Ć̓išaaʔatḥ Lightning Tournament marks the return of Port Alberni as a basketball town

The squeaks of sneakers on hardwood rang out over the May long weekend as B.C. basketball players came together in Port Alberni for the inaugural Ć̓išaaʔatḥ Lightning Tournament.

The three-day open hoop tourney saw 46 teams in five divisions play over 80 games spread out over five venues, with the finale taking place at Coulson’s Gym in the Alberni Athletic Hall on Sunday.

Hesquiaht artist celebrates teachings of kʷiisaḥiʔis with sculpture gifted to Ehattesaht First Nation

The orphaned killer whale calf that made her way out of a lagoon near Ehattesaht in April 2024 is being celebrated through art.

It was in late March when a Biggs Killer Whale and her two-year-old calf entered a shallow lagoon near Ehattesaht when the mother became stranded on a sandbar as the tide receded. Despite community efforts to save her, the mother drowned, her female calf lingered nearby.

Effects of solar storm felt in the deep sea

In early May a powerful sun storm made the Northern Lights visible from Vancouver Island, but no one predicted that the resulting magnetic disturbance would have been felt on the ocean floor as well.

Over the first full week of the month NASA recorded the strongest solar storm to reach earth in two decades. From May 3 to 9 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration observed 82 solar flares, which are giant explosions on the sun that send energy, light and high-speed particles into space.

Passing cultural teachings to the future: Hesquiaht artist builds centre for Nuu-chah-nulth youth

The money isn’t all there, but the framing and the dream of a cultural library are moving forward as Hesquiaht elder and artist Tim Paul and friends press ahead with the construction of a cultural knowledge center. The new center is going up on Josephine Street in Port Alberni, at the site of the former NTC smokehouse which burnt down nearly 20 years ago.

Tears and words of forgiveness as couple is sentenced for death of 6-year-old Don-Tay Lucas

A Port Alberni couple has been sentenced to 15 years after they pled guilty to manslaughter in the 2018 death of six-year-old Don-Tay Patrick Lucas.

Following sentencing, the judge allowed members of the Lucas family, including Don-tay’s biological father, to stand before the accused to offer words of forgiveness to them. There wasn’t a dry eye in the courtroom as the family reached out with words of love and compassion.

Mother and stepfather face sentence for six-year-old’s death

On Thursday, May 16 the mother and stepfather of a six-year-old are scheduled to appear in Port Alberni Law Courts to receive their sentence for the boy’s death.

Don-Tay Patrick Lucas was only six years old when he was found unresponsive in a south Port Alberni townhouse on March 13, 2018. First responders and police were told that the child was injured after a fall down the stairs, but suspicions arose immediately and the death became the focus of a years-long investigation by the RCMP and BC Coroner’s Service.

Vancouver’s Museum of Anthropology reopens after 18-month closure, displaying Nuu-chah-nulth works

After an 18-month closure for seismic upgrades, the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia will reopen to the public next month.

Seismic upgrades were made to the museum’s Great Hall as well as the revitalization and reinterpretation of displays of Northwest Coast Indigenous carvings, poles, weavings and other works from the past and present.

Hesquiaht woman takes on new vice-principal role of SD71’s Indigenous Education 

Lelaina Jules (ƛ̓akʷapiqa) of Hesquiaht, grew up in Hot Springs Cove, 26 nautical miles north of Tofino. She spent 18 years in her home community learning her language, dances and songs. She learned where to fish, gather berries and medicines, and she learned how to swim safely at her local lake. 

Growing up rooted in her culture, on the land alongside encouragement from her parents, fueled a lifelong love for learning and education.

New forestry app aims for transparency with proposed operations

On May 7 the Ministry of Forests announced the launch of a new Forest Operations Map (FOM) portal where British Columbians can now access and comment on proposed operations, including cutblocks and roads, after amendments to Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA).

“The portal will allow greater public input on forestry activities, as well as greater transparency about forestry proposals within the province and what those proposed activities would entail, including roads, mapped areas of harvest and estimated time of harvest,” a recent press release stated.

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