Let Skagway inspire you

Let Skagway inspire you

Let Skagway inspire you

Let Skagway inspire you

Let Skagway inspire you

Let Skagway inspire you

Let Skagway inspire you

Let Skagway inspire you

Michael Gates

Dalton’s Gold Rush Trail, History Hunting in the Yukon, Gold at Fortymile Creek.

Michael studied archaeology at the University of Calgary and then museum conservation for three years at the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa. He was then hired as the Curator of Collections at Klondike National Historic Sites, in Dawson City, a position he held for 23 years. He later became a cultural resource manager for the Yukon Field Unit of Parks Canada in Whitehorse, until retiring in 2008. Michael managed a major complex of cultural resources related to Klondike history, led the artifact recovery from the flood of 1979, and the cataloguing, conservation and display of the largest collection of artifacts in the Yukon. Among the projects he was involved in were the recovery of a collection of rare silent movies found in permafrost, the moving of Dredge Number 4 National Historic Site in 1991 and 1992 and as team leader in the restoration of the Commissioner’s Residence, which was opened by Prime Minister Jean Chretien in 1996. He has lectured in Europe, the United States and Canada, and has published hundreds of articles on various aspects of museology, material culture and history, the most notable being his books: Gold at Fortymile Creek (UBC Press), History Hunting in the Yukon and his newest release, Dalton’s Gold Rush Trail (both Harbour Publishing). He currently writes the “History Hunter” column for the Yukon News and is working with his wife Kathy on a book about Yukon lawyer and Member of Parliament, George Black.