On Jan. 26 businesses across Vancouver Island gathered at the Nanaimo conference center to celebrate excellence in their respective industries. Among them were Nuu-chah-nulth owned Naas Foods and Čims Guest House.

Stevie Dennis, a member of Ahousaht First Nation, co-founder and owner of Naas Foods, was shocked when he found out they won in the Food and Beverage Category.

“I’d say it is a result and proof of all our hard work,” said Dennis. “We’ve been working pretty hard out here on the coast, and working with kelp for about four and a half years now.”

A passion for running has paid off for a Tseshaht First Nation member.

Jolyn Watts, who is 27, has been selected to compete at this year’s Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Germany.

The multi-sport games will run June 17-25.

Watts will represent Canada in 800-metre and 1,500-metre races.

“I’m really happy and really excited,” Watts said of the upcoming meet, which will mark her international debut.

After a three-year hiatus, it has been announced that the 2023 BC Elder’s Gathering will take place Aug 14 – 16 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the suspension of the annual gathering for three years. The last BCEG was held in July 2019 at the Vancouver Convention Centre and was hosted by the BC Elders Communication Center Society (BCECCS).

Illicit drugs are now decriminalized in British Columbia, with a joint announcement issued today from the province and Health Canada affecting illegal substances carried for personal use.

Throughout the regions of Nuu-chah-nulth territory there are a number of various remote communities that have limited access to grocery stores. From villages located in Clayoquot, Barkley, and Nootka Sound many community members travel extensively, multiple times a month, to nearby towns such as Port Alberni, Nanaimo, and Campbell River for groceries. With the additional costs and measures associated with the long journey to larger towns, inflation and heightened cost of food continues to place pressures on members within communities.

She was in the Victoria-based newspapers back in the 1860s and she reappeared in modern news media in 2018 when a charitable organization heard about her story. The name Maggie Sutlej has appeared in newspapers and books since 1864, but that wasn’t her real name and it wasn’t the true story.

As the latest effort to help those who subsist off of the ocean, a new program aims to empower people seeking opportunity amid a challenging climate for the commercial fishing industry.

The goal of the Seafood Business Accelerator program is to provide self-employed fishers and farmers skills to become self-sufficient businesses and food providers. The initiative was announced in January, a partnership from Vancouver Island University’s Centre for Seafood Innovation and the BC Commercial Fishing Caucus, with additional funding from the Island Coastal Economic Trust.

Vancouver Island is known for its predatory wildlife, such as black bears, coastal wolves and cougars, that roam the rugged coastline. Amidst the coast many towns and villages sit in areas with high populations of predatory wildlife, making interactions with humans often inevitable, unless effective coexistence management is in place.

Almost twenty years ago, Gregory Charleson Jr. fell in love with a song that his father, Quuia Charleson, would sing to him. Love Your Creator was a Christian hymn that Quuia learned in residential school. At first, he sang it English. 

Quuia said that his son would ask him to sing the song in their language, Hesquiaht. However, he could not speak the language fluently.

Gregory Jr. surprised his father, with the help of the late-elder Larry Paul, and a language teacher. They translated the prayer song from English into Nuu-chah-nulth.

Eight years after the Iwachis IR 3 Specific Claim was filed, Canada has settled with Tseshaht First Nation, awarding them $21 million in compensation for the 1913 unlawful expropriation and sale of Iwachis Indian Reserve.

The announcement was made July 29, 2022, in a joint statement from Tseshaht First Nation, British Columbia, and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. The funds were distributed to Tseshaht members on Jan. 13.

Elected Chief Ken Watts said the land was taken without consultation or compensation by the federal government.