Regional Chief Kluane Ademek

Regional Chief Kluane Adamek (Aagé) is a proud northerner and citizen of Kluane First Nation, and honours the Matriarchs who have welcomed her into the Dakl’aweidi (Killer whale) Clan. Kluane is a First Nation woman with mixed Tlingit, Southern Tutchone, and settler Canadian ancestry, and is a proud mother to her daughter, Tayāna Copper-Jane.

She has served as the Assembly of First Nation (AFN) Yukon Regional Chief since January 2018. As Regional Chief, Kluane consistently presses for change in the ways that women, young people, and the next generation are included and empowered in decision-making forums, and she is committed to approaching her own leadership journey in a way that reflects her inner-most values as a Yukon First Nation woman. Kluane is deeply committed to advancing the interests of the 14 Yukon First Nations and works closely with Chiefs and citizens to advance their priorities and interests, both regionally and nationally.

Kluane’s diverse ancestry and lived experiences in both Northern and Southern parts of the country allow her to analyze the world from several different perspectives, and to build bridges between people, communities, nations, and generations. Through extensive time spent in both the private and public sectors, Kluane has spent her life and career searching for ways to support emerging leaders in the North and beyond. While pursuing her Jane Glassco Northern Fellowship with the Walter and Duncan Gordon Charitable Foundation, she led and founded “Our Voices,” a collective of Northern Indigenous emerging leaders.

The critical roles of education, language, culture, and reconnection for Indigenous youth is what drives Kluane to be part of creating change in the Yukon and beyond. She previously held the AFN’s Youth portfolio, working with youth from across the country to support and elevate their voices as leaders of the next generation. She hopes to merge conversations about mental health and wellness with culture and reconnection, with particular focus on youth mental health. 

Since 2009, she has worked with Yukon First Nations and local communities in the areas of education, economic development, and governance, serving on several boards and committees including the Yukon College Board of Governors, Kluane Dana Trust, Actua, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, the Aboriginal Sport Circle, and most recently as a board member of WWF Canada. 

As the AFN’s portfolio holder on climate change, the environment and water stewardship, she has established environmental action as a top priority for the organization nationally and internationally. She served on Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada and remains a key representative of the AFN at international conferences where she provides a powerful voice within global conversations on climate. 

Kluane also currently holds the AFN Modern Treaties portfolio where she is actively working to advance the implementation of treaties signed after 1975, a key priority for Yukon First Nations. Kluane works with her fellow AFN Executive members to establish the AFN as a progressive organization that supports the interests of all First Nations.

In 2019, Kluane completed her Master of Business Administration at Simon Fraser University where she further expanded her governance and leadership experience. She is enriched and inspired daily by the Matriarchs, Elders, and youth who guide her work and the future of Yukon First Nations and her passions remain closely connected to working with First Nations youth, education, economic development, and governance.