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New Children's Book Celebrates Kwanlin Dün Heritage, Southern Tutchone Language, and Renewable Energy

Eagle Hill Energy Limited Partnership

Published July 18, 2024

Front cover of EHELP's children's book The Winds over Whitehorse: Thay T’äw Kwändǖr (Golden Eagle Nest Story). PHOTO: EHELP


Eagle Hill Energy Limited Partnership (EHELP) and Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFN) are excited to announce the release of The Winds over Whitehorse: Thay T’äw Kwändǖr (Golden Eagle Nest Story). This unique children’s book, intended for ages 3-5, accompanies the launch of the Haeckel Hill-Thay T'äw Wind Energy Project, the first 100% Indigenous-owned wind energy project in Northern Canada.

 

Adapted from the lived experience and oral history of the late KDFN Elder, Ä́yenjìatà Louie Smith, the story follows the Tsä̀ l (Gopher) family on a cranberry-picking adventure up Thay T'äw (Haeckel Hill). Along the journey, readers are introduced to the local Southern Tutchone language and familiar story characters and learn about Thay, the giant golden eagle that nested on the mountain long ago. The story also reveals how the new wind turbines on Haeckel Hill provide clean energy for families across the Yukon.


Click play on the audio file for Thay T'äw pronunciation:



The book is co-authored by KDFN Citizen and Culture and Heritage Steward, Kikchucks Rae Mombourquette and Yukon-based artist Tedd Tucker, with illustrations by Tedd Tucker. It is an educational tool that blends Dän kʼè kwänje (Southern Tutchone) language and KDFN cultural heritage with themes of environmental stewardship and contemporary Indigenous values. Translations and cultural insights are provided by KDFN citizen and Dän kʼè kwänje language holder Ä́yįzhìa Cory Holway, with support from Elders Nakhela Hazel Bunbury and Tläkshan David Bunbury from Tàa’an Mǟnʼ.

 

KDFN Southern Tutchone language holder and book contributor Ä́yįzhìa Cory Holway with Chief Sean Uyenets’echᶖa Smith at the Haeckel Hill-Thay T’äw Wind Energy Project construction completion event in October 2023. PHOTO: GBP Creative Media


Book Distribution


EHELP has partnered with the Yukon Reads Society to distribute The Winds over Whitehorse: Thay T’äw Kwändǖr through the Yukon Imagination Library, which supports early literacy development in Yukon children. Over 1,200 children across the territory registered for this program will be mailed a free copy of the book. EHELP is delighted to support this organization's mission to foster a lifelong love of reading for young children while enhancing their connection to Yukon's local cultures, languages, and land.


Download the free eBook version from EHELP's webpage or at the link below:

Print copies are available for purchase online at production cost:



Yukon Imagination Library 'Elves' pack envelopes of The Winds over Whitehorse: Thay T’äw Kwändǖr to mail out to children across the Yukon. The local youth team seen here includes Isabelle Prochazka (front left), Angela Prochazka (front right), and KDFN citizens Myra Kendi (back left) and Harmony Kendi (back right). PHOTO: Yukon Imagination Library



Quotes:

 

“Ayenji tashanidhi - I am happy to see this wonderful book come together and be distributed through the Yukon Imagination Library. I hope it will inspire all Yukon children and help foster a deeper connection to the land, languages and cultures that have existed here for thousands of years. I encourage all parents, guardians, caretakers and educators to sit down for story time with your families and friends and read it out loud as it’s meant. Don’t worry about speaking the Dän kʼè kwänje words right the first time, we are all impressed and proud of you for speaking one of our First Nation languages. Shä̀w níthän, másin cho, gunałchÎsh, and thank you to everyone who made this book possible, especially Kikchucks, Ä́yįzhìa, Nakhela, Tläkshan, Tedd Tucker, and the family of Ä́yenjìatà.”

