The Burwash Landing and Destruction Bay area is the home of the Southern Tutchone people of the Kluane First Nation. For over 10,000 years the Kluane Lake area has been inhabited by the Southern Tutchone people who have hunted, fished and gathered food throughout the region. During seasonal migrations they had stop-over camps throughout the Kluane region, and many groups favoured the Kluane Lake area for a summer stop.
The present location of Burwash Landing was a summer camp where the Southern Tutchone would gather to trade. After a trading post was built there in the early 1900's, the First Nations people settled closer to the settlement and began to live a less nomadic life. The site was made the administrative centre for the Kluane First Nation after the Alaska Highway was completed.
The establishment of
Kluane National Park and reserve prohibited hunting and fishing by the First Nations people. Left with only a narrow margin along the western shores of Kluane Lake, the people lost much of their hunting and trapping livelihood. They were forced to turn to other areas and to rely increasingly on fishing to make a living.
Today, the Kluane First Nation people of Burwash Landing carry on aspects of their ancestors' traditional way of life. They have been very active in reviving their language, culture and traditions, and in passing this knowledge on to their children.