After nearly three years of planning and preparation, Ahousaht will soon release the results of their searches of the grounds around two Indian residential schools that were located within its territories.

The Uchucklesaht Tribe is celebrating 10 years of being a voting member on the ACRD, looking back on a decade marking a shift towards First Nations gaining a larger voice in regional governance.

The First Nation was recognized by the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District on March 6, before a scheduled board meeting. The ACRD was the first regional district to make First Nations full voting members when the Huu-ay-aht and Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ joined April 1, 2012, followed by the Uchucklesaht on Feb. 1, 2014 and the Toquaht in 2016.

Nuu-chah-hulth youth are getting ready to shine at the Junior All-Native Basketball Tournament (JANT) March 17 to 22 in Terrace, B.C.

Hosted by Nisga'a Nation, the youth basketball tournament will showcase 88 teams and 1,400 Indigenous athletes from all over the province. Mike Davis, JANT committee manager and member of Nisga’a, says the tournament is spread out over six facilities.

On Friday afternoon of March 8th Tseshaht First Nation had a grand re-opening of their newly renovated cultural centre on Watty’s Road. Members came for tours of the building on the First Nation’s reserve by Port Alberni and were served a lunch of sandwiches and wraps with tea, coffee and juice.

Originally built in 1974 the cultural centre underwent a lengthy overhaul to repair almost all facets of the building.

Tourism Tofino has become a Biosphere Committed Destination with the Responsible Tourism Institute and will now pursue Tourism Biosphere Certification.

The Responsible Tourism Institute’s (RTI) Biosphere Program is a globally recognized sustainability management and certification system that aligns with the United Nations’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Ahousaht Tyee Ha'wilth Maquinna (Lewis George) and grandson Jaiden George are preserving the history and knowledge of their people by video recording extensive interviews with elders.

In early spring 2023 they launched the project with elder Harold Little and have since sat down with 15 others. They have about eight more Ahousaht elders left to go on record with, offering up priceless “Haahuupa” (continuous teaching with care) about Ahousaht culture, history, and the region.

The youth of the Alberni-Clayoquot region will soon reap the benefit of a Foundry Centre, a hub service space that aims to increase access to health care, mental health, sexual health, and substance use services for youth ages 12 to 24.

With an award of $1.5 million, Port Alberni will join 25 communities throughout the province who have or are developing a centre in support of their youth, reads a press release.

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.