On the morning of Oct. 2, a trawler fishing boat was reported to be sunken in Port Alberni’s Fisherman Wharf, near Tseshaht’s traditional winter village, ƛukʷatkʷuuʔis.

Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) was contracted by the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) to respond to the incident, where booms were placed to contain any potential pollutants from the vessel, CCG wrote in an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa. The vessel was constantly monitored, and no oil sheen was reported outside of the boom.

Leading up to Remembrance Day on Nov. 11, Canada officially recognizes the role Indigenous veterans have held in international conflicts, an occasion that is about “honouring our ancestors,” says a Tseshaht member.

Today is Indigenous Veterans Day, when the country acknowledges the Aboriginal people who fought for Canada. According to Veterans Affairs Canada, this totaled over 12,000 in the 20th century’s conflicts, with at least 500 losing their lives.

Island Health is apologizing to a Hesquiaht family for an elder’s treatment at West Coast General over the last two months of his life.

On Friday afternoon Alberni District Secondary School filled with students from local elementary schools and their families for their final wrestling tournament of the season.

Match after match, students shook hands and then took to their wrestling stance. As the whistle blew they tried out the offensive and defensive skills they had been working on at practice against their opponents.

For Liam Horbatch of Ahousaht, a Grade 6 student at EJ Dunn, he was in Grade 4 or 5 when he first tried wrestling and thoroughly enjoyed it.

As the Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA) calls for federal support for initiatives in British Columbia, the Victoria Native Friendship Center (VNFC) works to provide a full spectrum of services, including support for full-time workers and students amid the housing crisis.

“[The] number one [challenge] is affordability,” said Ron Rice, executive director of VNFC. “It's a crisis nationwide, it's not exclusive to here, but it is probably one of the most extreme versions of the challenge across the country.”

It started with alcohol addiction for 50-year-old Jacquie Dennis of Huu-ay-aht, and eventually this led to hard drugs. In 2013 Jacquie first used crystal meth with her boyfriend in Vancouver.

“He used, I saw it always happening everywhere, so I decided to try it,” she recalled.

It was her boyfriend that gave her the first shot of crystal meth.

“That first rush, the first high is what I chased, but you keep trying and never get it,” she said.

A growing collection of photos featuring Nuu-chah-nulth war veterans was featured at a dinner hosted by Usma Nuu-chah-nulth Family and Child Services on Wednesday, Oct. 25. But the purpose of the event was not only to pay tribute to heroes, but also to demonstrate the family connections between Nuu-chah-nulth children and war veterans ahead of Remembrance Day.

According to Leisa Hassell, Usma connections worker, the event is the second one the agency has hosted.

Since the Maa-nulth Final Agreement came into effect over a decade ago, a hole has existed right in the middle of the Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k'tles7et'h' First Nations treaty settlement land. Amid an ongoing housing shortage in its village on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island - with pressing needs for infrastructural upgrades - the 40 acres that remained under the ownership of the region’s school district lingered over the years as a barrier to the First Nation gaining the full self-determination that it had fought decades for leading up the Maa-nulth treaty.

According to comedian Don Burnstick, there are four actions needed to improve the wellness of First Nations: Pray, share, cry and laugh.

“If you want to heal the trauma, do these things – but you have to do all four,” said Burnstick during a recent talk in Port Alberni, part of the NTC Disability Access Awareness Committee Health Ability Fair, held Oct. 25-26 at the Alberni Athletic Hall.

Tseshaht Pride, a team of mainly under-17 youth, fought for first place against the Hesquiaht Descendants in the final game of the women’s division in AV Thunder’s basketball tournament, placing second overall.

“I'd say it's a bit different going to a tournament and playing people my age and then going against women,” said Natalie Clappis, a player on Tseshaht Pride. “A lot of people are a lot older than us. It's more challenging, but I like the challenge, it's fun.”