Nuu-chah-nulth people have been traditionally known to hunt whales migrating along the west coast of Vancouver Island for what Tommy Happynook (Hiininaasim) of Huu-ay-aht said could be thousands of years.

For Happynook, he comes from a family of whalers who hold the title of head whaling family for Huu-ay-aht. He recalls the last member of his family to hunt a whale was his great-grandfather, Bill Happynook, in the 1920s.

Happynook said that, from his understanding, Nuu-chah-nulth collectively stopped whaling due to declining populations of the animals.

West coast tourism businesses have been dealt yet another crippling blow after the Cameron Bluffs wildfire road closures kept tourists from venturing to the west coast.

“A typical summer would mean 100 percent occupancy for us but we’ve averaged about 35 percent occupancy this summer,” said Maria Clark, Assistant General Manager at Tin Wis Best Western Resort. Tin Wis has 81 rooms that had just completed expensive renovations as Highway 4 closed due to the wildfire.

This year has seen British Columbia’s most severe forest fire season on record, but while blazes in the province’s Interior have caused the evacuation of thousands of people, the largest on Vancouver Island has not warranted suppression efforts.

Thomas Dick got his introduction to some top-calibre fastpitch softball competition.

And now the 45-year-old Tseshaht First Nation member is keen for more elite-level action.

Dick was a member of the Abbotsford Builders who participated in the 2023 Men’s and Master Men’s Canadian Fastpitch Championships.

The five-day tournament, held in Surrey, B.C., concluded on Sunday, Sept. 3.

The Builders participated in the Master Men’s category, which featured players aged 40 and over.

As for the men’s division, it was open to players 18 and over.

The need for an adequate fire response will always be burned in the memory of Cecil Joseph. He pulled his niece and her family from a blaze about seven years ago, as their house burned in the Ditidaht First Nation’s village by Nitinaht Lake.

“I had to run in,” said Joseph, who had no training in responding to a house fire at the time. “I helped my niece and her children out. Her spouse was in there, but he was sleeping, he didn’t know it was on fire. I woke him up.”

Joseph frantically searched for another occupant in the house as the flames grew.

The Province of B.C. with coastal First Nations are co-developing British Columbia’s first-ever Coastal Marine Strategy.

Slated to be released in 2024, the Coastal Marine Strategy will guide the provincial government for the next two decades on setting priority actions to improve the health and biodiversity of coastal marine environments, adapt to climate change, grow a sustainable economy and advance reconciliation.

British Columbia is one of the few maritime jurisdictions in North America without a comprehensive coastal marine strategy.

On the last day of August a cloudy sky opened to a rich blue, awaiting the release of butterflies from those whose thoughts were with loved ones lost to drug overdose.

The release of 10 butterflies occurred in the parking lot behind Usma Nuu-chah-nulth Family and Child Services’ main office in Port Alberni, marking International Overdose Awareness Day.

Jaimey Richmond, a youth harm reduction outreach worker with Usma, hoped that the event would allow people to think beyond the shame that is often associated with a victim to drug overdose.

Since July 13, Vancouver Island has been in a drought level five, making for an earlier dry season than last year. Some experts say that smaller salmon bearing streams could face impacts from the early drought if no substantial and sustained rainfall begins.

With last year’s drought causing weeks of delay, entailing salmon holding up and awaiting rainfall, this year is the first time that Jim Lane, manager of biologists with Uu-a-thluk, has seen extreme drought two years consecutively.

Kids and their parents lined up along 5th Avenue in Port Alberni in front of NTC’s new health services building on Wednesday August 30th for the Back to School Support event.

This was the first time Child and Youth Services had held this event, which was also jointly organized by Lynnette Lucas, the NTC’s Director of Health Services and SebatienTitone, Manager of Child and Youth Services.

As the sun was setting on Saturday, Aug. 26 three kakawin, the Nuu-chah-nulth word for orca, traveled into Port Alberni’s Harbour Quay for what some would say is the farthest up the Alberni Inlet they've been seen.

Only meters from Fisherman's Wharf, orcas breached multiple times, putting on a show for the lucky crowd who cheered them on. Soon, videos and photos would be circulated on social media to share the incredible sight.