General

Revitalization and Preservation of Language and Healing from Indian Residential Schools were the top priorities of a two-day gathering held at Tin Wis on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18.

Kaamath, Levi Martin, shared his knowledge, wisdom and experience of working in the field of traditional healing/medicine.

 Levi began by saying “Today, a lot has changed in our culture.” He went on to say spiritual healing is more powerful than anything else.

Cornerstones Thift Store is being closed by the Bread of Life Centre as of Jan. 31, and the charity will start a trial program to serve meals on weekends to those struggling with poverty, disability, addictions, and loneliness.

Nuchatlaht leaders gathered on the courthouse steps in Vancouver Jan. 20 before filing a notice of civil claim that seeks official title of its territory on the west coast of Vancouver Island, basing the claim on the precedent set in June 2014 in the Tsilhqot’in decision.

The small nation’s hereditary leadership has never surrendered title, but say colonial industrial systems, including commercial fisheries and logging operations, have harmed its once pristine territory.

Actions are speaking louder than words and they contradict the passionate reconciliation talk that Justin Trudeau delivered both before and after the Liberals formed the new federal government.

The government has filed papers seeking a judicial review of the Huu-ay-aht logging decision rendered by the Specific Claims Tribunal, the first of its decisions to deal with how historic claims are to be compensated in the present day, said Kate Blomfield, counsel for Huu-ay-aht First Nations.

The Language and Culture Team at Ditidaht Community School (Dorothy Shepherd, Cyril Edgar and Dave Mason) invited noted historian and artist Ron Hamilton to help the school create a curtain to represent the students and the story of the school.

The curtain will be used at all school assemblies and whenever the students are dancing. Hamilton was in the community during the week of Jan. 9, and with his help the students and others in the community learned a lot about the cultural importance of curtains for Nuu-chah-nulth people.

Flowing west from the Vancouver Island Interior Mountain Range and emptying into Bedwell Sound to the north of Meares Island, the Bedwell River or Oinimitis, its original Nuu-chah-nulth name, is the subject of a juvenile salmon assessment led by Ahousaht First Nation and funded under the Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk (AFSAR) program.

The aim of the multi-year study is to better understand threats to wild chinook on the west coast of Vancouver Island.                

The Port Alberni Friendship Center has transformed lower 4th Avenue with its newly-expanded facilities making room for a 50-space childcare centre.

The new daycare centre will be called Treasure our Young Ones and the bright new facility features first nations art in the etched glass interior windows and in the brightly colored area rugs.

Construction of the building, which sits right next door to the existing Port Alberni Friendship Center, began in April after months of proposal writing and fundraising efforts.

Cermaq Canada has awarded their 2016 scholarships to 20 Ahousaht First Nation students, assisting them in achieving the post-secondary education they need to follow their career dreams.

As part of the Ahousaht/Cermaq protocol agreement commitment, Cermaq Canada in December allocated the annualscholarships to 20 students studying all over British Columbia in a wide variety of programs.

Students are training to work in business, early childhood education, as paramedics and nurses, digital film-makers,  or in eco-tourism.

Cleaver Fletcher, a Tofino resident, was traveling in his 40-foot herring skiff to Tofino on the morning of Jan. 1 when he noticed a little boat leaving the government dock.

Fletcher was concerned about the boaters’ safety as the waters were choppy and the temperature had been on the cold side on the West Coast for the past few weeks. (The coldest temperature recorded on the Coast in Tofino was minus 8, which is unusual).

Fletcher said he got to the government dock and looked to see where the little boat was. It was nowhere in sight.

The Nuu-chah-nulth Employment and Training Program opened its doors Dec. 15 to celebrate the successful completion of a five-week training program designed to assist people as they prepare to join the workforce.

NETP and the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Social Development department hosted the Build Your Skill and Start Your Career Path training program that immersed 28 aboriginal people in classes that included Nuu-chah-nulth history and culture, as well as practical skills like team building and communication.