General

Hundreds gathered in the tiny town of Lake Cowichan on Nov. 14 to witness the historic raising of the first totem pole in decades.

Tyee Ha’wilth Sha e’lum (Cyril Livingstone) and his family hosted the event and were proud to give a beautifully carved totem pole to the people of Lake Cowichan as a symbol of their mutually respectful relationship.

Ts’uubaa-asatx First Nation has 25 members with strong family connections to Ditidaht, Pacheedaht, Tseshaht, Hupacasath and others.

Since March 2015, the five Nuu-chah-nulth Nations—Ahousaht, Ehattesaht/Chinehkint, Hesquiaht, Mowachaht/Muchalaht, and Tla-o-qui-aht—have been in the BC Supreme Court (BCSC) seeking implementation and full recognition of their proven Aboriginal rights to fish and sell fish from their Ha‑houlthee on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

The high school at Gold River is a unique place. For a school of just under 90 students, it’s been the site of great effort to build bridges of mutual understanding and respect between peoples.

Gold River, remote by some standards, sits near the terminus of the Muchalaht Inlet on Vancouver Island and only five kilometres from the First Nations community of Tsaxana.

Tsaxana is where the Mowachaht/Muchalaht peoples were relocated to in the 1990s, after industrial pollutions made their reserve at Ahaminaquus, nine miles downriver from the townsite, uninhabitable.

Hupacasath First Nation will take centre stage at Maritime Heritage Night on Nov. 26 at the Hutcheson Gallery.

The Port Alberni Maritime Heritage Society is hosting the event, with the theme of “Boom Boats.” The star of the show is the newly-restored boom boat “Tatoosh,” which, according to a previous owner, was named for the late cultural teacher and blues singer Edward “Tat” Tatoosh.

Kekinusuks Judith Sayers has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Clean Energy BC.

Sayers, who is currently an adjunct professor with the Peter Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria, while operating her own consulting business, Sayers Strategic Advice, has served on the Clean Energy B.C. board of directors for four years.

In 2001, Sayers was elected chief councillor for Hupacasath First Nation when her Nation began working on what would become the Upnit Power Project. It was a steep learning curve, she said.

Tasha Sam has been honoured for working “magic” with the developmentally delayed children she supports at Nuu-chah-nulth Child and Youth Services.

The 28-year-old Tseshaht member was one of four early childhood educators honoured at the annual B.C. Aboriginal Child Care Society conference in Richmond on Nov. 6.

The society’s vice president Maurice Squires highlighted Sam’s “gentleness, patience and calm demeanour” in saying she is able to unlock the innermost potential of the kids she works with.

After an intense first day of band business at their annual general meeting Nov. 2 to 4, the people of Ahousaht took a much-needed comedy break.

On Monday evening the people gathered to watch a pair of first nations comedians poke fun at pretty much everything.

The event started with a game of rock/paper/scissors led by Ahousaht Band Administrator Rob Bullock, which involved the entire audience.

On Oct. 28, James “Moon” Tom was recognized by 200 of his peers and associates at the First Nations Operators Conference held in Vancouver, BC as he officially retired from his position as water treatment operator. 

During a speech that recounted his career, Moon was given a standing ovation by the conference attendees.   As a man of few words, Moon gave a nod to his friends and said “you haven’t gotten rid of me just yet.”

On Nov. 3, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council’s hupiimin wiikšaḥiiy’ap Nursing Services premiered its new cultural DVD entitled [Nuučaanułathin] We Are Nuu-chah-nulth, written and produced by Nitanis Desjarlais and John Rampanen, through their Shape Shyfter Studio.

It focuses on the history of Nuu-chah-nulth traditional healing practices, the suppression of culture by settlers/colonizers and the decades-long effort to restore Nuu-chah-nulth cultural practices into the health care system.

Members of Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council hupiimin wiikšaḥiiy’ap Nursing Services gathered to celebrate the completion of a job-shadowing program that saw nurses from West Coast General Hospital visit Nuu-chah-nulth communities while NTC nurses put in a day at the local hospital.

The celebration took place on Nov. 3, and was highlighted by the premiere of a video promoting the integration of Nuu-chah-nulth traditional medicine into the health care and family care system.