Around two weeks ago, Nicole Gervais said chunks of Styrofoam started washing ashore on the northern end of Long Beach, near the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation community of Esowista on Vancouver Island.

That section of beach, entitled T̓ayus, has been closed to non-residents since 2020 to keep community members safe from COVID-19.

Free from the disturbances of visitors and dogs, Gervais said large flocks of birds have returned to the beach to feed on bloodworms and sand fleas.

Reconciliation with First Nations was addressed in the opening lines of the Speech from the Throne on Nov. 23, as Governor General Mary Simon read the address to senators and members of the House of Commons to open the 44th session of Parliament. The speech also quickly referenced the discovery of unmarked graves at multiple former residential school sites, news that shook people across Canada this year.

Ben Clappis received an alarming phone call on the morning of Dec. 6 when he was contacted by someone who said they were from border control services.

“They said they’ve got packages that are registered in my name, and it’s illicit drugs, as in cocaine, and then also marijuana,” recalled the Bamfield-area resident. “They’re saying that they found other bank accounts, I think in Toronto, an address in Surrey.”

Growing up in the city, away from her Nuu-chah-nulth and Kwakwaka’wakw homelands, Joslyn Williams struggled to understand her own identity. Without anyone around to teach her about her culture, she felt disconnected from herself.

“I always felt like there was something missing,” she said. “It's so hard to connect back to your roots when there's no one there to teach you.”

Williams’ mother, Rodrina Peter, shared what she knew by teaching Williams the basics of the Nuu-chah-nulth language. 

As homelessness and addiction continues to be a problem that plagues Port Alberni, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council’s Teechuktl (Mental Health) department and the Port Alberni RCMP have pledged to work together to bring support to Nuu-chah-nulth people that have come into contact with police - but don’t necessarily belong in cells.

For Jenelle Johnson-Sabbas, basketball is like an escape. From the moment she steps onto the court, everything around her disappears.

“It’s just me and the ball,” she said. 

The 17-year old has been around the game her whole life. Her mother played when she was in high school, as did her father.

At home, “it’s just non-stop basketball,” she said. 

An Ahousaht elder suffered painful injuries after a dog on a long leash attacked her as she was walking to visit her granddaughter at work on Dec. 8.

The attack on Lily Webster prompted Ha’wilth Hanuquii (Nathan Charlie) to issue a public statement. After conferring with both hereditary and elected chiefs Hanuquii warned the people via social media.

“Dogs that are aggressive or on the loose will be dealt with, either by the Care Network or (will) be put down,” he stated.

Residents of Ahousaht can now pick up their mail within the village thanks to the efforts of Postmaster Rebecca Martin, who successfully moved the Canada Post office from the Ahousaht General Store to a central location in the community.

Prior to Dec. 13, people had to take a boat ride over to the nearby Ahousaht General store to pick up their mail twice a week. For a community of about 1,000, that’s a lot of boat rides.

“People would sometimes get stuck at the camp waiting for a boat in the rain,” said Martin.

The Lummi Nation has declared a disaster after removing 70,000 invasive European green crabs from their sea pond in November.

According to Seattle-based King News, the Lummi Nation cultivates shellfish and juvenile salmon in their 750-acre sea pond. The European green crab preys on young oysters, clams, and are known to dig down into the sand, uprooting eel grass, which is habitat for juvenile salmon.

First Nations are stepping up pressure, urging the federal government to get back to the table as soon as possible and conclude talks involving a marine protected area four times the size of Vancouver Island.

Government-to-government negotiations on the proposed Tang.ɢwan-ḥačxʷiqak-Tsig̱is Marine Protected Area (MPA), also known as the Pacific Offshore Area of Interest (AOI), were sidelined during the 2021 federal election campaign.