Several Nuu-Chah-Nulth First Nations are expected to benefit from the news that a professor from the University of Victoria (UVic) has been given a prestigious position.

Maycira Costa has been named the BC Leadership Chair in Environmental Remote Sensing. 

“It’s a huge deal,” Costa said. “It’s kind of a very prestigious position. In the field of remote sensing, using satellites to monitor the earth, I’m the only person in British Columbia with this focus. I think it will open many doors in terms of how to support the Indigenous people and communities.” 

Residents in Port Alberni woke up to a light dusting of wet snow on the morning of Nov. 19. Other than the weather forecasts, there was no hint that a freight train of a storm is set to hit coastal British Columbia in a few hours.

The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness issued a bulletin advising residents to prepare for stormy weather that is expected to continue through to Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Two Nuu-chah-nulth women were awarded the King Charles medal in recognition of their decades of service to the community. Cyndi Stevens and Jeannette Watts received medals from MP Gord Johns at an elder’s dinner at the Port Alberni Friendship Center on November 12.

The Vancouver Indigenous Fashion week showcases culture by bringing over 30 designers together from across the country for four nights of art and fashion, Nov. 20 to 23 at the Queen Elizabeth Theater. 

This is the eighth year for VIFW. 

“At VIFW, we highlight how fashion can build connections with Indigenous values, wisdom, and history, becoming a powerful tool for the cultivation of strength and resiliency in Indigenous communities, as well as a vehicle for understanding and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples,” reads a VIFW statement.

Sweetness is the $1 million milestone Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks crossed this year in ecosystem stewardship contributions from Tribal Parks Allies businesses.

Since launching the program in November 2018 with four Allies and $15,000 in donations, the number of participating businesses has increased to 127. In the 2023-2024 fiscal year those partners contributed a combined total of $444,318 to support Tribal Parks coastal restoration initiatives, salmon enhancement, trail building, community outreach and more. 

It has been 40 years since NEDC (Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation) began making dreams of young businesspersons true when they launched an innovative model of support services.

According to their website, NEDC is an Indigenous Financial Institution (IFI) providing developmental lending, business financing and support services to Aboriginal entrepreneurs on Vancouver Island. NEDC plays a major role in helping First Nation communities on Vancouver Island become healthy, wealthy and socio-economically independent.

A young Roosevelt elk is free roaming again after a female hiker tactfully disentangled an old parachute from around its neck and antlers. 

The lucky bull Rosie elk was likely entwined in the strings and material from the parachute for a couple days, according to his rescuer who wishes to go unnamed.

“It’s about the animals and nature and human waste,” said the 39-year-old hiker. 

Ucluelet’s beloved Cedar House Gallery has been converted into a discount toy store for the holiday season.

Tla-o-qui-aht artist and gallery owner Hjalmer Wenstob spent the past weekend in the shop making space for all the toys and Christmas decorations.

“It’s been a tight few years for everyone and so we thought if we could offer toys and Christmas decorations that are inexpensive then it would be fun for the communities,” said Wenstob.

Are they the adorable superheroes of the Pacific, or the “rats of the sea”? It depends on who you talk to, but the continued resurgence of sea otters on British Columbia’s coast has many who live off the ocean calling for an approach to control the population – including some methods that the general public might find hard to stomach.

A Port Alberni man sentenced in 2018 to four years in prison for a violent assault on another man has applied to Huu-ay-aht First Nations to live on their treaty lands.

David Bird, 45, now on probation after serving his sentence, was convicted of attacking a man with a hammer. Bird was automatically excluded from Huu-ay-aht’s treaty settlement lands in accordance with their Community Safety Act, enshrined in the Maa-nulth treaty.