The traditional ways were also disrupted and changed forever by the federal government's Indian Act, which governed First Nations people in Canada. The central purpose of the act was to assimilate aboriginal people into mainstream society. This plan was set in motion by such actions as enfranchisements (the loss of one's status) and residential schools. As well, the government sought to control the lives of First Nations people by operating their governments and dictating how every little aspect of their existence would unfold.

In 1947, the Department of Indian Affairs arrived in Carcross, changing the way of life known to the Tagish and Inland Tlingit people.

The potlatch was outlawed from 1884 to 1951, making it against the law to participate. In the Yukon, the potlatch went from being a large, dynamic event to being a quiet, subdued one as it went underground.

"In the early days it was against the law to have potlatches. We couldn't have potlatches so this is when a lot of our young people, we didn't

practice. And I went to the mission school and you were not allowed to speak your language and this is where I lost my language and I was so afraid of getting the strap and it was just a blockage for me. Now I have a hard time trying to speak it. If you do not speak it all the time, you have a hard time trying to remember. We were not allowed to do any dances and we were not allowed to do any potlatches or anything. We weren't allowed to participate because we would get fined or go to jail and this is what I was told as a kid."

Annie Auston, a member of the Deisheetaan Clan, began her involvement in the Yukon land claims process with the Indian advancement association in the 1960s. She later worked on behalf of non-status people and has witnessed the entire unfolding of the Yukon land claims process. (Marilyn Jensen, Tagish, Yukon, 2004)