General

Updated May 6:

Eager to cash in on a wealthy vacationers’ dream playground, developers are descending on the small town of Port Renfrew with big plans to turn it into a tourist mecca, much like Tofino.

But Pacheedaht First Nation and Port Renfrew residents have grown tired of being spectators in their own town, and they’re calling on developers and government agencies to hear their concerns.

Pacheedaht people are worried about negative impacts a planned marina would have on their salmon-bearing San Juan River and on the nearby ancient burial caves.

Mowachaht Tyee Ha’wilth Mike Maquinna welcomed British Columbia’s head of state, Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon, to Yuquot (Friendly Cove), generally acknowledged as the birthplace of the province.

The Mowachaht contingent set off for the visit from Gold River at about noon on Friday, May 1, well in advance of the 3 p.m. expected arrival of the official visit. By water taxi it takes a good hour or so to get to the site. Among the group were Ha’wilth Pat James and singers and dancers, as well as representatives of the Jack family.

On April 23 and April 24 at Maht Maht gym, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council hosted another in a series of strategic planning meetings that focused on the landmark Tsilhqot’in aboriginal title decision of 2014. That ruling marked the first time a Canadian court had recognized Aboriginal title over a territory.

On April 19, the Hesquiaht Place of Learning running group ran in the annual 10 km Vancouver Sun Run road race. The students at the Hesquiaht Place of Learning in Hot Springs Cove, along with Betty Lucas, have been participating in a “Learn to run/walk 10 km” program led by Mariah Charleson since the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year. 

The youngest participant in the running group was Wes Thomas (five years old) and the oldest participant was Betty Lucas (62 years old), truly showing that you can start running and being healthier at any age.  

Ron Dick Sr. recently logged his best-ever time at the Vancouver Sun Run, but that’s just another highlight in a six-year quest to improve his personal health and fitness.

Now 62, the retired forest worker is not only leaner and fitter since he set out to change his entire lifestyle, he has also fended off the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes to the point where he is now entirely free of the debilitating disease.

“I was first diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 20 years ago,” Dick said.

A Tla-o-qui-aht faller was seriously injured in a logging accident on April 16, just one day after his sixth grandchild was born.

Jeremy Martin, 47, works for Island Pacific Logging Ltd. He was felling a tree when he was struck in the head by falling debris.

Martin, unconscious, was flown by helicopter from the worksite to West Coast General Hospital in Port Alberni where he was stabilized. From there he was taken to Victoria General Hospital for treatment.

Ray Martin said the family was deeply concerned about his son’s injuries and his chances of recovery.

Melissa Holt wanted her children to experience something she and her husband had not when they were kids: getting picked up from school and coming home to the smell of fresh baked cookies.

So after the birth of her second child, their first together, Melissa gave up her position as a specimen-handling specialist at a Metro Vancouver medical lab and became a stay-at-home mom for seven years.

“My husband, Jay, was a latch-key kid,” Holt, 38, said, adding she was raised by a single mother who also couldn’t always be home for Melissa and her sister.

Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May stopped in the city for a few hours, taking a speeder to McLean Mill for a short tour of the facility and talking with those working on a salmon enhancement project at the hatchery there.

She took time out to speak with Ha-Shilth-Sa about some of the current frustrations Nuu-chah-nulth Nations have experienced in dealing with the current Conservative government. On murdered and missing aboriginal women, May said she was shocked with Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt’s recent comments, saying they were unhelpful.

The second day of the Cultural Oppression workshop held at Maht Mahs gym was devoted to the subject of grief.

Facilitator Jane Middleton-Moz talked about first nations’ traditional methods of coping with grief and why they worked.

Aboriginal people across the continent shared the practise of supporting one another through grieving.

She pointed out that the reason people are advised to be allowed to grieve for at least a year is because over the seasons the mourner will see reminders of their loved one and will have to work on coping with the loss in that moment.

It was an enthusiastic and engaged crowd that attended the first day of the cultural oppression workshop, titled From Legacy to Choice: Healing Trauma; One Life at a Time.

Facilitated by Jane Middleton-Moz, internationally-known expert on community intervention, the workshop was held in Maht Mahs gym, and the place was teaming with people eager to understand the effects of trauma and how to heal, not only as individuals, but as families and communities.