Two weeks into her term as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, RoseAnne Archibald has shown an active interest in Nuu-chah-nulth communities with three days of visits July 22-24.
Archibald was elected to head the national advocacy organization in July 8, becoming the first woman to hold the high-profile role. A member of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation from Ontario, Archibald first heard from Nuu-chah-nulth leaders as she sought the AFN position.
After hitting a sandbar upon takeoff, an Atleo River Air Service float plane tipped in the Tofino harbour around 11:45 a.m. on Monday morning.
All four passengers and the pilot aboard the plane survived with minor injuries and are being treated at the Tofino General Hospital, according to Tofino RCMP Sgt. Colin Douglas.
Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) President Judith Sayers was one of the passengers onboard the aircraft, which was on route to Hot Springs Cove.
Ancestral remains were discovered during a beach cleanup led by Rugged Coast and Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k'tles7et'h' First Nation, in Kyuquot.
A newly identified burial site was reported to the Port McNeill RCMP and BC Coroners Service on July 21, after a Kyuquot First Nations member found a skull and other remains around 30 metres inland from the high tide line, according to the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.
In the aftermath of an eight-day inquest into the death of Jocelyn George, a jury is calling for a systemic overhaul in how Indigenous youth are handled within the justice system, with recommendations for facilities that may have prevented the 18-year-old’s fate five years ago.
With nearly all of Vancouver Island under a heightened risk of forest fires, those on both sides of a logging conflict in the south are continuing operations, with pledges to take extra precautions.
To improve emergency care for remote First Nations communities, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) partnered with the University of British Columbia’s department of emergency medicine to create Kwiis-hen-niip, meaning “change” in Nuu-chah-nulth.
In collaboration with BC Emergency Health Services, the First Nations Health Authority, Island Health, among others, four Nuu-chah-nulth nations are involved in the project.
Most families from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation had four totem poles displayed in front of their homes before European settlers arrived on the west coast in the late-1700s.
When a woman married into a tribe, a totem pole was raised to depict her family’s history. It would stand next to three poles. One for her husband’s history, another for his parent’s history and the fourth for his grandparent’s history, according to teachings given to Joe Martin, master carver and Tla-o-qui-aht elder.
Help is on the way.
Though news of a newly created federal Tourism Relief Fund is welcome, a couple of Nuu-chah-nulth leaders are wondering if enough is being done.
At a news conference this past week, Melanie Joly, the minister of Economic Development, announced the Canadian government has established a $500 million Tourism Relief Fund.
Funds will be distributed during the next two years.
The Tseshaht First Nation have implemented a new beach keeper fee for companies who operate within the Broken Group Islands—the birthplace and territory of the Tseshaht First Nation.
The new $10 a day, per use fee will be charged by the companies who participate and that revenue will be given to Tseshaht, who will put all the funds directly back into their Beach Keeper Program.
Singing and drumming rang throughout the streets of Esowista and Ty-Histanis on Friday, as Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation (TFN) council representatives, community members and RCMP joined together for a march near Tofino.
“We’re taking back our community from all the abusers and drug dealers,” said Barb Audet.
The topic of drugs and alcohol was a recurring theme during a leadership retreat for chief and council, said Anna Masso, TFN language coordinator.