The Han People's Lives in Early Years After the Gold Rush
By the end of the Gold Rush most Han people lived in Johnny's Village, Fortymile or around Moosehide. The Han could not escape change under pressure of the influx of outsiders. The Anglicans built St. Barnabas Church and mission school at Moosehide in the early 1900s. Under the influence of Christianity, most Han religious beliefs were lost.
The shift to a cash economy was nearly complete. Men worked in non-traditional occupations: on steamers, cutting wood at wood camps, trapping, and hunting game for sale in Dawson. Later, they worked on the dredges and at sawmills. Women made articles such as mittens, moccasins, and baskets for sale to whites. The Klondike Han relied less on salmon and spent more time supplying meat and furs to whites for credit and cash.
Moosehide became a way station for indigenous people from the Yukon, Alaska, and the Northwest Territories. They were attracted by the cash potential generated by the Gold Rush. This movement accelerated the cultural changes. Some Han married whites or members of other First Nations. However, they continued to gather as a people. Records of a memorial potlatch held at Eagle in 1909 show that the Han then viewed themselves as four bands living at Moosehide, Eagle, Charley Creek, and Ketchumstuck.
