Nuu-chah-nulth women are powerful, strong, and not afraid to take up the space meant for them. This is how Mariah Charleson (łučinƛcuta), a Hesquiaht member who was recently elected the nation’s chief councillor, describes the women of Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations.

When young girls see the generation before them filled with strong-natured Nuu-chah-nulth women who are proud to speak their language, sing their songs, and dance their dances, they intrinsically want to follow suit, she said.

With the 2025 deadline approaching for a transition plan from the standard ocean net pens, the fish farming industry is on the cusp of a defining period as all of B.C.’s tenure licences are set to expire this summer.

According to data provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, all of the 85 finfish licences on British Columbia’s coast are due to expire June 30. Renewals are being sought for 66 of these licences, and consultations are underway with First Nations that have fish farms in their territorial waters.

Prior to colonization, Nuu-chah-nulth diets were known to consist of whale, seal, and salmon. Since contact, traditional diets have shifted to adapt to fishing and hunting regulations, but still, traditional aspects of acquiring food persisted. 

“What you would see as a traditional diet we had… previous to colonization, we'll never see that again,” said Dr. Charlotte Coté of the Tseshaht First Nation, who is a professor at the University of Washington specializing in food sovereignty. “It’s impossible.”

The Medimap Index is showing that British Columbians face the longest average wait times for walk-in clinics in Canada.

“[P]atients in B.C. had to wait on average 93 minutes to see a physician at a walk-in clinic in 2023, an increase of 14 minutes from 2022,” according to the Medimap Walk-in Clinic Wait Time Index.

The latest measurement places British Columbians waiting 25 minutes longer than the 68-minute average for walk-in clinics in other provinces.

Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations were honoured at the 2024 Indigenous Tourism Award ceremony for their new ventures that operate out of Tofino, B.C.

The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) held their Gala Dinner and awards ceremony in Ottawa on the evening of Feb. 29. According to Tla-o-qui-aht member and Tin Wis Best Western Resort Assistant Manager Maria Clark, the award winners were kept secret until the gala.

Help is coming to the streets of some Vancouver Island cities, with the latest effort to save Nuu-chah-nulth people from the harms of drug use.

The soggy weather didn’t detour the more than 300 Canucks fans from showing up at Alberni Toyota on Saturday, March 2nd to meet longtime Canuck alumni Richard “King Richard” Brodeur and to win prizes.

Brodeur was the Canucks’ goalie for eight seasons from 1981 to 1988 and after his retirement he founded his own hockey school in the Vancouver area.

Nuu-chah-nulth groups were a large part of this year’s Hoobiyee cultural celebration in Vancouver – a lively showcase that continued for two days at the PNE despite scheduling changes due to a what by all accounts appeared to be a tragedy midway through.

Victoria will see the addition of 30 temporary housing units for those who have been staying in shelters long term. This interim housing is the first action of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the city and province to provide housing and services with aims to reduce homelessness.

“Housing is a critical issue across the whole province, there's no question,” said Grace Lore, MLA for Victoria-Beacon Hill, in an interview with Ha-Shilth-Sa. “Certainly, here in Victoria the need for housing, really across the housing continuum, is really acute.”