Ucluelet RCMP are investigating after five new homes in the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ community of Hitac̓u were vandalized on Feb. 23.

Photos shared on social media by Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government (YG) show smashed windows, doors knocked in and fire damage to a stove and microwave. 

YG president Charles McCarthy expressed grave disappointment for the “senseless damage”. 

“Repairs will be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, which will delay occupation of these houses for our community members,” said McCarthy in a news release.

Living in a small, remote community can make it hard to get fresh fruit and vegetables in a pinch. Add to that road closures due to wildfires or storms, making access to grocery stores tough for residents of Anacla and Bamfield. It also makes bringing in fresh produce equally difficult for the local grocer.

Huu-ay-aht Elected Chief Sayaacath (John Jack) said that the nation runs one small grocer in Bamfield and if it doesn’t have what you need, you’d have to drive 90 minutes to Port Alberni to the nearest grocery store.

On Feb. 26, Indigenous Services Canada announced $1.55 billion in federal funding to ensure First Nations children have equal access to essential government services.

The funding, which supports and renews the Jordan’s Principle, is earmarked to last until March 31, 2027.

The federal government stated in a media release that: “the renewal provides immediate stability for families and enables communities to deliver services with confidence as efforts to reform Jordan’s Principle in partnership with First Nations leadership and families continue.”

Commercial and recreational fishers could be facing more of a squeeze this year, as DFO considers adding to restrictions on salmon harvesting in areas used by southern resident killer whales.

Nuu-chah-nulth representatives are appealing for tensions to ease before this year’s recreational fishing season opens, as a campaign continues to warn anglers that their right to fish is “under threat” by upcoming revisions to B.C.’s Salmon Allocation Policy.

At the mouth of Jordan River in Pacheedaht First Nation territory on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the tide is pushing. Heat from a February sun warms the face as sets of friendly waves roll in under the backdrop of the Olympic Mountains. Parking at the day-use area of this regional park is squeezed on this fine Friday away from the screen. 

The BC Coroners Service has release preliminary information that shows 1,826 lost their lives to unregulated drug toxicity in 2025, compared to 2,315 deaths in 2024. That represents an approximate 21 per cent decrease – a significant improvement, if the numbers hold.

While the news is indeed positive, the reasons for the downward trend are not clear. Are harm reduction measures working? If so, which ones? Are illicit drugs less toxic in 2025 than in previous years? Are fewer people using illicit drugs?

With a loss to the Laxgalts'ap Aces (Greenville) in game two of a grueling All Native Basketball Tournament, it could have easily gone sideways for the Hesquiaht Descendants. 

The Melawmen Collective has released their first album and will be coming to town to play for local audiences.

Based in Ashcroft, B.C., the Melawmen Collective describes their music as contemporary Indigenous fusion “woven together with elements of hip hop, rock/blues, country, global beats, righteous rhymes and rich harmonies, carried through with experience, manifestation and visions of intergenerational stories of pain and healing”.

A B.C. Supreme Court justice in Cranbrook has chosen the low end of the sentencing range for a 23-year-old woman who pled guilty to impaired driving causing death, weighing the extent of the tragedy against Indigenous-specific considerations and the convicted person’s hope for rehabilitation.

Twenty-five-year-olds Brady Tardif and Jackson Freeman, and 21-year-old Gavin Murray lost their lives as a result of the offence. They were passengers in the crash, which happened on July 9, 2024, near Wilmer, B.C., a small semi-rural community just a few minutes south of Invermere.