Restoration work on historic Forty Mile Village could begin this summer

A group of Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in citizens gathered to discuss the future and restoration work of the historic Forty Mile Village, hit hard by a spring 2023 flood.

An ice jam at the confluence of the river Fortymile and the Yukon River caused the village to flood, destroying some buildings and moving the foundations of other buildings.

Community members are eager to participate in the restoration of the site, says the First Nation’s heritage director, Debbie Nagano, whose department co-manages the historic village with the Yukon government.

This year, the community said it wanted to help with the rebuilding as much as possible. But restoring the place is easier said than done because access is still not safe.she emphasizes.

This is why the First Nation and the Government of Yukon hired experts to carry out an assessment of the site and determine a plan for the next steps.

It’s a big job. It’s going to take time just to get to the location and transport the equipment. We have a lot to cross, bridges and trails to open. It’s crazy how much the trees have grown. They are 2 meters high. So we’re going to go section by section.

Before the flood, the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation used the site to host cultural camps where young people could come and spend time with elders. They then discovered the history of the First Nation, whose members came to this place for their fishing camp.

Debbie Nagano hopes that work can begin this summer and explains that, once access to the site is secure, crews will work to stabilize and rebuild the structures.

The heritage architecture firm ERA Architects was hired to hold public meetings to gather comments from community members and their wishes regarding the restoration of the site.

Several common points were raised during the public meeting on June 14, underlines the firm’s senior project manager, Emma Abramowicz.

One of these points is that [l’inondation] is part of what happened here. There is no point where the story stops and starts, and the flood is part of that storyshe explains.

She adds that the goal is not to rebuild Forty Mile exactly as it was before, but rather to rebuild it by showing how the village remains strong despite the incident.

The villagers also want the place to be better protected against floods and fires.

Debbie Nagano points out that Forty Mile will never be the same again, but its restoration offers the opportunity to improve it for visitors.

The land will always be there, we just have to adapt to the changesshe maintains.

According to information from Chris McIntyre