General

In the Yaqwiimit Room at the Alberni District Secondary School Career Fair Nov. 4, students could speak directly with representatives from a number of universities and training institutions that are part of the Strengthening Connections Program, as well as investigate their funding options through the Nuu-chah-nulth Employment and Training Program.

Communications/Information & Data Specialist Randy Ginger of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council’s Education Department said the department has expanded its role in the annual event.

The Leviathan II has a temporary home in a berth at Ahousat General Store. It was towed into the area on Friday, Oct. 30.

Unfortunately, although the store had provided permission to bring  the whale watching tour boat to its dock, Ahousaht elected Chief Greg Louie wasn’t notified that the boat was being moored on his doorstep. Not until Ha-Shilth-Sa got a hold of him late Friday evening.  

He told us at that time that he would call the RCMP to find out who ordered the boat’s move there. He said that he was disappointed he wasn’t consulted or informed.

A candlelight ceremony, hosted by Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation at First Street Dock in Tofino on Nov. 1, brought together supporters, survivors, rescuers and the family of the one missing passenger of Leviathan II, 27-year-old Ravisham Pillay, to provide some closure and to say a prayer for those who did not survive.

Moses Martin, Tla-o-qui-aht Nation councillor, said they were gathering at almost the same hour that the boats of Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht “were scrambling” to reach the site of the capsized whale watching tour boat one week ago on Oct. 25.

Five days after the tragic Leviathan II whale watching tour boat accident, the community of Ahousaht gathered to celebrate the bravery of five homegrown heroes.

Special guests to an Oct. 29 potluck dinner in Ahousaht’s T-Bird Hall included YuułuʔiłʔatḥNation Tyee Wilson Jack and his wife Jacqueline, who is the mother of Ken Brown. Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council President Deb Foxcroft and Executive Director Florence Wylie also attended the potluck dinner.

Grace Frank of Ahousaht First Nation met Oct. 29 with the parents, brother, uncle and girlfriend of 27-year-old Ravisham Pillay, one of 27 passengers and crew onboard the Leviathan II which capsized Oct. 25 on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. His body has yet to be recovered.

Grace said, "her heart sank hearing the mother talk about how Mother Nature wants to keep her baby in the ocean". Her son loved dolphins, so she told Grace she believes he will come back as a dolphin.

Fishermen in Tofino listening to the distress call to the Coast Guard became frustrated as Ahousaht rescuer Clarence Smith tried to make himself understood about the situation before him Oct. 25, with a capsized Leviathan II and the lives of its passengers in his hands.

The Georgia Prince had just returned from harvesting geoduck, had tied up in Tofino and unloaded the catch when they were alerted by the call.

Update: 3:30 p.m. Oct. 27, 2015

The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of the five persons who died following the capsizing of a whale-watching boat west of Vancouver Island on Oct. 25, 2015. They are:

* Katie Taylor, aged 29, a British national who lived in Whistler, B.C.

* Jack Slater, aged 76, a British national who lived in Toronto, Ont.

* Nigel Francis Hooker, aged 63, of Southampton, England

* David Wyndham Thomas, aged 50, of Swindon, England

* Stephen David Thomas, aged 18, also of Swindon, son of David Wyndham Thomas

The Tseshaht Elders Committee is halfway to its goal of purchasing a new 24-passenger bus, thanks to a donation from the Tseshaht Fisheries Department.

The donation took place on Oct. 19 during the regular monthly band meeting in the Tseshaht Great Hall. Tseshaht Chief Councillor Hugh Braker and Fisheries manager Andy Olsen presented the committee with a cheque for $60,130 raised through the sale of communally caught sockeye over the past two seasons.

The Council of Ha’wiih, which met at the House of Unity on Oct. 6 and 7, took a firm stand with Fisheries and Oceans Canada against additional crab licences that Canada is planning to transfer to Clayoquot Sound.

Kiista, Keith Atleo, said he is concerned about DFO’s consultation process. DFO ‘consulted’ with a former Ahousaht councillor, he said, when they sought approval to transfer the crab licences. Proper consultation with Ahousaht, he told them, did not happen.

“The resource is dwindling and crab is a large part of our diet,” said Kiista.

The Council of Ha’wiih, the Hereditary Nuu-chah-nulth chiefs and their delegates, have endorsed NDP candidate Gord Johns in the Courtenay-Alberni riding. The Ha’wiih met Oct. 6 and 7 in Tsaxana (Gold River), hosted by Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, for their forum on fisheries.

The discussion leading up to the endorsement began with plans to get Nuu-chah-nulth people motivated to vote in the upcoming federal election.