Meanwhile on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the nurses who have shouldered the last two years of a pandemic remain committed to their close relationships with Nuu-chah-nulth communities, despite building stress and fatigue.
Two people were arrested May 6 and are both charged with First Degree Murder in the March 13, 2018 death of six-year-old Don-Tay Patrick Lucas.
In their public statement issued May 7, the Port Alberni RCMP said they arrested a local 29-year-old man and 28-year-old woman for the murder of six-year-old Dontay Lucas that occurred on March 13, 2018.
“On May 7, 2022 Ms. Rykel Frank (Nee Charleson) and Mitchell Frank were charged with the First Degree Murder of Dontay Lucas. The investigation continues,” stated the RCMP.
Over a hundred walked through the pouring rain today in recognition of the many missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, gathering near a spot where an Aboriginal woman died under suspicious circumstances just a month ago in Port Alberni.
At 3:30 a.m. on April 23, Thomas Ambrose’s closest family and friends gathered outside his house in Duncan to pray.
Ambrose’s father, Vince, led the prayer asking for strength. His soft voice penetrated the morning’s silence, fuelling Ambrose for the day ahead.
After stocking up on protein and water, Ambrose set out on a 255-kilometre bike-ride to Long Beach, near Tofino.
It was a trip he had been planning with his 15-year-old daughter, Edie Canute.
Qaamina and Ruth Sam are demanding that vodka be banned from the village, following disturbing incidents of pre-teens being found extremely intoxicated and the death of a young family member due to alcohol-related liver damage.
Two days before she died in 2020, Helen Frank, a young mother, called her aunt Ruth, asking them to keep working hard to ban “red cap” from the village. Not knowing what she meant, Ruth later learned that red cap meant a popular brand of vodka that comes in a bottle with a red lid.
Organizers are hoping that what is traditionally known as “the creator’s game” will see more interest among Port Alberni youth now that COVID-19 restrictions are easing.
After being held off for two years due to the pandemic, the Alberni Valley Minor Lacrosse Association is bringing back its spring Novice tournament, with help from a design by a Nuu-chah-nulth artist.
The tournament is being held over the weekend on May 6-8 at the Alberni Valley Multiplex for eight and nine-year-olds.
The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council has hired Dr. Roger Boyer, an Anishinabek man from Mississauga, Ontario, to head up a study looking at the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines as well as gather stories from Nuu-chah-nulth people about their experiences during the pandemic.
“We want to learn what makes us more vulnerable or more resilient, in addition to the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Keiten Brown, NTC Vaccine Study communications coordinator, in a Feb. 3 press release.
As the province undergoes a transition in the management of old growth forests, the importance of territorial stewardship over logging profits was stressed during the Anacla Old Growth Summit on April 28.
This was the message from the hosting Huu-ay-aht, who held the summit for over 100 who ventured to the First Nation’s village in Barkley sound, next to Bamfield. Among the opening statements was a message from Tayii Ḥaw̓ił ƛiišin, Derek Peters, who emphasized the need to preserve his nation’s resources amid economic demands.
The Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act released a report with 11 recommendations to transform law enforcement and community safety on April 28.
Over the past 15 months, the committee gathered input from 411 organizations and individuals who presented and wrote to the group during a public consultation period.
Meanwhile, more than 1,400 British Columbians provided input about their experiences and perspectives on policing through a survey.
New directives for the province’s lawyers to avoid court battles with First Nations have hit the Nuchatlaht with bitter irony.
One month into the small First Nation’s trial in the B.C. Supreme Court, where the Nuchatlaht seek Aboriginal title over its territory on the northern half of Nootka Island, the provincial government announced a new approach to litigating that better aligns with B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People’s Act. The directives stress the need to avoid lengthy, expensive court battles with First Nations whenever possible.