Aishihik (Also known as Äshèyi) is a village of the
Southern Tutchone
The Southern Tutchone are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group living mainly in the southern Yukon in Canada. The Southern Tutchone language, traditionally spoken by the Southern Tutchone people, is a variety ...
people at the north end of Äshèyi Män (
Aishihik Lake
Aishihik Lake is a lake in southwestern Yukon, Canada. Yukon Electric Corporation operates a 37 megawatt hydroelectric dam, built in 1975, at the south end of the lake, where it drains southward into the Aishihik River.
A US Air Force base was e ...
) in
Yukon
Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
. It continues to be the home of the Äshèyi people.
Champagne and Aishihik First Nations
The Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN) is a First Nation band government in Yukon, Canada. Historically its original population centres were Champagne (home of the ''Kwächä̀l kwächʼǟn'' - "Champagne people/band") and Aishihik (home ...
continue to use it for traditional purposes
A
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
airfield
An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
was established here during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as part of the
Northwest Staging Route
The Northwest Staging Route was a series of airstrips, airport and radio ranging stations operating in Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska during World War II. It extended into the Soviet Union as the ALSIB (ALaska-SIBerian air road). Th ...
. It was operated until 1968, and the withdrawal of military service led to the community's depopulation, except for a small number of Champagne and Aishihik First Nations people. It is from the