Charles Eikland, Sr.

Charles Eikland, Sr. was born in 1940 to Pete and Mary Eikland at Pan Creek near Tazamona Lake, north of Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory, Canada. His Dineh mother and non-Native father trapped in the winter and his father placer mined for gold in the summer time. In the mid-1940's, the family moved to the community of Snag, Yukon Territory along the route of the Alaska Highway. Charles grew up using a dog team for transportation and living off the land by catching fish, picking berries, gardening, and hunting and trapping. His father would travel to Dawson City, the closest town, twice a year to buy dry goods and other needed supplies. The family moved to Haines Junction, Yukon Territory in 1949 so their mixed-race children could attend the territorial school there, and then moved to Beaver Creek around 1953. Eventually, Charles settled in Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory, where he runs his own business doing everything from clearing land with a bulldozer to welding to towing. He formerly served as chief of the Kluane First Nation and was acting chief of the White River First Nation in the mid-1990s.