Members of the Liard First Nation are Kaska of Athapaskan descent. The original people of the area, the Kaska-Dene, were seasonal migrants who travelled within their established territory while hunting and gathering food supplies. Their territory included the upper Liard, Frances and Hyland rivers and extended into the upper Pelly drainage in the north and to the Dease River in the southwest.

Kaska people have lived in the area for many generations. They followed the birds, animals and fish according to migration patterns and seasonal cycles. As European explorers crossed the eastern mountains into Kaska lands, trade quickly developed. The establishment of trading posts in the 1800’s altered the migration patterns of the Kaska people who began to settle nearby. Lower Post was the main settlement, although Watson Lake and Upper Liard soon became important centres.