Keyoh Huwunliné

Keyoh Huwunliné

Keyohs are the traditional land holdings of Dakelh (Carrier) people, and the land in all directions from Stuart Lake is divided into keyohs, some larger and some smaller than others. These keyohs predate the arrival of Europeans.

Under Dakelh law the heads of our extended families have title to the keyohs. This title is not granted, delegated or derived from an Indian Band or some other authority. It has been passed down from one family head to his or her successor, generation after generation, for many hundreds of years.

Leadership Supports Keyoh Rights

“The Keyoh (land) was managed by family units and the family head controlled the hunting, fishing and gathering in his Keyoh.”- Thomas Alexis is Chief Councillor of Tl’azt’en Indian Band - August 2009

“Nak'azdli has consistently stated that those aboriginal rights are held by the keyoh holders, not the Nak'azdli Indian Band…….Nak’azdli is in support of the Title and Rights of the Keyoh Holders”
- Chief Fred Sam - Nak’azdli Indian Band, 2008

“Keyoh holders still hold Aboriginal rights and title to those lands.” Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, 2007
- David Luggi, is Tribal Chief of Carrier Sekani Tribal Council and was the chief councilor for Stellat’en

Leonard Thomas “The responsibility for additional consultation to the Keyoh Holders lays with province and the Licensee as per recent court decisions of the Haida and Taku River Tlingit rulings….our Council has encouraged our member to be more active in the utilization of their Keyoh and we expect that your ministry and all other stakeholders respect our rights.”
- Leonard Thomas 2002
Former Chief of Nak’azdli Reserve, Vice Tribal Chief CSTC, and currently the President for First Nations Forestry Council

News and Events

November 2010:
Blockade of proposed Mount Milligan Mine

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About the Banner Image:

Chief Louie Billy, b 1864, seated 3rd from the left with five other hereditary chiefs (keyoh holders) was Keyohoduchun or Village Chief of his keyoh. The photo was taken in 1920.
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“Ownership of rights to sites by family groups, such as the Carrier Keyoh, is pronounced... Carrier families own Keyoh lands”
- Ridington 2008
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“The keyoh, while existing on a functional level as a “larder”, carries symbolic meaning in how it acts as a vessel of tradition. It is frequently referred to as “a place for survival” (Walter Joseph and Pierre John, Catherine Coldwell, Stanley Tom and Alexander Tom, 2004) but the meaning of this phrase surpasses its subsistence importance.”
- Heikilla 2007
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“On a social level, keyohs symbolize family and personal autonomy in the sense that they are places of belonging within the greater Dakelh social structure. In short, keyohs are places where it becomes possible for individuals to attach in a personal way to the land. It is in this sense as a place for self-restoration, that the word “survival”, used to describe keyohs, is fully realized.”
- Heikilla 2007
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“Only the owners or “keyoh” could determine if someone was to be allowed to use their territory, and this was commonly done by accompanied trips where, in accordance with community values, the invited person would be expected to share a portion of the catch.”
- 2004, Northwest Tribal Treaty Nations, Governance Project
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“Each family had its own hunting and gathering territory known as the keyoh”
- Morris 1999; Fiske 1987; Furniss 1986
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“Each family had its own Trapline, which they owned for generations. There was no poaching, on other traplines. No indiscriminate killing of animals was practised. The head of the family decided which part of the Trapline to use and how many beavers should be taken, also which colonies should be trapped or netted each year.”
- Lizette Hall 1992 (the words “Trapline” and “keyoh” are interchangeable
in translation)
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“… families are closer than clans … the family was included in the ownership of the keyoh, not others. The land was inherited by this man’s family. At any kill this man’s family shared together”
- Bernadette Rosetti, Author and Elder; Central Carrier Bilingual Dictionary, Francesca Antoine, Catherine Bird, Agnes Isaac, Nellie Prince, Sally Sam, Richard Walker and David B. Wilkinson, 1974
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