A rapid-testing machine has been installed at the NTC office in Tofino, and is expected to be able to confirm COVID-19 cases over the next month.

Jeannette Watts, manager of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council’s nursing program, said nurses are currently being trained to operate the GeneXpert in Tofino, one of three recently provided to different parts of province by the First Nations Health Authority. The machine tests nasopharyngeal swabs taken from a person’s nasal cavity.

Organizers of a health fair for Nuu-chah-nulth-aht are urging people to reach out to elders and those with disabilities to ensure isolation doesn’t worsen amid challenges tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Specific Claims Tribunal court action launched by Ahousaht against the Government of Canada over lands they say were wrongly taken from the nation will resume Oct. 7. The hearings will be shared remotely via the video conferencing application Zoom.

Ahousaht is seeking the return of land and/or compensation for specific parcels of property within their traditional territory that they say were wrongly taken by settlers or government.

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is airing season two of a documentary TV series called Nations at War.

Writer and director Jason Friesen collaborated with creator/writer Tim Johnson to share the history of the battles and events that changed the Indigenous landscape of North America to what it is today.

Classes continued on Oct. 5 at the Alberni District Secondary, after a notice was issued on the weekend that someone at the high school tested positive for COVID-19.

Information released by Island Health states that the infected person was in the facility Sept. 14, 15, 17, 18 and 22, nearly two weeks before School District 70 notified the community of possible exposure at the large Port Alberni school. Two weeks is commonly considered by public health authorities to be the maximum period that symptoms of the novel coronavirus can present themselves after infection.

Government’s failure to negotiate in good faith and refusal to respect constitutionally protected Indigenous fishing rights is putting lives at risk, says MP Gord Johns.

The NDP fisheries critic along with the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs are urging the federal government to defend Indigenous fishing rights after tensions among non-Indigenous fishermen led to acts of intimidation and threats against a Mi’kmaq lobster fishery.

A Vancouver Island University (VIU) scholarship program for Indigenous students is working toward Indigenizing and decolonizing post-secondary institutions.

The EleV Scholarship program aims to better support Indigenous learners in their post-secondary journeys and beyond by providing scholarships for youth aged 18-35, providing support services and removing barriers to education. The program is focused on providing nation-matched scholarships and culturally relevant programming and supports for Indigenous students using a co-creation approach. 

Huu-ay-aht First Nations declared a public health emergency in March 2018 as 21 per cent of the nation’s kids were in foster care.

By making a concerted, intense effort to reduce the number of Huu-ay-aht children in care through the nation’s Social Services Project, numbers have since decreased, said Shannon Zimmerman, the nation’s director of child and family wellness.

“In saying that, we still have too many kids in care,” she said.

The hall that once was considered the heart of the Tseshaht community came down on Sept. 30, after standing on the First Nation’s reserve for over 70 years.

The Somass Hall was demolished within four hours, leaving an empty site where generations of Tseshaht people recall a building that once served as the hub for community gatherings.

The hall was built by Bloedel, Stewart and Welch at the end of the Second World War, recalled Tseshaht elder Cody Gus in information distributed by the First Nation.

Staff from Teechuktl Mental Health recognized Orange Shirt Day today, while adjusting to COVID-19 restrictions.

In recognition of residential school survivors, at 10 a.m. they walked from the Redford Street Quu’asa office in Port Alberni, along Fourth Avenue, stopping to sing in front of the Port Alberni Friendship Center and make an offering to children at the facility’s daycare. On route to the Harbour Quay the crowd also sang outside of the Thunderbird Building on Kingsway Avenue, where some former residential school students reside.