All tables were full at Nanaimo’s Beban Park Social Centre on Tuesday, December 9 as hundreds of Nuu-chah-nulth-aht gathered for holiday festivities and a delicious turkey dinner. 

Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Vice-President Les Doiron along with Executive Director Florence Wylie welcomed the people on behalf of the NTC. They reminded the people that, even though they are there in the spirit of fun and family, there are those that are struggling and need prayers and good thoughts. 

After more than two weeks of being closed, Island Health is working to find enough staff to reopen the West Coast General’s ICU “as soon as possible”.

The three-bed intensive care unit has been closed since Nov. 20, when leading physicians at the hospital determined that shutting down the ICU was necessary to ensure safe care for patients at the medical facility in Port Alberni. Since then, those who need the life-support of an ICU have been relocated by ground or air to another hospital once they are stabilized at West Coast General. 

A particularly toxic supply of illicit drugs hit the streets of Cowichan Valley in mid November that led to more than 80 overdose calls in one night. The following day, first responders continued to treat overdoses in Duncan, so many that the local Naloxone supply was depleted.

With emergency services pressed to the max, a call was made to neighboring communities for Naloxone kits. A toxic drug alert for the Cowichan Valley was issued a day later, on November 19. Two days later an alert was issued for the city of Nanaimo.

Just when everyone thought the plan to build a pipeline carrying bitumen from Alberta to the B.C. coast was buried for good, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the signing of an agreement that reinvigorates the old plans with the promise of shared ownership and benefits to B.C. and Alberta First Nations. 

The Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k'tles7et'h' First Nations are urging MPs in Ottawa to put their political differences aside to pass legislation that would create an independent commissioner to ensure modern treaties are fully implemented.

Optimism for the future of Chinook salmon is swimming up Muchalat River near the town of Gold River, B.C. in Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations (MMFN) territory. 

Kent O’Neill, president of the Nootka Sound Watershed Society (NSWS), says he observed hundreds of fish using a newly restored gravel spawning pad at the outflow area of Muchalat Lake this fall.

Nuu-chah-nulth-aht living in the Vancouver area filled a large hall in the Japanese Language School on Thursday, for the second of five urban gatherings held this month for those living away from their home territory.

At the Downtown Eastside venue 147 people came to enjoy the Christmas meal, plus staff from the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. The Dec. 4 gathering enabled family members to connect over a Christmas meal, which was preceded by the Dinner Song led by singer Howard Morris, who is part of the NTC team travelling to various locations this month for the urban gatherings.

The Whaling Monument at Port Alberni’s Victoria Quay is being reassembled in its new home along the river.

The 30-foot red and yellow cedar whaling canoe was previously set up in a shed at the Victoria Quay. The shed was originally built as a place for carving the welcome figures that now stand nearby. 

The original shed, designed by architect Scott Kent in the early 2000s, was only meant to be a temporary home for the whaling monument, but years went by and the piece remained in the open structure. 

This year’s Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Urban Gathering for Victoria was held at the Edelweiss Club on Niagara Street, a familiar location for Nuu-chah-nulth-aht living in the city. 

There were fewer families joining the festivities this year, as the Victoria event is normally standing room only by the time food is served. But as news of the holiday meal spread latecomers came in to fill the empty tables and enjoy a Christmas dinner.