Shakat Tun Adventures

As dawn breaks on Christmas Bay, the sun’s reflection on the turquoise waters of Kluane Lake awakens the greys of rugged rock, the greens of shoreline spruce, the white-capped gleam of mountain peaks. Emerge from a log cabin to drink in its beauty before embarking on adventures that will immerse you — body, mind, and spirit — in the culture of the people who have called this place home for thousands of years. James Allen has long been hosting culture and healing camps for Indigenous youth and adults at Shakat Tun, which means “summer trail” in the language of the Southern Tutchone. In recent years, he’s extended his family’s warm welcome to his camp, located next to Kluane National Park and Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site three hours’ drive north of Whitehorse, Yukon. Today, Shakat Tun Adventures offers its visitors a once-in-a-lifetime, hands-on experience in the ways of an indomitable people. Try your hand at beading, trapping, and drum-making. Taste traditional foods gathered on the land that has sustained its people for generations, such as dried meat or fish. Learn about the deep reverence they have for the area’s lynx, moose and caribou. “What I want to do is tell people our story on the land,” says Allen, a former chief of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. “Our guests often have a spiritual awakening when they are in the bush. The culture and the land awaken your inner spirit.”