Hidden Histories Society Yukon
Whitehorse Y1A 5P7 Whitehorse, YT, Canada

A CBC article about Filipino immigrants to Alberta in the 1960s. https://www.cbc.ca//first-filipino-alberta-pioneers-1.5938

Post #4 on the Agee family, one of the early Black families in the Yukon. Members of the Agee family came over the Chilkoot Trail in 1899 and ran a barbershop in Dawson. In 1911, when Sam Agee was 15 years old and still attending school in Dawson, he signed on for the summer with the British Yukon Navigation Company. (The BYNCo. operated riverboats in the Yukon and Alaska and was a subsidiary of White Pass & Yukon Route). Sam was a "deckboy," an entry-level position that coul...d be filled by an adult or a teenager. Deckboy was a specific job title, with different responsibilities from the rest of the deckhands who loaded and unloaded the boat. Sam's main job would have been to keep the ship clean. According to historian Arnold Roos, the deckboy got up before 5 every morning and brought coffee to the wheelhouse. He hosed down the decks regularly throughout the day, as they got dirty with cinders and soot from the boiler. He also cleaned the wheelhouse and kept the heater there stocked with wood. He ran up the flags, blew the whistle, oiled the tillers, and did other odd jobs. Sam probably knew what to expect, because his father had previously worked on the boats. In July 1911, Sam signed onto the S.S. Dawson for $50/month. After that contract ended in September, he spent a few days in Whitehorse. Then he joined the crew of the S.S. Canadian for a few days as a messboy--peeling vegetables, serving the crew their meals, doing dishes. This presumably took him back home to Dawson, where he left the crew. Sam is the youngest employee on both of his crew lists, although it wasn't uncommon for teenage boys to work for the boats. Sources: Thanks to the Yukon Archives for permission to post the two crew lists: COR 725 f. 3, White Pass and Yukon Route fonds, Sternwheeler crew lists and ships articles, S. Agee, deckhand. And COR 726 f. 6, White Pass and Yukon Route fonds, Sternwheeler crew lists and ships articles, S. Agee, messhand. Photo of the S.S. Dawson is from the University of Washington, Special Collections, CUR1855. Photo of Sam Agee is from the Yukon Archives, Emil Forrest fonds, 80/60 #499 and is reposted from this page: http://tc.gov.yk.ca/archives/hiddenhistory/en/early.html Information on the jobs of deckboys and messboys is from Arnold Roos, "A Narrative History of the S.S. Klondike," Manuscript Report Series No. 402 (Parks Canada, 1981).

An article about a teenager researching his family history and drawing strength from his ancestors in The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com//black-genealogy-connecticut-merri #BlackHistoryMonth

Merci L'Aurore boréale pour un deuxième article au sujet du Mois de l'histoire des Noirs au Yukon, qui met en vedette Paul Gowdie (membre du conseil de la Société des histoires inconnues du Yukon), George Rivard, Leonard Boniface, et Paige Galette. Thanks L'Aurore boréale for a second article about Black History Month in Yukon, featuring Paul Gowdie (HHSY board member), George Rivard, Leonard Boniface, and Paige Galette. http://auroreboreale.ca/mois-de-lhistoire-des-noir-es-cele/

https://www.ryerson.ca//black-history-is-incomplete-with/

À travers le pays, des célébrations et événements ont lieu en février afin de souligner le patrimoine des Canadiens noirs, leur contribution et leur culture. S...i le thème national lancé par Patrimoine canadien se nomme L’avenir, c’est maintenant , au Yukon, pour célébrer l’histoire des Noir.es, il faut d’abord se tourner vers le passé pour la retracer. Hidden Histories Society Yukon See more

Here’s an article about Charles Teenie Harris, photographer for the African American newspaper Pittsburgh Courier. (We had a couple of posts last week about the Courier and its coverage of Black soldiers in Yukon). https://www.theatlantic.com//charles-teenie-harris/617789/ This is part of a series of articles about Black history, called Inheritance, currently running in the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/inheritance/

Merci L'Aurore boréale pour cet article! Nous aimerions beaucoup entendre parler des gens qui ont des histoires, des photos ou des documents à partager au sujet de l’histoire ethnoculturelle du Yukon. Thanks L’Aurore Boréale for this article about Black history in the Yukon, featuring interviews with HHSY Board members Peggy D'Orsay and Paul Gowdie. We would love to hear from anyone who has stories, photos, or documents to share about the histories of Yukoners with diverse ba...ckgrounds. Here's a roughly translated quote from the article: Documents attest to Black people living in the Yukon as early as 1850, and the 1901 Yukon census lists 99 Black residents in a population of about 30,000... ...Paul Gowdie invites Yukoners to expand their horizons. ‘If we want to be a more diverse and inclusive community, I think the Black community needs to feel included as Yukoners. This helps us feel at home here, and part of the community.’ The article also gives a well-deserved shout-out to Peggy D’Orsay’s research. She is the one who finds most of the old articles and documents we share on this page. http://auroreboreale.ca/retracer-lhistoire-des-noirs-afin-/

News from the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia: they have just launched a website with virtual tours of their cultural centre in Dartmouth, NS. Tours will be added for other sites soon. Visit: https://www.nsheritage3d.ca/

Merci, nous avons hâte de voir la prochaine édition! Thank you L'Aurore boréale, we look forward to seeing the new issue tomorrow! https://www.facebook.com/auroreboreale.ca/posts/2159361517528801