Thirteen museums and first nations cultural/heritage centres, along with the Yukon Historical and Museums Association, will share $300,000 in territorial grants for collections, exhibits and other projects.

The Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre received $19,200 to inventory and catalogue the Teslin Tlingit Council's permanent collection of carvings, hidework, beadwork and other artifacts, the government said earlier this month.

The collection includes contemporary pieces by artists like Mark Porter, Margaret Douville and Alex Dickson.

It also contains donations of historical items such as a vest and mukluks made by the late Mabel Johnson. Her pieces won awards at the 1972 Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous beadwork competition and were subsequently purchased by an RCMP officer who has now donated them to the Teslin Tlingit Council.

"This collection is invaluable to our people,” said Teslin Tlingit Council Chief Peter Johnston.

"The assistance provided for this project will ensure that the artifacts are well-documented and their authenticity and integrity preserved.

"We want to share inland Tlingit culture by publicly displaying these works for all Yukoners and visitors to enjoy. There is much to celebrate for the Teslin Tlingit, and this growing collection is one of the finest expressions of our culture.”

Here are the other grant recipients and their projects:

• Dawson City Museum, to reorganize the Lind storage facility, physically identify core artifacts, and create storage mounts for artifacts deemed at risk, $40,000;

• MacBride Museum, to develop four new books to showcase and sell to help generate revenue for the museum, $40,000;

• Old Log Church Museum, to improve the gift shop, advertise and develop a website, develop new product, implement an awareness campaign including to summer staff, $9,425;

• Yukon Historical and Museums Association, Building Bridges: A Marketing Plan for Yukon Museums; to develop new joint advertisements and other marketing initiatives for all museum, interpretive and first nation cultural/heritage centres in the Yukon, $25,703;

• Yukon Transportation Museum, to develop a website for the museum, $22,334;

• Northern Lights Space and Science Centre in Watson Lake, to upgrade the existing northern lights show to high-definition video format and produce copies to sell in the centre's gift shop, $19,900;

• Copperbelt Mining Railway and Museum, to recruit a supervisor/curator for museum in 2010-11 and to document the museum's collection and upgrade its website, $19,748;

• Binet House Interpretive Centre, to inventory and catalogue artifacts in the Binet House collection, $10,000;

• Keno Mining Museum in Keno City, to construct an equipment shelter, and paint and stain museum buildings, $18,832;

• Dä Kų Centre, to preserve and enhance heritage by purchasing specialized museum equipment for the Dä Kų Centre, $14,460;

• Tagé Cho Hudän Interpretive Centre, to develop exhibits and acquire materials for the museum and the collection, $13,538;

• George Johnston Museum in Teslin, to design, construct and install a wall cabinet specifically designed to display Tlingit artifacts from the museum collection, $10,325;

• Yukon Transportation Museum, to begin developing a digitization program for the museum (phase 1), $5,307; and

• Campbell Region Interpretive Centre, to construct a mobile display case/diorama for a Fannin sheep, $1,228.

Since it was first introduced in 2006, the Special Projects Assistance Program has provided more than $1.5 million to Yukon museums, first nations cultural/heritage centres and community interpretive centres.

A variety of projects are eligible for funding, including exhibit planning, small capital acquisition, conservation projects, co-operative marketing ventures and revenue-generation enhancement.

The Yukon government also contributes more than $1 million in annual operating funds to Yukon museums, interpretive and first nation cultural/heritage centres.

"Yukon is fortunate to have a wide range of heritage institutions where residents and visitors can learn about our culture and history,” said Tourism and Culture Minister Elaine Taylor.

"Each and every one of the projects supported through the program will help ensure that the history of Yukon communities is accessible to its citizens and to visitors for years to come.”