Government of Yukon
Archives
FOR RELEASE #05-123
May 9, 2005
Yukon Government Publishes Paper Documenting First Alaska Highway Journey
WHITEHORSE - Tourism and Culture Minister Elaine Taylor announced the release of an occasional paper documenting the historic first civilian journey on the Alaska Highway. Copies are available to all members of the public with an interest in Yukon’s history and archaeology.
"We were named the Andover-Harvard Yukon Expedition and our leaders were Frederick Johnson, archaeologist, of the R.S. Peabody Foundation of Phillips Academy, and Professor Hugh Raup, botanist, Director of the Harvard Forest in Harvard, Massachusetts. . . "
This preface, penned by Elmer Harp Jr., Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, is the author's 2004 introduction to the publication of his field notes of the 1948 Andover-Harvard Expedition to the Yukon.
"Professor Harp's journals of his five-month archaeological investigations in the Yukon in 1948 are a compelling read not only for students of archaeology but for anyone interested in early Alaska Highway history and in First Nations traditional life in the Kluane area," Taylor said.
Filled with facts, figures, and considerable attention to detail, the journals are Professor Harp's account of the expedition from North Dakota all the way to Burwash Landing. They include detailed maps and sketches of artifacts and examples of traditional tools and technology.
Professor Harp also took Kodachrome slides to illustrate his field notes. The photo record documents the sites excavated, camp life, and people and places met along the way. The images of the pack train expedition to the Ptarmigan Heart valley under the guidance of well known Burwash residents, Moose Johnson, Sam Johnson and Jimmy Joe are especially beautiful.
A photocopy of Professor Harp's hand-written field notes, from which the text was typed, together with the original slides reproduced in the publication, have been generously donated to the Heritage Resources Unit by the Harps. The collection will be held by the Yukon Archives as the Elmer Harp, Jr. Collection.
For a copy of the Occasional Paper in Archaeology No. 14 - North to the Yukon Territory via the Alcan Highway in 1948, contact the Heritage Resources Unit with the Department of Tourism and Culture. The publication is also available on CD in a PDF format. Copies of the publication have been sent to all Yukon public libraries, Yukon College, and First Nation Heritage offices.
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| Peter Carr | Karen Tremblay |
| Cabinet Communication Advisor | A/Communication Officer |
| (867) 667-8688 | (867) 667-8304 |
| peter.carr@gov.yk.ca | karen.tremblay@gov.yk.ca |