With summer coming to an end, Stan Lucas of Hesquiaht is focusing his attention on harvesting seasonal medicinal plants. The husband, father and grandfather will ride his bike several kilometers over Sutton Pass along Highway 4 to find plants like devil’s club, wild crab apple trees and balsam trees.

On Sept. 22 he was working on devil’s club medicine, which he says is nearing the end of its season. Lucas sits outside of his home with a stick of devil’s club that he just harvested.

As its eyes look east toward the rising sun this autumn, the carver behind a totem pole recently raised by the Somass River is stressing the piece’s importance of honouring women.

“The pole stands for our women,” said Tim Paul, who unveiled the project on Sept. 18 at Port Alberni’s waterfront, “most importantly is language, the cultural teaching.”

The province is strengthening its ambulance system through its largest hiring push in B.C.’s history in rural and remote areas. 

Health Minister Adrian Dix said 24 ambulance stations will move from on-call staffing to 24-7 service, with eight full-time paramedics in each location. 

An additional 26 smaller stations will be getting more "permanent, regular paramedics” beginning Nov. 1.

Some of the communities listed to benefit from these improvements include: Lake Cowichan, Tofino, Tahsis and Zeballos, all of which Nuu-chah-nulth nations rely on.

A Tseshaht scholar living and working in Seattle, WA, is about to publish her second book focusing on Indigenous culture and food sovereignty. Dr. Charlotte Coté will be releasing A Drum in One Hand, A Sockeye in the Other in January 2022.

Her book explores Nuu-chah-nulth food practices, both in pre-contact time and in a more contemporary context.

An Ahousaht First Nation member has begun work on her newest plum position.

J’Net Ayayqwayaksheelth has been named as the director of Indigenous Relations and Community Engagement for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).

With this newly created position, Ayayqwayaksheelth will help guide the implementation of the NFB’s Indigenous Action Plan as well as its organizational transformation.

The federal election resulted in representation in Ottawa almost identical to how Parliament appeared when the vote was called in mid August, with an orange sweep across Nuu-chah-nulth territory and the House of Commons returning to a Liberal minority.

The provincial government launched a 10-year plan, A Pathway to Hope, to build a “comprehensive system” of mental health and addictions care for British Columbians in June 2019. 

Over two years in, a new progress report from the province “confirms” people in B.C. are already receiving better access to mental health support. 

A Conference Board of Canada report released this past week shows just how much the Indigenous tourism industry has suffered throughout the country since the pandemic began.

And Keith Henry, the president and CEO of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC), believes some Nuu-chah-nulth tourism businesses could potentially be among those who will experience the most difficult paths back to recovery.

A newly raised totem pole at Port Alberni’s waterfront is a mother for all of the lost children who never returned home from residential school, according to the carver behind the multi-year project.

During the unveiling of n̓aasn̓aasʔaqsa (pronounced ‘naas naas uksah’), Tim Paul tied the creation to news that disturbed people across Canada this year. With hundreds standing under the 37-foot structure by the Victoria Quay, the carver referenced the discovery of unmarked graves at several former residential school sites over the past summer.

Houses on reserves continue to be cramped in many cases, while in cities and towns people struggle to find an affordable place to rent or buy. Why do communities continue to face housing shortages, and what is needed to make homes more accessible for people?

Blair Herbert, Liberal, Cowichan – Malahat - Langford