Paul Birckel, former Dän Nätthe of Shadhäla yè Äshèyi Kwädän (chief of Champagne and Aishihik First Nations), passed away on July 8 at the age of 82. Birckel was a five-term CAFN chief, leading the nation for 18 years beginning in 1978, and the founding executive director of the Council of Yukon First Nations. He worked with many others on the long-standing principle that Yukon First Nations people deserve rights and access to their own land. Birckel was elected chief in 1978 and led his nation in signing one of the first four land claim and self-government agreements in the Yukon. In 1975, he took the helm of the Council of Yukon Indians as its executive director.

Source: thestar July 22, 2021 21:33 UTC