Ceremony, prayer and plenty of singing and dancing marked the re-opening of treatment centre Tsow-Tun Le Lum at its brand-new facility located at 2850 Miller Road, on the south end of Duncan, B.C., in Cowichan Tribes territory.
Sipping endless coffee under the dim lights of Port Alberni’s Barclay Hotel banquet room, Indigenous and non-Indigenous forestry professionals sat together for two days soaking in the first annual Indigenous Forestry Conference, Sept. 10-11.
They talked about closing the economic gap, innovative ways to increase market space, streamlining processes and fixing the stumpage system, the multigenerational aspect of forestry as well as creating a collective vision for the future.
The Best Western Barclay Convention centre was packed with Indigenous leaders and foresters who were there to share ideas, resources, and successes as they move forward in a new era of sustainable, First Nations-led forestry practices in their territories.
Sponsored by Indigenous Forestry, the First Annual Indigenous Forestry Conference brought together First Nations leaders, policy makers and industry experts to allow an opportunity to network, strategize and gain insights into traditional Indigenous knowledge.
The Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Warrior Society has embarked on the arduous journey of youth substance use prevention by turning to an upstream initiative called the Icelandic Prevention Model.
The Icelandic Prevention Model is being used in hundreds of municipalities and communities around the world. The model is a community-based, bottom-up approach designed to deter adolescent substance use by focusing on holistic community building and long-term progress rather than standard short-term solutions.
The road connecting Port Alberni to the West Coast of Vancouver Island is back to single-lane alternating traffic as of Sept. 9 for essential road repairs, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Traffic queues start about two kilometres east of Kennedy Hill and will be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Drivers should expect and plan for delays of as much as 20 minutes in both directions until late October 2024.
The near-completion of the construction of Oomiiqsu (Mother) Centre, developed by Huu-ay-aht First Nation, was celebrated by dozens of supporters at Port Alberni’s Italian Hall on September 5th. The one-of-a-kind centre, which opens later this year, will provide supportive housing and services to Aboriginal women and children in Port Alberni.
Shalaya Valenzuela’s athletic career already includes winning a medal at the world’s most prestigious multi-sport competition.
Valenzuela, a member of Tseshaht First Nation, was part of the Canadian women’s rugby sevens squad that captured the silver medal at the recently concluded Paris Olympics in France.
Valenzuela, who is 25, was actually an alternate on the Canadian club in Paris. But she participated in all team activities and was also presented with an Olympic medal.
Ahousaht is drawing on support for its members in the wake of a tragic Labour Day weekend that left two unexpected deaths in the First Nation’s village - and an arrest resulting from a police investigation.
The First Nation has since declared a state of emergency for its village of Maaqtusiis on Flores Island, located northwest of Tofino, with a 9 p.m. curfew and “24-hour cultural support and counselling services,” according to a message from Ahousaht Chief Councillor n̓aasʔałuk (John Rampanen).
Tourism Tofino officials are excited they will continue to raise awareness of their district via a podcast.
Travel Beyond, a six-episode podcast series, was released earlier this year.
And Brad Parsell, the executive director of Tourism Tofino, is thrilled that more episodes will soon be produced.
“Part two of the podcast will be out in early 2025,” said Parcell, adding an agreement was reached this past Thursday, Aug. 29, to record a second season of the podcast.
Travel Beyond is produced by Destination Think, a Vancouver-based marketing agency.
A recent diesel and oil spill from a sinking vessel in the Ucluelet harbour has triggered alarm bells amongst locals about Canada’s response process.
On Aug. 6 at about 10:30 p.m., Gerry Schreiber called the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) emergency response line to report oil leaking from a vessel at the Ucluelet East government dock in Port Albion.
“I said, ‘You gotta get your guys out here. The oil is pouring out of this thing’,” Schreiber told the Ha-Shilth-Sa, adding that two other locals reported the spill as well.