Hon. Pat Duncan: Honourable senators, this time of year is very special to many. For some, it is a celebration of a special birth. December 21 is also the longest night of the year in the North. This year, on June 21 — the longest day of the year and National Indigenous Peoples Day in the Yukon — an almost perfectly preserved baby woolly mammoth, more than 30,000 years old, was revealed to the world. Miners working on Eureka Creek in the traditional territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in uncovered an almost perfectly preserved symbol of the ice age. This is the first such discovery in North America and only the second in the world.

On September 6, on CBC Radio’s “The Current,” the story of this remarkable event and the thunderstorm that followed the baby’s discovery was so very well told by the voices of those who were there. I invite senators to tune in to that episode and hear from the folks involved.

Upon the discovery, recognizing there was something special, the young miner operating the heavy equipment and the mining operation immediately stopped. Stopping work during a valuable, short mining season, where every daylight hour counts, is not taken lightly. The contact with the Government of Yukon paleontologist, and those working in the field, were on site as soon as possible. Most important and most immediate was the outreach to the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, upon whose traditional territory the discovery was made.

Yukoners, including Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in elders, held a small traditional ceremony in Dawson City when the discovery was shared with them. First Nation Language and Heritage individuals named the baby mammoth Nun cho ga, meaning “big baby animal” in the Hän language.

Nun cho ga remains in the Yukon. She is a connection for the community and for elders to impart their traditional knowledge and culture and to share with youth what it is to be stewards of traditional land for the Hän community.

The remarkable discovery — the remains of a frozen baby woolly mammoth — while digging through the permafrost in the Klondike Gold Fields is, as those involved stated, life changing. Fortunately, in the Yukon, permafrost acted as a freezer, preserving soft tissue like muscle, skin and hair, as well as important information like DNA.

The scientific importance of this paleontological discovery, which gathered worldwide attention within days, is invaluable. It will support and advance the study of the history of life, allowing the scientific community to place living organisms and allowing for the interpretation of the significance of the characteristics of the woolly mammoth, while gaining insight into the potential significance of biological events occurring today.

Honourable senators, I do appreciate you allowing me the time to share the discovery of Nun cho ga with you, and invite you to hear more. As we honour her discovery this year, I would like to celebrate and wish each and every one of you the very best this holiday season and in the year to come.

Mahsi’cho. Gùnáłchîsh. Thank you.