history by Yukon Indian People". The idea for this book originated in the mid-1960s with long time Yukon residents Jim Robb and Jack Needham and various First Nations families with whom Jim discussed the project. The book was inspired by the fact that many of the publications of Yukon history of the time neglected to acknowledge the presence of the First Nations who had lived in the territory long before the arrival of the gold seekers. Julie Cruikshank became involved in 1970 after she was asked to write the text to accompany the collection of photographs. Jim collected the photographs in the early years of the project and then he and Julie spent many hours with the owners of the photographs recording their memories associated with each image. Jack Needham provided the financial backing for the research and collecting, and the 1975 publication of the book was supported by the Yukon Indian Cultural Education Society and Yukon Native Brotherhood.