Kate Carmack will be joining nation’s mining hall of fame (Whitehorse Star – October 11, 2018)

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The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame (CMHF) will welcome five individuals who have made lasting contributions to Canada’s mining industry – including a Yukon legend.

Kate Carmack is included in the inductees. She will be joining the Klondike Discoverers, who were originally inducted as a group in 1999. The group included George Carmack, Robert Henderson, Skookum Jim Mason and Dawson Charlie.

Each have traditionally been credited with the discovery that led to the Klondike Gold Rush, which would essentially establish the Yukon. New information has been uncovered that Kate Carmack also played an integral role in the discovery.

Carmack was an Indigenous woman who used her traditional knowledge and skills to live off the land in the Forty-Mile and Stewart River areas while the group prospected. She sewed and marketed mukluks and mittens to her fellow prospectors. This provided her a means to support the Klondike Discoverers’ work.

Oral stories shared among local Indigenous communities suggest that Kate herself found the first gold nugget. Historians, however, agree that it is not clear who made the actual discovery. The confusion stems from hearsay. The CMHF said it’s proud to recognize Kate Carmack’s crucial contribution to the Klondike Discoverers and add her to this induction.

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