Sitting side-by-side, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation elder Moses Martin and Ahousaht Ha'wilth Maquinna (Lewis George) gazed thoughtfully at the scene unfolding at Tofino’s Village Green on June 21, as young dancers welcomed family and guests to a celebration that’s been a long time coming.

Haahuupayak’s gymnasium was filled with proud family members, and vibrant decorations, as teachers, students and the surrounding community gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2024 graduates that will be moving on to ADSS in the fall. 

The streets of Tofino were buzzing with activity on June 21, as the Tla-o-qui-aht first Nation led a parade through town to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Hereditary and elected chiefs from the Tla-o-qui-aht and Ahousaht First Nations participated as well as Mid Island-Pacific Rim MLA Josie Osborne, MP Gord Johns and Tofino Mayor Dan Law. Speeches and cultural performances followed for the many in attendance.

A blanket of fog and a chilly breeze swept over the beach as volunteers built a fire so that they could barbecue salmon the traditional way, on cedar sticks over an open fire. Meanwhile, children played on the river bank building sand castles and flying kites as the sun slowly burned off the fog

Today National Indigenous Peoples Day is being recognized across Canada, and in Port Alberni a number of events are taking place that celebrate the region’s Nuu-chah-nulth heritage.

For many Nuu-chah-nulth-aht, Port Alberni is considered an urban hub for the surrounding west communities, and nearly one fifth of the small city’s population identifies as Indigenous.

Tleḥpik Hjalmer Wenstob, a recipient of the 2022 YVR Art Foundation Scholarship, has two steam-bent hinkeets masks on display at the Museum of Vancouver in their “Creation Stories: Carrying Our Traditions Forward” exhibit, which opened on June 19. 

B.C.’s fish farms now have five years to get open net-pens out of the water – a federal directive that has evoked opposing reactions from coastal First Nations.

Since 2019 a deadline has loomed over the industry, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a mandate to have a plan by 2025 to transition away from the open-net pens that have long been the standard for finfish aquaculture. On June 19 it finally became clear where that plan will lead, as Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced that all open net pens will be banned in British Columbia waters as of June 30, 2029.

The Alberni Valley is now home to a new peer-facilitated bereavement group, held on the last Monday of each month, to support those who have lost a loved one to the toxic drug crisis.

Healing Hearts bereavement group, which is sponsored by an organization called Moms Stop The Harm, is facilitated by Maureen Therrien-McKinnon, who lost her son to the toxic drug crisis.

Large portions of forest in Clayoquot Sound will be protected this month, a development that the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation is calling a “major step” in the provincial government recognizing its Tribal Parks.

Today the province announced 76,000 hectares of conservancies in Clayoquot Sound. When these protected areas come into effect on June 26, they will comprise almost 60 per cent of what is currently under a forestry tenure tied to TFL 54, the only tree farm licence in Clayoquot Sound.

The Dock+, a thriving seafood hub in the heart of Nuu-chah-nulth territory, has secured roughly $4 million in funding to break ground on an exciting 3,000-square-foot expansion project that includes the integration of High Pressure Processing (HPP) technology.

A partnership between the Port Alberni Port Authority (PAPA), Nova Harvest Ltd. and Huu-ay-aht First Nations (HFN) Fisheries LP, the expansion project received a $2,995,786 grant from the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Food, with the three partners contributing a combined $1 million in equity to top the project off.