5 Yukoners inducted into 'Hall of Innovators'

Five Yukoners were recently inducted into the "Hall of Innovators" in the Northlight Innovation building in Whitehorse. 

The awards were handed out by Yukonstruct, a makerspace and innovation hub, and Yukon's Department of Economic Development.

In addition to a lifetime achievement award and awards for notable innovators or innovations, a youth award was presented for the first time. It was presented to a young person for making the Yukon a better place with their leadership, innovative approach to finding solutions, or dedication to a cause.

Inspiring youth

In its first year presenting an innovation award for youth, Yukonstruct inducted someone who has achieved a first for Yukon First Nations.

Shadunjen van Kampen, a member of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, is the first Yukon Indigenous woman to obtain a single engine commercial pilot licence. She earned it in April 2020, at the age of 21.

The daughter of a Yukon bush pilot, van Kampen said it was through her dad that she found out being a pilot was something she could pursue, despite not having had the best grades in high school.

"[Flying is] high adrenaline but also, sometimes it's high stress at the same time, so I kind of like that though," she said.

Her goal is to one day operate her own charter flight business.

Last fall, van Kampen also got her class 1 commercial driver's licence.

"I've been driving for the winter and it's actually going really well. It's a good job. And I do like having things and operating. I think that's what I'm meant to do."

Lifetime achievement

Well-known Whitehorse entrepreneur Rolf Hougen was recognized with a lifetime achievement award.

Hougen, 93, started managing his family's store when he was 19, growing it into a major department store. Among other accomplishments, he organized the first winter carnivals in Whitehorse in the 1940s, which evolved into the Yukon Rendezvous. 

He also started other ventures including in real estate and broadcasting, launching WHTV Cable in 1958 and CKRW radio in 1969. He also led the charge in satellite communication in Canada, founding satellite communications in remote communities.

He said at the time, Whitehorse was getting programs one week after they aired in Vancouver.

"With the use of satellite, we were able to hear them instantly as they were released across Canada," he said. 

Hougen is also a well-known philanthropist who established the Yukon Foundation in 1980 to help Yukoners pursue higher education and research. He is also a patron of the arts, donating the 4,500 square-foot basement level of the Hougen Centre to the Yukon Arts Society.

Creating cultural understanding

Harold Johnson and Meta Williams were recognized for creating the Long Ago People's Place — a meeting place of cultural understanding that strengthens the sense of community.

It's a museum in Champagne, Yukon, about halfway between Whitehorse and Haines Junction that opened in 1995.

Johnson said he built it to "recreate all the ancient ways of our people in this area."

He said the museum focuses on the ancient history of Southern Tutchone people.

"[People who visit] get a glimpse into how life was like here thousands of years ago and the different technologies and methods and the different shelters people used here," he said.

He added they've been working closely with the Department of Education and many school groups and universities, and that the museum is expanding all the time.

He said Long Ago People's Place is, in a sense, an act of reconciliation because it is educating non-Indigenous people and advancing the understanding between the two cultures.

Building a different economy

A lifelong resident of Dawson City who has seen a few economic ups and downs in his hometown, Greg Hakonson wanted to grow the local economy in a more sustainable way after he realized mining activity wouldn't last forever.

In talking with a friend one day, they decided to develop the arts in the community and created what became the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture (KIAC). 

Hakonson said his friend did it for his love of the arts, but his own primary motivation was different.

"I love the arts, but I did it more about the economy of Dawson," Hakonson said.

He envisioned, among other things, a four-year degree-granting art school because he'd seen similar university-connected programs act as an economic engine in other small communities.

"I thought, well, why couldn't we do that in Dawson?"

KIAC entered into a partnership with Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in and Yukon College and together, they created the Yukon School of Visual Arts (SOVA), which offers the first year of a fine arts degree.

But Hakonson isn't done. He's determined to see it develop into offering the full four-year degree.

"I think that would make a huge impact in town," he said.

Early adopter

Aroma Borealis Herb Shop owner Beverly Gray was recognized as an early adopter.

She started the natural health product business as a home-based enterprise and in 1998, opened a store in downtown Whitehorse.

"It was early days in the tech sector in terms of local businesses having websites [where] we were selling to outside businesses and outside individuals," she said.

Having an online storefront, which was uncommon in her industry at the time, allowed her to scale up.

She says having her business in the Yukon creates barriers in working with clients from outside the territory, and in getting her products to markets.

"And that really is shipping, and often communications," she said. "So, you know, it's imperative to be able to have a website and be able to receive orders and communicate with our customers and clients."

She said although most of her customers are local Yukoners and northerners, about 15 to 20 per cent of her business is web-based.