After years of pushing to get trained in a specialization that she deeply believes in, Darci Doiron is finally starting to find her niche in the workforce.

The 34-year-old Tseshaht member is currently halfway through gaining practicum hours needed to become a certified yoga therapy instructor, while also using her expertise to work at the Kackaamin Family Development Centre in Port Alberni. Six years into her own sobriety, it’s a practice Doiron has used to find her own healthy balance.

Recent data on Pacific herring presents encouraging indications of a rebound, but there’s currently too many marine mammals eating the small fish for the species to return to what was seen decades ago, according to a study presented to Nuu-chah-nulth leaders.

A substance stronger than Fentanyl has been detected in British Columbia’s unregulated drug supply, prompting an alert in the Northern Health region.

According to a statement issued by the province on April 3, 2025, ​Nitazene, a substance stronger than Fentanyl, is surfacing in the unregulated drug supply in B.C.

“Nitazine is a synthetic opioid that is equal to, or more toxic than, fentanyl that cannot be detected on fentanyl test strips. This represents an increased risk of toxic drug poisonings,” health officials said in the statement. 

Officials from Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation have some grandiose plans.

And thanks to some substantial funding from the First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund, they are a step closer to one of their goals.

It was announced on March 21 that the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation was one of 12 in British Columbia that will receive provincial funding to help support clean-energy initiatives.

Ian Caplette is hoping a recent trip to Hawaii for some Indigenous post-secondary students is just the beginning of a long relationship.

Caplette is an Indigenous education instructor at the Port Alberni campus of North Island College (NIC).

In late January 17 students from his school travelled to Hawaii for a 10-day trip so they could learn about Indigenous education and culture.

Several partners made the trip possible, including the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC).

The 2023 wildfire at Cameron Lake cut off Port Alberni and points west from the rest of the world for several weeks. It was summer 2023, the start of another lucrative tourist season, when a fire started on a mountain top high above Cameron Lake, about 22 kilometers east of Port Alberni.

Nearly three and a half months after roughly 7,500 litres of diesel oil seeped into the marine environment near Tahsis on the west coast of Vancouver Island, closures for shellfish harvesting are still in place.

The Nuchatlaht First Nation’s council has advised people not to eat any shellfish from local waters after a recent testing of Pacific oysters indicated the presence of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). 

Cancer-causing PAHs are formed during the incomplete burning of materials like coal, oil, gas, wood and charbroiled meat.

Moments after the official documents were signed, Mowachaht/Muchalaht members broke into song, marking the return of a whale hunting shrine that has sat in a New York museum’s storage for 120 years.

The Uchucklesaht Tribe Government is the proud new owner of Pete’s Mountain Meats and is promising to deliver the same high quality and service that Peter Kurucz and his family has been delivering for 30 years.

“Uchucklesaht Capital Assets Inc. (UCAI) is excited to announce the purchase of Pete’s Mountain Meats,” said UCAI Director Wilfred Cootes in a statement. “This acquisition aligns with our broader vision of fostering economic growth while preserving the values and traditions that define us.”

Chantelle Williams was a teenager who loved to walk the sand of Pachena Bay, recalls her aunt, reflecting on the 18-year-old who died on the streets of Port Alberni during a cold night in January.

“She’d walk to the beach by herself and just get time alone there. She’d come back happy,” said Shannon Nookemus. 

“She liked crafts,” she continued, reflecting on the short life of her niece. “She had this shawl that she wanted to work on for a long time. She just finished school a few months ago. She was a good girl.”