Dawson Charlie

Who was Dawson Charlie?

Dawson Charlie or K̲áa Goox̱ [qʰáː kuːχ] was a Canadian Tagish/Tlingit First Nation person and one of the co-discoverers of gold that led to the Klondike Gold Rush located in the Yukon territory of Northwest Canada. He was the nephew of Skookum Jim Mason and accompanied him on his search for his aunt Kate Carmack. He staked one of the first three claims in the Klondike, along with his uncle and George Carmack. Kate Carmack was his aunt. Storyteller Angela Sidney was a niece.

By 1901, Charlie had adopted the legal name of “Charles Henderson.” There is a conflict as to Charlie’s year of birth, between the information that Charlie provided during the 1901 census and the information on his tombstone. The census indicates 1864 or 1865 as his year of birth. The tombstone indicates 1866 as his year of birth.

He died in Carcross, Yukon when he fell off the White Pass railway bridge.

Pierre Berton incorrectly called him Tagish Charlie in his Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush.