Unlike the empire that claimed sovereignty over Nuchatlaht territory and other parts of British Columbia in 1846, the Nuu-chah-nulth nation did not document its history with written records.

Although the legacy of habitation on Nootka Island was transferred from one generation to the next orally, other evidence of ancient ties to the remote area can be seen in the forest, which archaeologists and Nuchatlaht members look to as proof their land was stolen when the Crown asserted authority 176 years ago.

Members of the Alberni Valley United Church (AVUC) delegation have been holding monthly meetings with residential school survivors to discuss reconciliation and what that could look like for the group.

Mary Heatherington is a member of AVUC and invited Ha-Shilth-Sa to a meeting called Road to Reconcili-Action that was held April 29 at the United Church in Port Alberni.

The group started about 2019, according to Heatherington, when church members went to Tofino to meet with Tla-o-qui-aht leadership.

The Coastal Restoration Society (CRS) is looking to train and hire at least 12 individuals for coastal remediation activities in Barkley Sound and Clayoquot Sound.

The CRS Coastal Restoration society is an organization that supports resource management and environmental stewardship goals of First Nations, as well as provincial and federal governments. Their services include marine-industrial project development and implementation, scientific monitoring and assessment, aquatic invasive species management and control, and climate change mitigation in the marine environment.

With the aim of developing a more “sustainable, conservation-based economy”, the Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k'tles7et'h' First Nations have bought a tourism business with 50 years of operating in its territory.

On May 10 the First Nation’s KCFN Marina and Campground Limited Partnership announced the acquisition of West Coast Expeditions, a company that has been offering guided wilderness retreats in Kyuquot Sound since 1972.

A group of Hesquiaht children in foster care arrived at Usma offices with their caregivers for an evening of cultural activities, socializing and dinner. The event, called Connections, took place May 16 in Port Alberni.

Members of the Hesquiaht First Nation are a little less fretful these days.

That’s because officials from their community have taken some recent measures to better prepare for any possible disasters.

Back in 1964 the Hesquiaht community of Hot Springs Cove was virtually destroyed after an Alaskan earthquake, which measured 9.2 on the Richter scale. That earthquake created a tsunami and when it reached British Columbia’s west coast. It wiped out almost all homes in the Hot Springs Cove community.

Luckily, no Hesquiaht lives were lost that day.

After two delays, the New Brunswick coroner’s inquest into the police shooting death of Tla-o-qui-aht’s Chantel Moore began Monday May 16 near Edmundston, where the 26-year-old lost her life in June 2020.

Chief Coroner Jérôme Ouellette first announced on July 7, 2021 that an inquest into the death of Moore had been scheduled to begin Dec. 6, 2021 in the Edmundston region. That was delayed until early 2022 and then again to May 16, 2022.

Those looking to better understand cultural appropriation and what is sacred to Indigenous peoples will have the opportunity to hear a presentation on the subject by Hupacasath First Nation woman Jolleen Dick on May 18.

Dick, whose traditional name is suuwayaqawilth which means “somebody that holds something precious for safe keeping,” is a council member for the Hupacasath First Nation and works in the tourism industry on Vancouver Island. She is a bead artist creating Indigenous jewellery inspired by her great grandma.

Barney Williams is the recipient of the 2022 Courage To Come Back Awards’ addictions category.

Over the past 24 years, the awards have recognized 139 individuals and raised over $20 million for Coast Mental Health to support those living with mental illness. 

“It’s awesome,” Williams said enthusiastically. “It really speaks to the work that I’ve done in sobriety.”

As a six-year-old boy, Williams was forced from his home in Opitsaht, on Meares Island, and sent to Christie Residential School. 

The Uchucklesaht Tribe Government (UTG) has completed a review of their progress 10 years after the implementation of their treaty and now plan to diversify economic development ventures to better support approximately 300 citizens.