Between 1993 and 2006, the 11 First Nations negotiated First Nation-specific agreements with the territorial and federal governments on the basis of the UFA. These agreements have identified terrestrial areas and added unique features that are important to some First Nations. For example, in the agreement, the De Kluane First Nation negotiated a wild sheep brand as an economic development measure. These hunts are sold at auction for significant value to the First Nation. Some agreements have taken longer because of their complexity. Kwanlin Dune First Nation and Ta`an Kwäch`än Council, both based in the Whitehorse area, have had to deal with their relationship with the City of Whitehorse, in addition to other levels of government. Negotiations resumed in the late 1980s and culminated in the Final Framework Agreement (MFA) in 1990. The UFA serves as a framework or model for individual agreements with each of the fourteen federally recognized Yukon First Nations. It was signed in 1993 and the four First Nations ratified their land rights agreements in 1995.

To date (January 2016), eleven of the fourteen First Nations have signed and ratified an agreement. Currently, White River First Nation, Liard First Nation and Ross River Dena Council are not negotiating. They remain Indian bands under the federal Indian Act. [2] There is considerable linguistic overlap among First Nations. Many Kwäday Danes (“people of a long time ago” in southern Tutchone) spoke several languages and in each language there are several dialects. For example, many Southern Tutchone traded with the Tlingit nations of the Alaskan coast. They formalized the trade through recognized partnerships and marriages, so that the majority of Southern Tutchone could speak both languages. Today, all Yukon First Nations are committed to preserving and improving their language. Trudeau agreed to work with the YNB, which was the first time in Canada that a comprehensive land claim was accepted for negotiation. Comprehensive land claim agreements – or modern treaties – are agreements that trade undefined Indigenous rights for defined contractual rights and ownership of settlement land. Each land claims agreement is also accompanied by a self-government agreement that gives First Nations the right to legislate in a number of areas.

These agreements give First Nations the power to control and direct their own affairs and describe a First Nation`s ability to assume responsibility for delivering programs or services to its citizens. [8] On May 29, 1993, 11 Yukon First Nations and the governments of Canada and Yukon signed the Final Framework Agreement (FAC). The UFA is not a legal document, but a political agreement between the signatory first nations, Yukon and Canada. It forms the basis of the Yukon First Nation`s 11 Final Agreements. Unlike the UFA, these agreements are legal documents and protected by the Constitution. The first known non-Aboriginal peoples to enter the Yukon were the Hudson`s Bay Company fur traders in the 1800s. They established trading posts from the south (Kaska Dene Territory) to the north (Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Territory). Merchants brought tea, flour and tools that First Nations used to continue their way of life. The fur trade was the main economic and relational driver between Yukon First Nations and non-Aboriginal foreigners until 1896, when gold was discovered in the Klondike. Unlike most other Canadian land claim agreements that apply only to status Indians, Yukon First Nations have emphasized that the agreements affect all persons they considered to be part of their nation, whether or not they are recognized as Status Indians under federal government rules. In 1973, the Yukon Indian Brotherhood and the Yukon Association of Non-Status Indians created the Council for Yukon Indians (CYI) to negotiate a land claims agreement. The two organizations and the council officially merged in 1980 as the Council for Yukon Indians.

In 1995, CYI was renamed the Council of Yukon First Nations. Yukon land claims refer to the process of negotiating and settling Aboriginal land claim agreements in Yukon, Canada, between First Nations and the federal government. Based on historical occupation and use, First Nations claim fundamental rights to all countries. After many years of negotiations and the hard work of many visionary leaders, the historic Final Framework Agreement (UFA) was signed in 1993. It provided the template for negotiating individual land claim agreements (called “Final Agreements”) with each Yukon First Nation. There are 14 First Nations in the Yukon. .