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.

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.