After eight years of work, the Yukon First Nations Cancer Strategy is officially live.

The strategy will be used as a roadmap to develop services, in hopes it can increase awareness and screening in the territory, particularly amongst First Nations people. 

In a news release, the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) Grand Chief Math’ieya Alatini said the launch of the strategy on March 20 is an important step forward for advancing cancer care.  

“This work reflects years of contributions from Yukon First Nations, whose knowledge, experiences and priorities shaped this strategy,” she said in the news release. “Cancer has touched many of our families, including my own, which is why I’m proud to support this work to protect our communities through prevention, early detection, and culturally safe care.”

The five priority areas for the strategy are:

• strengthening partnerships between Yukon First Nations and health-care providers
• improving access to data for Yukon First Nations and sharing knowledge
• increasing awareness and prevention efforts
• improving access to culturally safe screening and diagnosis
• supporting patients and families to access cancer care

Kira Mukuk, the project manager of the Yukon First Nations cancer care initiative, said the strategy will be used to guide cancer care in the territory over the next couple of years. 

She said an implementation plan will be created over the next year. That will identify which organizations are responsible for certain actions. The CYFN names the government of Yukon, Yukon Hospital Corporation and Yukon First Nations as some of the partners on the plan.

“Then we’ll identify key milestones, performance indicators and then a timeline for when we think we’ll be able to implement those changes,” said Mukuk. 

Work on some actions underway

One priority in the strategy is tracking data in First Nations communities, with some leaders saying they’ve seen high rates of cancer in their communities.

Mukuk said work on collecting data is already underway, with discussions between the First Nations oversight committee and leadership tables about how to collect the data while respecting data sovereignty principles, and deciding if that information should be made public.

Laura Salmon, the director of First Nations Health programs at the Yukon Hospital Corporation, said one action item has already been acted on.

In February 2025, the hospital opened its first Indigenous cancer patient navigator program. Salmon said that involves having a staff member who can be called upon for any questions or just to provide emotional support to patients.

She said Yukon First Nations have long been calling equitable access to screening and care, and she hopes people will feel safe to come forward for treatment.

“We know that there’s been poor experiences in the past [for First Nations] and it takes a lot to build the trust when that’s been broken. So that’s definitely part of the overall strategies to figure out how to bridge those gaps.”