Port Alberni is about to get hit with a new basketball championship some are calling “May Madness”.

Currently, 46 teams are registered for the first-ever Tseshaht Lightning Basketball Tournament on May 17 to May 19, which features six divisions: senior men, senior women, intermediate boys, intermediate girls, U13 boys and U13 girls.

“There is a hunger for the sport of basketball in Port Alberni,” said tournament organizer and Tseshaht Lightning U13 girls coach Nasimius Ross. “Basketball has been really hot. It’s been an awakening here in our town.”

The Victoria Native Friendship Centre (VNFC) has expanded its existing primary care clinic that operates out of its main building, with a new facility at a nearby location. This more than double the friendship centre’s health care capacity, from serving a list of approximately 1,800 Indigenous patients up to 4,500 with the opening of its new Camas Lelum Primary Care Clinic.

Has the decriminalization of drugs gone too far in British Columbia? Or are we just in an early stage of a paradigm shift in how addiction is treated that will eventually result in fewer overdose deaths?

Prior to colonization, Indigenous healers and midwives held significant roles in their communities, serving with their knowledge of harvesting, preparing and administering local medicinal plants, reads an article published by the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA).

Even with Indigenous people’s rich history of traditional medicines and healing practices, Western healthcare systems have a longstanding past of alienating First Nations people from the sector. 

Almost one year ago, in the early afternoon of June 20, a privately registered float-equipped aircraft was involved in a devastating and fatal crash on its way to a cabin 60 nautical miles northwest of Tofino/Long Beach Airport.

On May 8, 2024, Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TBS) released its investigative report to determine what occurred in the fatal incident.

The classroom is going into traditional-styled Nuu-chah-nulth canoes at the end of this school year, now that some high school students and two staff have gained training in the leadership qualities necessary to effectively navigate a č’apac.

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.