It was a radiant night for the Maaqtusiis Suns girls 13U basketball team from Ahousaht First Nation. 

With 10 seconds left on the clock and a comfortable 18-point lead over Lax kxeen United from Prince Rupert, Suns fans started to drum and sing their Victory Song. 

“When I heard that Victory Song, I was excited,” said Suns coach Robert Stanley. “I really don’t know what to say. I’m still at a loss for words. I’m super proud of them. I was happy because our girls worked so hard. They’d done it.” 

A significant milestone has been reached in the long-running battle for survivors of the federal Indian hospitals, as a proposed settlement has been reached in the Hardy v. Attorney General of Canada class action lawsuit. 

Tseshaht Pride 17U and Tseshaht Lightning 13U hustled their way to a pair of third places at the 2025 Junior All Nation Tournament (JANT) in Kelowna on March 16 to 21.

After winning their first three games, Pride fell to Nuxalk (Bella Coola) At’Maakw, who went on to win the tournament for the second year running.

Pride went on to battle the Van City Panthers for a chance at redemption and a ticket to the final, but the Panthers nabbed the early morning game 60-57.

For Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations on Canada’s west coast, the early March Pacific herring spawn marks the beginning of the Nuu-chah-nulth harvest wheel and the renewal of all resources.

Huu-ay-aht First Nation citizen Larry Johnson couldn’t conceal his glee as he made his way to Bamfield on March 7 in anticipation of the annual spectacle.

“Everything takes off. This is the beginning,” said Johnson, the president of Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood LP (NSLP) and the chairman of the Maa-nulth Fisheries Committee. 

More holes have opened on the road to Nitinaht, renewing calls for adequate maintenance of the route as access in and out of the remote community is temporarily severed.

This is article is part of a series of stories on Nuu-chah-nulth clam gardens.

From the captain’s seat of his fishing boat called ‘La Fortune’, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation (TFN) fisherman Leo Jon Manson popped the lid off the proverbial can of worms labelled ‘float homes’. 

The Bamfield Huu-ay-aht Community Forest Society is doing its bit to boost local tourism.

Thanks in part to a grant from the Island Coastal Economic Trust, the Bamfield society, a non-profit organization, has begun work on the Bamfield Majestic Old Growth Trail.

The project, which will establish an accessible pathway to ancient forests, is aimed at connecting visitors to nature while also advancing cultural and economic development in the area.

It was a łaakt’uuła to remember as hundreds of Charleson family and friends gathered to spend the day celebrating the lives of a sister and brother that left lasting legacies during their short time on earth. 

Winiikinux (Jazmine) and her brother nuksʕaqƛ (Johnson) Charleson had large families and a mother determined to celebrate their spirits and goodness at a drying of the tears potlatch held at the Alberni Athletic Hall on March 15, 2025. 

The 2025 B.C. Junior All Native Tournament (JANT) and Spring Basketball Fest is underway in Kelowna, B.C. this week and 19 teams from Nuu-chah-nulth territory are on the schedule, ready to shine on the courts.

Tseshaht First Nation based in the Alberni Valley has five teams in JANT this year: Lightning U13 girls (coached by Ed Ross, Len Watts and Memphis Dick), Pride U17 girls (coached by Joe Charleson Jr.), ťaťuus U13 boys (coached by Oswald Felsman IV and Mercedes Brown), Hupał U17 boys (coached by Shane Sieber) and U10 Tatuus. 

Hundreds filled the Alberni Athletic hall on Saturday, March 15 for a potlatch held in honour of two members of the Charleson family who left their loved ones too soon. 

The ƛaaktuła tłak tuu łath filled the large hall in Port Alberni with song and dance, as pictures were finally brought out of Jazmine and Johnson Charleson after their passings a few years ago. With Nuu-chah-nulth-aht in attendance from across the West Coast, hours of cultural performances included new songs composed in recognition of ovarian cancer and the opioid crisis. 

More to come…