Although Lisa Marie Young went missing 19 years ago, Nanaimo police have encountered new information into her disappearance over the last year and a half.

A press conference was held today at the Nanaimo RCMP detachment, where family members of the Tla-o-qui-aht woman and police investigators urged others to come forward to keep momentum going on the search for truth. Const. Hayley Pinfold and Corp. Markus Muntener said that since they took over the file in late 2018 police have introduced techniques into the investigation, such as a police dog and ground-penetrating radar.

A court battle over Nuu-chah-nulth fishing rights that has spanned nearly two decades appears to be over, with a decision from the federal government not to appeal a recent court ruling.

When Jeff Cooke first heard that the remains of 215 children were found buried in an unmarked grave at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, he was pained with heartache. 

As the Huu-ay-aht elder thought of all of those children who never made it home, he said he was reminded of his own experience at the Alberni Indian Residential School and the possibility that more burial sites remained uncovered. 

“It’s pretty emotional,” he said. “Particularly for survivors of residential schools.”

In an effort to help its members with the prevalence of negative news recently, today nearly two dozen officers from the Port Alberni RCMP detachment underwent a traditional Nuu-chah-nulth cleansing ceremony.

The Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre (NAC) has launched a fundraiser to create the first K-12 independent school in B.C. dedicated to serving urban Indigenous youth.

The initiative is in response to community feedback about the consolidation of two Indigenous learning centres into the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district at the end of this month, in accordance with a B.C. Ministry of Education directive.

To coincide with National Indigenous History Month, the First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC) has launched a new online map that intersects Indigenous languages, culture and art in British Columbia.

The First Peoples’ Map is the first of its kind in Canada and was developed in response to a growing demand from First Nations people seeking a centralized platform to share information about their diverse communities, said Cathi Charles Wherry, FPCC special advisor.

A block of Argyle Street in front of Port Alberni City Hall was closed off to traffic for a very special event on June 21, 2021. The street was filled with tables and decorated in orange as the City of Port Alberni celebrated National Aboriginal Day.

They announced, in the spirit of reconciliation, that they would permanently fly Hupacasath and Tseshaht flags at City Hall.

With a dozen of her family members sitting in the audience, the multi-day coroners inquest into the death of Jocelyn George began today, with hope that a public examination of the circumstances around the tragedy will enable more timely intervention for others in the future.

A group of youth from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation waded into the ocean along the beach in front of Esowista, near Tofino. Clad in wetsuits, some clumsily gripped onto surf boards while others proudly carried boogie boards overhead.

The waves were choppy and inconsistent, but the youth seemed completely unfazed as they charged forward. 

After listening to them express a desire to learn how to surf, Alyssa Fleishman approached the nation’s youth worker, Amy Charlie, to collaborate on creating a Tla-o-qui-aht Surf Team.