Whitehorse housing facility for women and families dedicated to late Indigenous leader

23-Sep-2025

.

The Council of Yukon First Nations is honouring Shirley Adamson — Zhürá — by dedicating a temporary housing facility in Whitehorse to the late Ta'an Kwäch'än Elder. 

Council of Yukon First Nations operates the Family Preservation Wellness Centre in the neighbourhood of Whistle Bend and is naming it Zhürá after Adamson. 

With 15 units, the facility provides short-term and emergency housing for Indigenous women and families including those fleeing abuse or recovering from addiction. It also offers cultural programming, from recovery circles to cooking classes.

Adamson, who died in 2023 at the age of 70, was a high-profile figure in Yukon politics, business and cultural life.

She served as the first chairperson of the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council, Yukon vice-chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and grand chief of the Council of Yukon First Nations. She also served as CEO of Northern Native Broadcasting Yukon, chair of the board for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, and director with Northern Vision Development, among other things.

Council of Yukon First Nations held a ceremony to officially name the facility Zhürá on September 19.