‘Never Give Up’: Restoring Culture, Connection, and Resilience

Tahltan artist Vernon Asp was raised in Northern Tutchone Territory, which he says gave him a unique perspective being immersed in many First Nations ways of knowing and doing. A perspective that continues to guide his work, his teachings, and his art.

Vernon, who is also an assistant professor in the School of Academic and Skill Development, stands next to his restored red cedar carving that he named, Never Give Up. He looks it over with care and critiques some of the elements of his work, tool to wood. Vernon used gouge and carving knives to bring the piece to life. 

The three-by-eight-foot flat panel carving now hangs prominently in the President’s Boardroom at Yukon University, a powerful reminder of resilience, renewal, and the ongoing journey of Reconciliation.

Originally commissioned in 2012, Never Give Up was first installed outside at Yukon University Ayamdigut Campus. And – as you may have guessed – over the years, the carving endured the elements.

“We have a lot of wind,” Vernon describes. “The cul-de-sac where the carving was originally installed would get a lot of sand, so with the wind and the sand it’s like a sandblast.” 

Over the years the piece weathered and due to time constraints, Vernon says the piece never received the protective coating it needed to withstand those elements. Still, Vernon isn’t resentful about the toll it all took on the work. Instead, he sees it as part of a larger teaching.

“In Northwest Coast culture, a piece is supposed to go rotten until it falls apart,” he explains. “But sometimes things have to be restored.”
And in 2024, Yukon University reached out asking if he would restore the carving, which would then be displayed indoors. Vernon agreed, seeing both the timing and the symbolism as meaningful.

“Everything works perfectly in time,” he says. “Cleaning it up, I was amazed at how well the cedar held up. It’s a journey and things are being restored. It’s 2025 and you’re seeing programming that’s happening that’s in line with Truth and Reconciliation.”

For Vernon, Never Give Up is more than a carving, it’s a teaching tool, a story in wood that connects past, present, and future. It reflects not only the Legend of Kashagook, a story of family, resilience, and return, but also a call to bring Indigenous students “back home” to learn and grow within their own Traditional Territories.

“It was meant for bringing our children back home to go to school here,” Vernon says. “To restore bringing Indigenous students to this space. And to uphold traditional ways of knowing and doing.”

He originally carved the piece for his mother Vera Asp, former VP of First Nations Initiatives at the then Yukon College and for his Elders.

The carving itself blends Indigenous and European artistic traditions, bridging worlds both visually and symbolically.

“The piece has depth, movement, and balance,” Vernon explains. “You can see one-point linear perspective with the canoe and horizon – I put that in there. It’s bridging the knowledge. It’s not just Indigenous, it’s European too.”

For Vernon, Never Give Up speaks to more than cultural survival, it’s about emotional and community wellness.

“That’s the type of TLC teaching we need to do,” he says. “We have a lot of needs in our society today [like] mental health, and it’s happening in young people, which is really surprising to me. When we were younger, playing outside and doing activities with our Elders like fishing, those were very healthy practices that I cherish.”

He notes with sadness in some cases cultural practices are becoming harder to sustain. “We don’t have fishing now, we have to buy salmon now in order to teach cultural practices, and it’s pretty rough.”

Yet, in the same breath, Vernon returns to the message at the heart of his work and the Legend of Kashagook, which is persistence through adversity.

“Storms happen in life,” he says. “It gives you the heads up to have faith, to trust. And sometimes when you feel like you’re lost… you’ll find your way.”

Now away from the elements of weather and lit up from behind and above, inside the President’s Boardroom, Never Give Up stands as a symbol of endurance of a culture that continues to thrive despite challenges.

“With Reconciliation and education, many people feel like we’ve arrived,” Vernon reflects, “but we’re just getting started.”