Äshèyi kwäch'ǟn

Äshèyi kwäch’ǟn refers to the Aishihik people of southwestern Yukon. Äshèyi is the Southern Tutchone name for Aishihik, a place within a network of lakes, trails and seasonal gathering areas. Southern Tutchone is an Athabaskan language, and its place names carry knowledge of the land and its routes.

The Aishihik people maintained links with neighbouring communities through travel and exchange. When coastal Tlingit traders came inland, local people acted as guides and intermediaries between the Chilkat to the south and Northern Tutchone communities farther north. These relationships connected the Yukon interior with the Pacific coast well before the later gold-rush era.