Feds announce $14.3M for arts and culture in the Yukon

The federal government is spending $14.3 million to support over two dozen Yukon organizations and First Nations governments with arts, culture and language programming. 

For some recipients, it’s old news — but still worth celebrating. Most of the funding for the 2025-2026 fiscal year has already started flowing in. 

Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller called the funding “more than just money.”

“It's about empowering voices in the way they choose to empower themselves,” he told a news conference Friday at the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse.

Language programs received the majority of the federal investment — just under $12 million. Of that, over $9 million went to Indigenous language revitalization, and just under $3 million to French language programming. 

The Council of Yukon First Nations, which got about $2.1 million over four years, said the money is for its Youth Today, Language Leaders Tomorrow program. 

The two-year immersive program pays Indigenous youth to learn their language and carry those skills to the communities. It’s run by the Yukon Native Language Centre, and has been in operation since 2021. 

“The program in itself is incredible,” said council Grand Chief Math’ieya Alatini. “It is transformational for our communities.”

In her speech Friday, Alatini youth are focused on preserving the knowledge Elders hold. 

“It’s not just about language preservation,” she said. “It is about preserving culture and heritage.” 

Nathan Easterson-Moore, who completed the program in 2023, spends hours recording and transcribing conversations with elders in his community. He’s a Kluane First Nation citizen from Burwash Landing, and has made teaching and protecting Southern Tutchone his life’s work. 

There’s an urgency to this task, he said. For a while he was working with his two grandmothers, both 98 years old, who he said were the last two fluent speakers in Burwash Landing. 

“Once those people pass on — that’s not going to come back.” 

Whitehorse’s Pivot Theatre, which was among the arts organizations included in Friday’s announcement, got $27,000 over two years through the Canada Arts Presentation Fund.