Haines Junction, Yukon
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Haines Junction is a village in the Yukon, Canada. It is located at Kilometre 1,632 (historical mile 1016) of the Alaska Highway at its junction with the Haines Highway, hence the name of the community. Population is 789 (Yukon Bureau of Statistics, Dec. 2004). It is next to Kluane National Park and Reserve. It is a major administrative centre for the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations.
[edit] History
For many thousands of years the Southern Tutchone people had seasonal hunting and fishing camps in the area of present-day Haines Junction. The original name of the area was "Dakwakada", a Southern Tutchone word meaning "high cache". It was common for Tutchone people to use raised log caches to store food year-round or temporarily while they hunted and fished in an area.
The Haines area was also important for trade between the coastal and interior peoples. Its proximity to the Chilkat Pass, one of only three passes that allowed travel between the coast and the interior, was used extensively for trade between the coastal Tlingit and Southern Tutchone people.
The current town of Haines Junction was established in 1942 and 1943 during the construction of the Alaska Highway. In 1943 a second highway, the Haines Highway, was built to connect the Alaska Highway with the coastal town of Haines, Alaska over the Chilkat Pass. Situated at the junction of these two highways, Haines Junction was a construction camp and a supply and service centre for the US Army Corps of Engineers building the highway.
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According to the Canada 2001 Census:
| Population: | 531 (881, according to Yukon 2007 tour guide) (7.5% from 1996) |
| Land area: | 30.65 km² |
| Population density: | 17.3 people/km² |
| Median age: | (males: , females: ) |
| Total private dwellings: | 200 |
| Mean household income: | $44,544 |
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[edit] Controversy
The widely-publicised local tourist information centre, funded by Parks Canada, is only open regularly during the peak May 25-September 25 season. Local residents and some out-of-town commentators suggest that year-round operation would boost local income levels and job opportunities, as well as increase winter tourism to the region.
