In a district-wide event that brought hundreds to a tiny coastal community, Zeballos Elementary Secondary School hosted a potlatch on May 22.

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

Tofino dwindled in the distance as the water taxi followed a low, low spring tide out towards Meares Island Tribal Park or wanačas hiłhuuʔis, Nuu-chah-nulth words that translate to ‘the mountain and the shoreline’. 

Elder Vince Smith was among the crew for the day, having journeyed roughly seven hours with family from Ehattesaht territory and the town of Zeballos on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. 

The B.C. Ministry of Environment and Parks is temporarily closing Botanical Beach in Juan de Fuca Park for 24 hours, beginning Sunday, May 25. The announced closure is intended to keep the public out of the popular tourist attraction to allow members of the Pacheedaht First Nation privacy and freedom to harvest marine resources and “to reconnect with an important part of their territory,” states a press release from the province.

The elders looked happy cracking open crab with their hands on Sunday at the Alberni Athletic Hall during last day of the second annual Tseshaht Lightning Open Basketball Tournament.

They also enjoyed a free seafood feast of clams and frybread the day before. 

“The Tseshaht families are very generous. This is their traditional territories,” said Andrea Amos-Baker. 

Elder Donna Samuel’s pink beaded Nike cap and pink sweater matched the huge plate of prawns she was served after finishing her crab. 

Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ player Matthew Jack Jr. didn’t say much after being named ‘Mr. Hustle’ in the U17 boys division, but his take on the May Long Tseshaht Lightning Open Basketball Tournament was pretty on point. 

“I love playing with my friends who are not Native. It’s really more fun,” said Jack Jr. 

His new team is the Alberni Naani, a mix of Port Alberni and Ucluelet ballers. They cruised to second place, falling only in the final 62-44 to Rain, who powered through four games on the same day to score a back-door victory. 

Thanks to $400,000 in provincial funding the Uchucklesaht Tribe is able to move forward on several climate-related projects.

The British Columbia government is providing the funds to the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation via its Disaster Resilience and Innovation Funding (DRIF) program. This funding will in part help create projects that will assist communities with their ability to mitigate climate-caused disasters.

Earlier this month government officials announced they would spend a total of about $41 million to fund 61 projects throughout the province.

Dog bites, animal overpopulation, disease – these are the ongoing problems remote First Nations continue to face when it comes to animal welfare and community safety. 

James Rodgers is executive director of the CARE (Coastal Animal Rescue and Education) Network, based in Tofino. He says any community would face these problems if they don’t have access to pet services found in larger cities.

With her family helping to deal with a list of health issues that hospitalized Gloria Fred for over two months this year, she was hoping to soon move back into her house on the Tseshaht reserve. But now plans have changed for the family, after a fire devastated the building on May 14.

Direct efforts are underway to address the distrust and problematic history First Nations face within Canada’s justice system.

At the beginning of May, Tofino Provincial Court was relocated from the Tofino Community Hall to the Tin Wis Conference Centre on Tla-o-qui-aht-First Nations traditional territory. Court will continue to be held at this new location on Tla-o-qui-aht land for the next few years.

Tin Wis is the former site of Christie Indian Residential School.

Organizers of a tournament that will be held in Port Alberni during the May long weekend have quickly discovered there is quite a thirst for basketball.

The second annual Tseshaht Lightning Open Tournament will be staged May 16-19 at various facilities in Port Alberni.

A total of 67 teams, competing in six divisions, will participate in the event. That’s a substantial increase from the 46 squads that competed in the inaugural tourney a year ago.