– Chief Sean Uyenets’echᶖa Smith, Kwanlin Dün First Nation

 

“The creation of the children’s book ‘The Winds over Whitehorse: Thay T’äw Kwändǖr’ underscores Eagle Hill Energy’s commitment to the sustainable development and self-determination of KDFN citizens and demonstrates the meaningful social benefits of community-level renewable energy initiatives. The Haeckel Hill-Thay T'äw Wind Energy Project serves as a platform to amplify KDFN heritage, language, and values while also advancing Yukon’s clean energy future. We are thrilled to contribute to the education of young readers through this book and our partnership with the Yukon Imagination Library. Special thanks to Kikchucks (Rae) Mombourquette, Tedd Tucker, and all the book contributors for their tireless work bringing this amazing project to life.”

– Malek Tawashy, Director of Eagle Hill Energy LP

 

“The Yukon Reads Society is excited to partner with Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Eagle Hill Energy LP to share this delightful book with children across every Yukon community and Atlin. Early access to books is pivotal in shaping future success, and through our Yukon Imagination Library program, we have mailed more than 200,000 free books to children across the territory. We are immensely grateful to share a story that reflects local culture and language, which we know will help foster a lifelong love of reading in our children.”

– Wendy Tayler, Chair, Yukon Reads Society




About the Authors

 

Rae Mombourquette is co-author of The Winds over Whitehorse: Thay T’äw Kwändǖr’. She is called Kikchuks, Good and Hard Working, in Tlingit. She is Yeił Raven and lives in Kwanlin. As Culture and Heritage Steward for the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, Kikchucks works with the words of our Elders to create something new. She previously worked with the late Elder Ä́yenjìatà Louie Smith on workshopping his stories and has been working with KDFN’s archival data for 13+ years. She does her best to honour our Elders.

 

Tedd Tucker is a Yukon-based illustrator and co-author of The Winds over Whitehorse: Thay T’äw Kwändǖr’. His work combines pencil drawings with digital illustration to create art that is bold, simple, and full of personality. He published his first children’s book, The Yukon Alphabet Book, in 2019, followed by Yukon Count in 2023. When he’s not drawing pictures, he can be found wandering the forest around Whitehorse on the Traditional Territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council. He tries his best to roam quietly and carefully. Follow Tedd's work on Instagram @sketchytedd

 

Cory Holway is called Ä́yįzhìa. He is Kajèt, Crow Clan, and was born in Kwä̀nlin. Since 2021, he has been working with the Yukon Native Language Centre through the Youth Today, Language Leaders Tomorrow program to learn and teach Dän kʼè kwänje (Southern Tutchone). Ä́yįzhìa has also worked as a Language and Culture Connector trainee with KDFN and collaborated with Kikchuks to incorporate traditional language components into The Winds over Whitehorse: Thay T’äw Kwändǖr’. He does his best to listen to our Elders.

 

Nakhela (Hazel) Bunbury is Agunda, Wolf Clan, ashaw an Elder from Tàa’an Mǟnʼ. Nakhela speaks and teaches the southern community’s dialect of Southern Tutchone. As one of Ä́yįzhìa’s language mentors, she helped ensure the integrity of the Southern Tutchone language components within The Winds over Whitehorse: Thay T’äw Kwändǖr’ and contributed cultural guidance for the stories told within the book. She has worked for many years to teach, mentor and uplift the young ones.

 

Tläkshan (David) Bunbury is Wolf Clan from Tàa’an Mǟnʼ. He speaks and teaches the southern community’s dialect of Southern Tutchone. As one of Ä́yįzhìa’s language mentors, he helped ensure the integrity of the Southern Tutchone language components within The Winds over Whitehorse: Thay T’äw Kwändǖr’ and contributed cultural guidance for the stories told within the book. He does his best to pass on Dänk’e.




About Eagle Hill Energy Limited Partnership 

Eagle Hill Energy Limited Partnership (EHELP) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chu Níikwän Limited Partnership (CNLP), the business arm of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFN) Government. EHELP owns and operates the Haeckel Hill-Thay T’äw Wind Energy Project. As one of Yukon’s Independent Power Producers, EHELP sells all renewable electricity generated from the project to Yukon Energy under a 25-year Electricity Purchase Agreement (EPA). For more information about the Haeckel Hill-Thay T’äw Wind Energy Project, please visit: www.chuniikwan.ca/eagle-hill-energy



Media Contact

For more information, interviews, or media inquiries, please contact:

 

Malek Tawashy

Director, Eagle Hill Energy LP

250-213-8185







This project was funded in part by the Government of Canada

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