ABSTRACT
One of the key characteristics of the borderlands has to be its east-west interconnectivity, and not just for indigenous peoples. It also links the canadian and American norths. Parts of the Alaska-Yukon and Alaska-British columbia borderlands have been well-connected for over a century, as the gold rush called forth thousands of potential prospectors who entered the Klondike from both the U.S. and canada, but through Alaskan ports. And for nearly 80 years it has also been connected through the Alaskan Highway, a result of World War II strategic military concerns, and later economic development concerns, shared by both countries.
