Joint news release with the Dawson City Museum
A total of $348,000 in funding has been granted to twelve Yukon museums and First Nations cultural centres through the Special Capital Projects Assistance Program.
This support will be used toward a variety of projects that enhance the recipients’ ability to protect, preserve and interpret their collections and share their stories. Examples of the projects for 2018–19 include: a microfilm reader and collections inventory for the Dawson City Museum; a traditional medicines herbarium for the Carcross/Tagish First Nation Learning Centre; and an oral history archives digitization project for the John Tizya Centre.
Yukon museums and cultural centres play an integral role in caring for heritage collections. Project funding provides opportunities to present the territory’s past and present, while maintaining facilities to ensure these institutions can continue to preserve and share Yukon’s heritage.
Yukon museums and First Nations cultural centres invite Yukoners and visitors alike to engage with our past and to explore connections between historical, traditional and contemporary worlds. We are pleased to provide this funding to support organizations in their efforts with projects that preserve and interpret our territory’s cultural, historical and natural heritage.
Minister of Tourism and Culture Jeanie Dendys
We are always excited to take advantage of the Special Projects and Capital Assistance Program. This year we have two projects: an inventory project for the Museum's artifact holdings, and we are purchasing a new microfilm reader. Our current, aging microfilm machine still gets used every day because so many of the records the Museum has, including newspapers and historical placer mining applications, exist as microfilm tapes. The newspapers are vital to the Museum's research work, and in the summer time visitors looking for information on their ancestors keep the microfilm reader busy. I don't know what we would do without it, and I can't wait for our new machine to arrive. This SPCAP funding means our museum will continue making the evidence of the stories of the past accessible.
Dawson City Museum executive director Alex Somerville
The Special Capital Projects Assistance Program is an annual fund made available to Yukon’s eligible museums and cultural centres to apply for support on various projects.
Applications are accepted for a wide range of projects, including joint marketing initiatives, artifact inventory and cataloguing, exhibit planning and development, small or specialized capital acquisitions, conservation and revenue generation.
A panel of museum professionals review and assess applications based on how well the projects fit the program criteria.
The criteria include themes such as project management and budget planning; how the project responds to a need or audience; economic impact; partnership opportunities; and clear performance measures.
To apply, Yukon museums and cultural centres must be on the Department of Tourism and Culture’s museums eligibility list. Currently, there are 19 Yukon museums and cultural centres on this list.
Museums and cultural centres are among the most popular attractions in Yukon, welcoming approximately 133,000 visitors in 2017.
Special Projects Capital Assistance Program - 2018–19
| Applicant | Name of Project | Amount Allocated |
| Carcross/Tagish First Nation (CTFN Learning Centre) | Traditional Medicines Herbarium | $20,000.00 |
| Champagne and Aishihik First Nation (Da Kų Cultural Centre) | Da Kų Kwandur Interpretive Training/Orientation Manual and Shakāt Dánän Käy Gàts’ashät Exhibit Enhancement Project | $31,284.00 |
| Dawson City Museum Society | Collections Inventory | $30,000.00 |
| Dawson City Museum Society | Microfilm Reader | $9,712.00 |
| Kwanlin Dün Cultural Society (Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre) | Collections and Exhibit Small Conservation Project | $17,197.00 |
| Kwanlin Dün Cultural Society (Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre) | Developing an Interpretive Medicinal Garden | $20,000.00 |
| Kluane Museum of History Society | Exhibit Development and Maintenance | $19,962.00 |
| MacBride Museum Society (MacBride Museum on the Copperbelt) | Copperbelt Safety Enhancement Project | $30,000.00 |
| MacBride Museum Society (MacBride Museum on the Copperbelt) | Copperbelt/MacBride Museum Systems Integration | $12,751.00 |
| Teslin Historical and Museums Society (George Johnston Museum) | Website Upgrade | $13,313.00 |
| Town of Faro (Campbell Region Interpretive Centre) | Campbell Region Interpretive Centre Improvements | $40,000.00 |
| Town of Watson Lake (Northern Lights Centre) | Information Display | $9,975.00 |
| Vuntut Gwitchin Government (John Tizya Centre) | Oral History Archives Digitization | $13,826.00 |
| Yukon Church Heritage Society (Old Log Church Museum) | Strategic Plan Development | $19,995.00 |
| Yukon Church Heritage Society (Old Log Church Museum) | Collections Database and Cataloguing Project | $19,985.00 |
| Yukon Transportation Museum | Better Experience Better Return | $40,000.00 |
| Totals: | $348,000 |
Sunny Patch
Cabinet Communications
867-393-7478
sunny.patch@gov.yk.ca
Linnea Blum
Communications, Tourism and Culture
867-332-2625
linnea.blum@gov.yk.ca