Since January, Nanaimo's Indigenous Justice Centre has been taking on First Nation, Métis, and Inuit clients to provide free legal services and support in child protection and criminal justice matters. The centre, now fully operational, also provides wrap-around services, inter-agency coordination, and cultural support with an elder-in-residence.

Tseshaht First Nation plans to transform a barren waterfront mill parking lot into residential housing. thanks to support from the provincial government and a purchase agreement from Western Forest Products.

On May 2  c̓išaaʔatḥ (Tseshaht) First Nation and Western Forest Products announced the completion of the sale of a parcel of Western’s private land located in Port Alberni to Tseshaht for residential development.

Amanda Watts of Tseshaht and Deb Melvin of the Metlakatla First Nation have a varied day-to-day schedule at the West Coast General Hospital, but it’s always centered on ensuring their Indigenous patients feel safe and get the care they need.

As an Indigenous patient navigator (IPN) Melvin is busy answering phone calls from her patients, nurses and doctors, organizing and advocating for their care, planning for their discharge or transportation, all while supporting not only the patient, but their family, as they navigate the health care system.

Maxine Clutesi is 13 going on 14. The young Nuu-chah-nulth teen likes vintage fashion and jokes that the usual bout of coastal rain is flattening her classic 50s big hair.

She speaks the truth like only a teenager can.

It has been a week since a juvenile killer whale ventured out of the little lagoon where her mother died the month before, and the world is excited at the prospect of her successful reunion with her pod, and a long, happy life.

But local First Nations and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) are urging the public to keep their distance from the whale as she makes her way up Esperanza Inlet in search of her pod.

Sisters čiisma and Tuu paat have spoken their Indigenous dialects - without interruption - for every day of their long lives. For elders aged 76 and 81 respectively, this would have been normal 150 years ago. But as Nuu-chah-nulth-aht head deeper into the 21st century, and all of the assimilation that comes with being part of what is now Canada, the presence of speakers fluent in their Ahousaht dialect is becoming an increasingly critical resource with each passing year.

Every day, over the last few weeks Coda Johnson of Huu-ay-aht and Rose Tatoosh of Hupacasath have been painting a trash bin with their signature artwork that will soon make its way into the Port Alberni community.

Embellished with bright purples and baby blues, Tatoosh hopes that seeing the trash bin covered with art will make people feel good.

“It makes me feel good, because I'm making other people feel good,” said Tatoosh of the artwork. “Or at least look at [it] and be like, ‘Oh, that's a cool looking trash can’.”

It has been just over a year since the province enacted an exemption under section 56(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize people who use drugs.

The federal government approved an exemption to allow for the removal of criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of some illicit substances for personal use by people over 18 years old within British Columbia. The decriminalization ‘experiment’ came into effect Jan. 31, 2023, and remains in effect until Jan. 31, 2026.

Anacla residents will soon be able to access cleaner water as upgrades are planned for infrastructure in the Huu-ay-aht community.

The Huu-ay-aht First Nation is receiving $883,500 in provincial funding and $4,417,500 in federal funding for Anacla water treatment system repairs and expansion. The project will construct a new water treatment plant, a new reservoir, rehabilitate two wells and replace a damaged water line.