News: Yukonu Research Centre

A sampling of Yukon University research can be found in 55 locations throughout the territory and across Northern Canada with the new Research Activity Map.

The Government of Canada is committed to keeping our supply chains resilient in the face of a changing climate. This will help make sure families from coast-to-coast-to-coast get the essential goods they need on time and create an economy that works for everyone.

Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced an investment of $3.4 million under the National Trade Corridors Fund for the Enhancing Yukon trade corridor resilience to northern geohazards project run by Yukon University.

Communities across Northern Canada are witnessing first-hand the devastating impacts a changing climate is having across Arctic ecosystems. Livelihoods, Indigenous culture, social relations, food security, health, well-being      and a way of life, which have existed for generations are all being impacted.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, was joined by his colleagues in releasing the Northern Canada Chapter of the Canada in a Changing Climate: Regional Perspectives Report to help inform and support adaptation to climate change in Canada’s North.

The Adäka Cultural Festival is happy to announce partnership with Yukon University for its 10th anniversary.
YukonU is joining Adäka’s new Giving with Intention partner program to support the Connection Giving Circle. This new partnership between YukonU and Adäka will lift up the “Indigenous Storytelling Series” at the 2022 Festival and contribute to the research and revitalization of Yukon’s storytelling culture. The Series will see both Elders and emerging storytellers engage audiences in powerful and mesmerizing experiences as they share stories from their Indigenous cultures from July 1st to the 5th of festival programming.

Five Indigenous youth, including several Yukon high school students, will receive training and mentorship in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and Indigenous-led research approaches in partnership with researchers at the YukonU Research Centre this summer. 

Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN) and researchers at Yukon University are working in collaboration to address the effects of climate change thanks to a multi-year research project that will assess the vulnerability of the CAFN Traditional Territory to climate change and permafrost thaw.

Today, the Honourable Daniel Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, announced $429,028 in funding for the project through the Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program. He was joined by CAFN Chief Steve Smith, Dr. Lesley Brown, President and Vice-Chancellor, Yukon University, and Dr. Brendan Hanley, Member of Parliament for Yukon, at an event at Yukon’s NorthLight Innovation Centre.

Yukon University has received $500,000 to support the successful inclusion of clean power initiatives into the electrical power systems of both Yukon and Northwest Territories (NWT). The Electric vehicles and smart heating research project will explore the potential effects that electric vehicles and smart heating units may have on the electrical distribution networks in these territories and offer novel solutions to address these challenges. 

Yukon University has received $230,800 to research how COVID-19 has impacted the residents of Old Crow and to prepare for future emergencies. “In Their Words: COVID-19 Experiences of the Vuntut Gwitchin people of Old Crow” is a one-year project led by the Vuntut Gwitchin Government in partnership with Yukon University and funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR). 

This research project addresses issues related to COVID-19 in Indigenous communities by revealing the health and wellness impacts as described by the people of Old Crow. The project will be co-created by the community and involve guided conversations and story gathering, in order to learn from this current pandemic and plan for future health crises and emergencies. 

WHITEHORSE, YT— Yukon University anthropology instructor, Norman Easton, has recently published the first ethnohistory of the Yukon Alaska borderlands in partnership with the US National Park Service. An Ethnohistory of the Chisana River Basin documents the First Nations’ use of the upper Tanana River basin based on ethnographic, archival, and archaeological research.  
 

Yukon University welcomes Minto Explorations to the Northern Mine Remediation program’s Yukon Mining Research Consortium. Minto Explorations will be the seventh industrial partner to join the Consortium and the first member operating an active mine in the Territory.