General

David Tom of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, and about 40 of his family, friends and relatives, traveled from Tofino to Ditidaht First Nation on Dec. 21 to Tiic as (a proposal) asking Carl Edgar Jr. for the hand of his daughter Sarah in marriage.

As the cars made their way into the community and approached Carl Jr.’s house, his mom Christine was sitting outside. Christine introduced herself and members of her family, and said she was very happy with what was taking place.

Huu-ay-aht Chief Councillor Robert Dennis held up a framed piece of paper. It was a copy of a land transfer document, found when Huu-ay-aht First Nation was looking for the nation’s artifacts at the Royal British Columbia Museum. The intent was to repatriate those treasures back to the nation.

The original transfer document was from 1859, something the Huu-ay-aht chiefs back then had insisted that government agent Eddy Banfield sign before acquiring land in Huu-ay-aht territory for a trading store.

It has been more than two years since a Nuu-chah-nulth father of six, age 37, was found beaten to death in a Campbell River carport. The surviving family has grown frustrated at the lack of progress the RCMP have made in the investigation.

Petrina Hildebrand and Jason Amos are Joshua Billy’s surviving siblings. They make the three-hour trip from their homes in Victoria to Campbell River regularly, in an effort to keep the spotlight on their older brother’s case.

They describe their brother as a warm-hearted family man.

The Specific Claims Tribunal released a decision Dec. 12 awarding more than $13.8 million in compensation to Huu-ay-aht First Nations for breaches of duty Canada committed between 1948 and 1969.

The Tribunal was established by the Government of Canada in 2008. It is a judicial body, like a court, that hears claims by First Nations against Canada regarding past wrongs when no resolution to the claim has been reached through negotiations.

A huge crowd packed the halls of Tin Wis to celebrate Christmas.

Chief Counsellor Elmer Frank thanked everyone for coming and said it is always good to see our nation come together.

These past few days have been exceptionally cold here in Tofino, and as the members arrived to the conference center most mentioned the cold and were glad to be indoors where it was warm and inviting.  

The tables were beautifully decorated, lights, Christmas songs and a tree set the tone, and to add to the festive feeling, staff and volunteers wore Santa and elf hats.

This year’s Quu?asa Urban Healing Gathering for Victoria was held at Edelweiss House, and there was plenty of food and fun to be had.

The doors opened at 2 p.m. on Dec. 2 and people were invited to snack and to socialize. Geraldine Edgar, Ditidaht elder, was there to teach people how to weave cedar crafts.

Rosie Marsden, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council membership clerk was on-site to process status card applications. Other resource people from other NTC departments provided information on the services offered at NTC and from Vancouver Island Health Authority.

Nuu-chah-nulth families living in Nanaimo filled the St. Peter's Church Hall on the afternoon of Dec. 1 to enjoy an evening of family fun and turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Quu?asa and Teechuktl staff organized the annual event and designed it to allow people to socialize and take part in fun activities like learning how to weave or color with their children.

A crew is connecting power lines and installing lights at the main dock in Ahousaht. The project has been a long time coming, said Anne Atleo, Manager of Administration.

Several councils lobbied Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Small Craft Harbours (SCH) and the new lights have become a reality in this fiscal year.

SCH is overseeing the project, with contractors Lumens and Apple Electric. The crew has been in the community for almost three weeks working steadily, regardless of the weather.  They’ve stayed at the Aauuknuk Lodge.

Dozens of proud parents and grandparents gathered at Ahousaht’s Thunderbird Hall on Nov. 24 to take part in the celebration of Ahousaht’s newest members, the 49 baby boys and girls born in the past two years.

According to Vicky Hayes, a resource worker employed with the Nuu-chah-nulth Early Years Outreach Program (EYOP), family members of Ahousaht’s latest arrivals were busy preparing gifts weeks ahead of the event. They made headbands, shawls and child-size paddles for their babies.

Tla-o-qui-aht Water Protector update: Dec. 13, 3:32 p.m.

By Denise Titian

Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

Standing Rock, North Dakota

Things have taken a turn for the worse for Tla-o-qui-aht water protector Catherine Frank. After living in tents in sub-zero temperatures since Nov. 27, the Tla-o-qui-aht mother has become sick.

Frank, who was on her way to the Canadian border to seek medical treatment, told Ha-Shilth-Sa that she is very weak and believes she has pneumonia.