The gold that Skookum Jim Mason dug from the bed of Bonanza Creek a century ago is still benefitting his people. It helped build and helps maintain the Skookum Jim Friendship Centre, located in downtown Whitehorse. Skookie's, as it is affectionately called, is a living memorial to a remarkable man.
The money to build Skookie's came from a $20,000 trust fund Skookum Jim set up in 1905 to maintain and educate his daughter, Daisy Mason. When Daisy died without heirs in 1938, the fund effectively reverted to the people of the Yukon's First Nations.
Jim's will stated that ". . . the income from said trust fund shall be devoted towards furnishing medical attendance, supplying necessities and comforts to Indians in the Yukon Territory and towards assisting needy and deserving Indians in said Territory in any way or manner said Trustees may deem best."
By 1961, the accumulated interest was about $70,000. The trustees (the Anglican Bishop of the Yukon and the Commissioner of the Yukon) decided that Jim's intentions could best be met by building a meeting hall for the people of the Yukon's First Nations. Trust fund interest helped build the Friendship Centre in 1961, helped pay for major renovations in 1984, and still provides part of its operating expenses. Today, Skookie's is a resource centre, a community campus of Yukon College, the base for a variety of social and cultural programs, and an integral part of Whitehorse community life.
