A Royal Canadian Navy ship landed at Port Alberni today to a welcome from Tseshaht members.

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Ottawa came to the Port Alberni dock at approximately 10 a.m. to begin a two-day stay. The ship is open for free guided tours on Saturday from 1-4 p.m., giving the public a chance to see the vessel and its crew before HMCS Ottawa departs on Sunday morning.

A group of Tseshaht members sang for the 442-foot ship as it docked, while the vessel’s crew members tugged at ropes to secure it to the Port Alberni Port Authority’s Berth 3.

As community members from Ahousaht First Nation gathered inside the gymnasium at Maaqtusiis Secondary on Flores Island, deep roars of thunder penetrated the room.

“The ancestors are here in full force,” said Rebecca Atleo, Ahousaht Education Authority director of education. “It's very indicative of the excitement that we have for today.”

Addressing those gathered on August 10, Atleo revealed that the nation received $8.3 million towards the construction of a new bighouse through the federal government’s Cultural Spaces in Indigenous Communities Program. 

This year’s sockeye salmon return in the Somass River came in around double what the pre-season run size estimate was.

While the Somass River pre-season forecast hovered around 400,000, it was re-forecasted to 950,000 as of July 28.

It’s a trend that is being observed coast-wide – from Bristol Bay to the Fraser River, according to Tseshaht First Nation Fisheries Manager Dave Rolston.

“I think all the fisheries benefited from increased numbers,” he said. 

The 30th anniversary of Yuquot Summerfest included a screening of a recently completed film that introduces the ancestral home of the Mowachaht people to a wider audience.

Showcasing what’s possible by Indigenous-owned businesses was the main message behind the second annual Cims Fest at Chims Guest House on Tseshaht territory.

Naomi Nicholson and her husband Ed hosted the event for the second consecutive year at their property on Aug. 6. The couple, who own Chims Guest House at 6890 Pacific Rim Hwy., want to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous people together to build a relationship through a shared cultural experience. The festival showcased Indigenous artwork and vendors, a fashion show, traditional food, storytelling, song and dance.

When Sanford Williams returns to his home at the south edge of Nootka Island each summer, there is little time to waste. The carver has made a practice to starting work at 6 in the morning, usually finishing by 7 or 8 in the evening.

With more than 40 years of experience of crafting with the knife, Williams knows just what lies before him when he returns to Yuquot each June. The period usually lasts three months before he returns to his wife Marlana in Hope.