Title: Chilkoot Trail Certificate

General Information about Item:

• Material Lore
• Language: English, French, Tagish, Tlingit
• Country of Origin: United States, Canada
• Trail of Origin: Chilkoot
• Informant: Ian Andrews
• Date Collected: 10-29-19

Informant Data:

Ian Andrews is currently a graduate student at MIT. He grew up in Juneau, Alaska and hiked the Chilkoot Trail after finishing his undergraduate studies. Ian hikes recreationally, from trails in his hometown, to spending a week hiking in the Olympic Mountains in Washington State.

Contextual Data:

Historical Context: First used by the Tlingit people of Alaska as a trade route, the Chilkoot became an important trail for miners and prospectors coming to Alaska during the Klondike gold rush at the end of the 1800s. The trail was mostly abandoned after the end of the gold rush in 1898, until the trail was restored for recreational hikers in the 1960s. (Source)

Item:

 

A certificate given to hikers on the Chilkoot trail who reach the Lake Lindemann Museum.

Texture:

At the top of the certificate, there is a depiction of four birds. This is done in the Form Line art style, traditional to the Native Tlingit people of the area. This design is credited to Ross Atlin at the bottom of the certificate.

On the certificate, there is a message of congratulations to the receiving hiker:

Congratulations for hiking the Chilkoot Trail

The Chilkoot Trail is important because of the role it played in the mass movement of people to Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. The Trail is part of the Klondike Gold Rush International Historic Park.

The certificate contains the same message in French, as the Chilkoot trail stretches between Alaska and Canada.

Felicitations pour avoir parcouru la piste Chilkoot

La piste Chilkoot revet und grande importance en raison du role qu’elle a joue dans l’arrivee massive des gens en Alaska et au Yukon durant la ruee vers l’or du Klondike. Cette piste fait partie du parc historique international de la ruee vers l’or du Klondike.

There is also a photograph of gold rushers hiking to the Chilkoot Pass summit, taken between 1897 and 1898. Next to this photograph are the Tagish and Tlingit names for the summit, Kwatese and A Shaki, respectively.

At the bottom of the certificate, there is an endorsement from both Parks Canada, and the United States National Parks Service.

Transcript:

• “They have a museum there with different pieces of history of the trail. They have a log book and a sticker or decal you could take. I think it was actually like a certificate you could take. Some of the camps were more built up than others.”
• The informant later followed up, confirming a certificate was rewarded to anyone who reaches the Lake Lindemann Museum.

Collectors Comment:

Neither the informant or I spoke French well enough to provide a phonetic translation of the French section of the certificate. However, it appears to be an equivalent translation of the message of congratulations written in English.

Collector’s Name: Soren Thompson

Tags/Keywords:

• Chilkoot Trail
• Certificate
• Thru Hiking