The Kwday Dn Ts'inchi Discovery: Expanding Our Understanding Through Linked Scientific and Community Studies

In 1999, the remains of a young adult aboriginal male was found eroding out of a receding glacier in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park in northern British Columbia. The find, named Kwday Dy Ts'inchi meaning 'long ago person found' in the Southern Tutchone language, was made within the traditional territory of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN). Champagne and Aishihik is a self-governing First Nation, having achieved a comprehensive land claim agreement (modern treaty) with the Governments of Canada and Yukon 1993. Due to the exceptional preservation, finds such as the Kwday Dy Ts'inchi discovery can provide unprecedented insights into ancient life-ways and past environmental conditions. This find also sheds light on past use of landscapes today commonly thought to be inhospitable to people. Since the original discovery the province and the First Nation have jointly managed the discovery and the resulting investigations that have taken place. To date, a range of scientific studies have focused on the human remains and directed towards establishing who, or what people, the long ago person belonged to. Analysis of his mitochrondrial DNA have confirmed his aboriginal identify, while study of his dietary history, as recorded in his bones and hair, indicated that for almost his entire life the young man consumed a marine-based diet, i.e., seafood, or piscivorous fish; this means that for most of his life, he had likely lived on or near coastal Alaska. While much has been learned, the potential of the discovery remains to be realized. To address the information, particularly the traditional knowledge data gaps, a research program focused on linking scientific and community-based studies has been initiated. Current investigations include documentation of traditional knowledge regarding the discovery and the area where he was found, including traditional aboriginal travel routes; reproduction of select artifacts associated with the discovery; comparative analysis of the artifacts; and completion of studies focused on identifying living relatives of the long ago person found.