Name: Ken Ingemund Anderson
Place of Residence: Whitehorse
Occupation: Artist (painter, carver, sculptor)
How long have you lived in the Yukon?
I was born here. I am of Teslin Tlingit ancestry on my mother’s side. I’ve been here for 41-plus years.
What brought you here? My dad came to visit family and never left. My mother’s people have been here a very long time, perhaps partly originating from what is now southeast Alaska.
What keeps you here? This is the best place in the world for pristine wilderness, wildlife, and a low density of people.
Settle the debate for us: What makes someone a “real” Yukoner? If you live here and know there is no place you would rather live.
What’s the biggest tall tale you’ve told friends or family in the South about life in the North? That there are places you can catch a fish with every cast.
How do you get your friends or family in the South to come visit? I think you keep reminding them about what an awesome visit they had last time they were up here.
Who is your favourite Yukon character of all time? My Tlingit grandmother, Mabel Johnson. She was my link and root to the past. She is a person who knew where she came from and was proud of her roots. She was a hard worker who did her very best at whatever she chose to do. She lived through tremendous change and personal challenges and persevered.
I wouldn’t change ____ for all the gold in the Klondike. The natural state of the land and water.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had in the territory? Fresh moose ribs roasted on a fire alongside the river. It was good because of the company and the history of the place we were at.
What’s one thing about the Yukon that more of us should take advantage of? Go for a walk in the woods.
What’s your favourite piece of little-known Yukon trivia? There are such things as galloping glaciers. (Editor’s note: A galloping glacier is an intriguing phenomenon where a glacier moves as much as several metres per hour.)
