Tiicma Fisheries Inc., a venture of Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k:tles7et’h’ First Nations (KCFN), is in the process of applying to the Ministry of Transport for a tenure site and licence to operate a sablefish facility in Kyuquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

The proposed aquaculture finfish facility is located 11.5-kilometres from Houpsitas, a KCFN village, and about 12-kilometres from Fair Harbour, the marina facility owned by the nation. 

Pinnace Channel is the presented waterway for the site, which will be floating adjacent to Hohoae Island.

J'net Ayayqwayaksheelth had an inkling that one day she would join forces with a fellow Nuu-chah-nulth relative on a professional working basis.

That time has arrived as it was announced on Sept. 23 that Ayayqwayaksheelth, a member of Ahousaht First Nation, has been hired to be the new managing director of the Indigenomics Institute.

Hesquiaht Nation member Carol Anne Hilton, who has more than two decades of experience working in Indigenous economic development, coined the term Indigenomics in 2012.

Tseshaht First Nation tween Taiaha Watts has one epic summer story to share on the playground.

On Aug. 25 the 10-year-old boy from Port Alberni was attacked by a river otter while floating at a family swimming hole along the Somass River.

Taiaha’s dad Len Watts was playing cards on the beach when the shocking incident took place. 

“This otter comes five feet in front of my son - usually they will look at you and go away - but it looked at him and went right for him, tried jumping on his face and chest,” Watts said.

At the top of the hill overlooking Tofino’s First Street Dock, Nuu-chah-nulth elder Tom Curley, 86, paused for a moment to catch his breath. 

He couldn’t find his orange shirt for the annual Truth and Reconciliation Day Walk, but Tla-o-qui-aht gave him a new one, which he tucked in his jacket like a scarf. 

Curley spent 15 years as a ‘student’ of Christie Indian Residential School. He says it wasn’t the type of place you went to get into university. 

On Sept. 30 the annual tradition continued in Port Alberni with a march of orange through the small city’s streets, but this year the procession began at the former site of the Alberni Indian Residential School, walking away from where the institution once stood.

There was a time when Canada’s Indigenous children were gathered up and placed in residential schools, where they were forced learn the English language, nearly losing their own mother tongue. Now, in 2025, hundreds of children from schools in Port Alberni came together on a school field in their orange shirts to sing našukʔaƛin - and they all knew the lyrics, singing loud and proud.

Former Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell has a new job with the NDP government as an adviser for the Downtown Eastside (DTES).

His contract is for six months from Sept. 29, 2025, until March 31, 2026, and he is getting paid $92,000, plus up to $10,000 in expenses.

“I am not a czar. I am not a saviour,” said Campbell during a Sept. 29 press conference in Vancouver. “I’m going to try. That’s all I can say.”

A highway collision by Cameron Lake has taken the life of a young man, while leaving a senior with “potentially life-threatening injuries”, according to police.

The car crash occurred at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27 on Highway 4, when a Honda Civic “appeared to have lost control on a series of curves” near the lake, colliding with a Chevrolet Impala headed west, according to Oceanside RCMP. 

Survivors of Christie Indian Residential School are invited to witness the demolition of the remaining buildings that were once part of old Christie Residential School, located on Meares Island in Ahousaht traditional territory.

“Former students at Christie school will have the opportunity to witness and/or participate in the demolition of the three remaining buildings,” reads the invitation.

The doors were open at the Port Alberni Friendship Center on the evening of September 23 as they kicked off their annual general meeting starting with a free roast beef dinner, prepared and served by PAFC staff. Attendees signed in upon arrival and were given complimentary PAFC Society membership cards, allowing them to participate in nomination and voting activities.