Ehatis is looking beyond the days of a strict pandemic lockdown with plans to build a central gathering place in the village next to Zeballos.

Work will soon begin on major infrastructure upgrades as Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k'tles7et'h' First Nations (KCFN) prepare to replace their aging water and sewer systems.

The village of Houpsitas began filling with homes in the early 1970s when the First Nation moved from its island home of Aktis. According to KCFN CAO Cynthia Blackstone, some of the water and sewer pipes in the older parts of the village date back to that time.

Fifty years later, the village has grown to a population of about 200 with approximately 50 family homes, according to Blackstone.

As B.C. moved to Phase 2 of its immunization plan on Monday, the Nuu-chah-nulth nations of Tseshaht and Hupacasath remained unsure when COVID-19 vaccines would reach their communities.

The province’s shift in approach, which prioritizes age groups, prompted confusion from community leaders who said that it deviated from the community-wide vaccination plan that was promised.

Today members of the Tseshaht First Nation got their first chance to be vaccinated for COVID-19.

This morning hundreds of doses of the Moderna vaccine arrived at the First Nation’s reserve next to Port Alberni. A clinic of was set up at Maht Mahs gym, where at 8:30 a.m. Tseshaht Chief Councillor Ken Watts and a group of volunteers led by Holly Mclaughlin welcomed the inoculation process with an outdoor ceremony. After the welcoming Watts thanked all the volunteers and said that this vaccine will ease the anxieties with in their nation.

Parks Canada is continuing to make progress on building ʔapsčiik t̓ašii (pronounced ups-cheek ta-shee), the 25-kilometer multi-use pathway that extends along Long Beach, in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. 

Although around 95 per cent of the pathway has been paved, it remains an active construction zone and is not yet officially open. 

Robert Stanley was in Tofino when he heard about the house fire that claimed the life of an Ahousaht First Nation member last week. He had traveled from his home on Flores Island to attend a nine-day Captain’s Boat Camp. 

The loss weighed on him heavily and his first impulse was to drop-out of the course and return home. It didn’t feel right for Stanley to be so far away from his grieving community.

Before he could follow through, members from his nation encouraged him to stay, saying, “there was nothing he could do.”

A young man was fatally shot during an altercation with police Saturday night in the Tla-o-qui-aht village of Opitsaht, while another remains in custody.

At approximately 9:30 p.m. two officers from Tofino came to a home in the First Nation’s village on Meares Island to “locate a woman in distress,” according to an RCMP press release. An altercation occurred, resulting in one man being shot, while another was taken into police custody.

It has been seven months since James Williams, 52, was found deceased in his unit at a Duncan shelter and the family is still waiting for answers about how their loved one died.

James Williams was a Tla-o-qui-aht father of five. His mother was a member of Yucluthaht First Nation, so he had many close relatives there, including his cousin Jennifer Touchie.

Motor coach officials throughout the province are anxiously anticipating a provincial government announcement which is expected in the next few days.

This includes representatives from the Wilson’s Group of Companies, which operates the Tofino Bus.

Vancouver Island’s lone intercity bus service has not operated since this past December. It was forced to shut down to follow B.C. health regulations that were put in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

In recent years the number of youngsters being removed from their parents to live in foster care has dramatically declined – but this has not been the trend for Indigenous children.