The Specific Claims court action launched by Ahousaht against the Government of Canada over lands they say were wrongly taken from the nation resumed for two days of hearings held over video conferencing.

In effort to maintain a diversity of salmon populations within B.C., the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) has launched its newest instalment of the Pacific Salmon Explorer.

The online data visualization tool provides new insight into the current health of 150 unique groups of salmon populations. Known as conservation units, these groups are characterized by sharing similar habitat, occupying the same area, sharing genetic similarities and similar life histories.

Less than three weeks before the Oct. 24 provincial election, Premier John Horgan unveiled the NDP’s platform, rich with promises to help families recover from economic losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.

But as the Horgan seeks to follow the last three and a half years of minority government with the Green Party by solidifying a majority in the B.C. legislature, the jury remains out over the NDP’s capacity to benefit the province’s Indigenous citizens to the same degree as everyone else.

After being the subject of debate for years, Tofino is considering a ban on beach fires.

Following an unprecedented summer of tourism in the coastal town, Mayor Josie Osborne and councillor Duncan McMaster brought the motion forward to council on Sept. 28.

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation Tribal Administrator Saya Masso said that he can understand the rationale and motivation behind it.

As beach fires increase so too does foraging along the shorelines for brush and driftwood, he said.

When Huu-ay-aht First Nations Chief Councillor Robert J. Dennis Sr. thinks back to the ‘80s and ‘90s, he remembers Bamfield as a boomtown.

In those days, the motel was full; you’d have to drive around in circles to find a parking spot and it was near impossible to get a boat moorage, he recalled.

Trevor Cootes has similar memories. The then 20-year-old was stationed at the Pachena Bay Campground in 1998 and ruminates it as a time of great excitement – Bamfield “was very much full of energy,” he said.

An ancient breed of dog has been identified from a set of bones found in an archaeological dig site on Keith Island, or Kakmakimilh, in 2019.

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.