Editing Yukon (section)

==Etymology==
The territory is named after the [[Yukon River]], the longest river in the Yukon. The name itself is from a [[Contraction (grammar)|contraction]] of the words in the [[Gwich'in language|Gwich'in]] phrase ''chųų gąįį han'', which means "white water river" and refers to "the pale colour" of [[Rock flour|glacial runoff]] in the Yukon River.<ref name="ObsoletePhrase">"Dear Sir, I have great pleasure in informing you that I have at length after much trouble and difficulties, succeed[ed] in reaching the 'Youcon', or white water River, so named by the ([[Gwich'in]]) natives from the pale colour of its water. ..., I have the honour to Remain Your ob<sup>t</sup> Serv<sup>t</sup>, [[John Bell (explorer)|John Bell]]" [[Hudson's Bay Company]] Correspondence to [[George Simpson (Pre-Confederation Canada politician and trader)|George Simpson]] from John Bell (August 1, 1845), [https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/ HBC Archives], D.5/14, fos. 212-215d, also quoted in, {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pPLYUsb3gAQC&pg=PA21 |title=Land of the Midnight Sun: A History of the Yukon |page=21 |last1=Coates |first1=Kenneth S. |first2=William R. |last2=Morrison |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Hurtig Publishers |year=1988 |isbn=0-88830-331-9 |access-date=October 16, 2017}}</ref><ref name="NotGreat">In Gwich'in, adjectives, such as ''choo'' [big] and ''gąįį'' [white], follow the nouns that they modify. Thus, ''white water'' is ''chųų gąįį'' [water white]. ''White water river'' is ''chųų gąįį han'' [water white river]. {{cite book |url=http://library.alaska.gov/hist/hist_docs/docs/anlm/24000656.pdf |title=Dinjii Zhuh Ginjik Nagwan Tr'iłtsąįį: Gwich'in Junior Dictionary |pages=ii (ą, į, ų are nasalized a, i, u), xii (adjectives follow nouns), 19 (''nitsii'' or ''choo'' [big]), 88 (''ocean'' = ''chųų choo'' [water big]), 105 (''han'' [river]), 142 (''chųų'' [water]), 144 (''gąįį'' [white]) |first=Katherine |last=Peter |publisher=Univ. of Alaska |year=1979 |access-date=October 16, 2017 }}</ref>

Historically, the name of the Yukon Territory has been abbreviated to "The Yukon" in informal speech. In 2003, the territorial government announced that the territory should be referred to as "Yukon", but the change in name sparked discussion amongst Yukoners. In the 2021 election, the leader of the [[Yukon NDP]], [[Kate White (politician)|Kate White]], campaigned on returning to using "The Yukon". Following the election, the [[Yukon Liberal Party]] government announced that "The Yukon" would again be used by the government.<ref name="Offically The Yukon"/>