Whitehorse:  Klondike MLA Sandy Silver used his private members’ motion time on Wednesday afternoon to call on the government to adopt the JJ Van Bibber memoir; I was born under a spruce tree, as part of the Yukon’s education curriculum.  After a friendly amendment the motion received the unanimous support of the assembly.

"This is an outstanding work by a Yukon icon and it should be part of every student’s education. This story is a gift to us all,” said Silver.  “I’m thrilled to see all members come together to support the motion I brought forward.”

Earlier this month Silver was the Master of Ceremonies at the official launch of the memoir.

“It was a packed room and everyone was there to mark the launch of a great book and celebrate the life of a Yukon pioneer,” he said.  “I was pleased to participate in that event and am even more pleased today to see us move one step closer to having this great resource in our classrooms.”  

Silver thanked JJ’s granddaughter Shannon Van Bibber for her work on the book and the Heritage Department of the Tron’dek Hwëch'in First Nation who initiated the preservation of JJ’s photographs and stories.  He also thanked all members of the legislature for supporting the motion.

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For additional information contact: 

Jason Cunning 667-8942