Ha Shilth Sa Newspaper March 23, 2023

Port Alberni Friendship Center selected to run shelter

BC Housing didn’t renew shelter society’s contract, after organization ran the facility since its opening in 2019

By Denise Titian and Karly Blats Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter and Contributor

PortAlberni, BC - BC Housing has selected the PortAlberni Friendship Centre (PAFC) as the new operator of the Our Home on Eighth supportive housing and shelter building.

“The PortAlberni Friendship Center is excited at the opportunity to be the new operator of Our Home on Eighth,” said PAFC Executive Director Cyndi Stevens. She went on to say that the PAFC has extensive experience in delivering this type of support and service in the valley.

“We have been providing services, programming, culturally comprehensive events and programming, and celebrating special occasions with the community since 1965,” Stevens added. “We bring the strength of expertise along with those of our solid and long-standing partnerships and relationships that we have built within PortAlberni and beyond.”

Built in 2019, Our Home on Eighth provides 30 supportive housing units, each with a bathroom and kitchenette, and 20 shelter spaces available to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in the community.At the time the PortAlberni Shelter Society (PASS) was awarded the contract to run the facility.

Not long after it opened concerns about how the shelter was being run were raised and protestors set up camp on the lawns outside the shelter in the fall of 2020. The encampment came down on BC Housing’s promise of a third-party review of services.

The provincial review report was released in February 2021. In January 2023 Ha-Shilth-Sa reported that BC Housing would cancel its service contract for Our Home on Eighth with the PortAlberni Shelter Society without stating a reason. The provincial review report, however, noted that a list of individuals banned from the facility was circulating and, at one point in time, contained 100 names.

“Another, more recent version (of the list) has 50 names,” states the report.

“How these lists came to be publicly circulated is unknown, but it has resulted in the further stigmatization of those barred individuals.”

BC Housing said they have a duty to ensure shelters and supportive housing facilities are appropriately operated and that residents and staff are being supported.

“This duty is for shelter guests and supportive housing residents, as well as the community of PortAlberni,” BC Housing said. “Because this matter is being discussed through legal counsel, we cannot

comment further.”

Wes Hewitt, PASS executive director, said he has not had any discussions with BC Housing about why their contract was cancelled.

“There’s been no public disclosure of anything like that. [BC Housing] just used the 90-day clause and that was it,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt said it’s disappointing to see PASS’s contract end as the society has put a lot of time and energy into making Our Home on Eighth what it is today.

“This building wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for us,” Hewitt said. “We spent over a quarter of a million dollars of our own money and negotiated all the lease agreements and things with Island Health for the property.”

The society will continue to operate other facilities in theAlberni Valley, including the supportive home on Maitland Street, the Overdose Prevention Site and sobering centre, among others.

“This is not going to be the end of PASS by any means. We have a lot of other things that we do, other sites and other programs,” Hewitt said. “We’re alive and well and we’re always looking for the support in the community. We’re thankful for the support that we get and we’ve had a lot of people that have donated to us because of the announcement and showed their support.”

The 2021 Point in Time Homeless Count revealed that there are about 125

people experiencing homelessness in Port Alberni.About 65 percent of that number identify as Indigenous.Aboriginal people make up 17 percent of the population of PortAlberni, according to census data. In January 2023 BC Housing invited select non-profit housing and shelter operators to submit proposals to operate Our Home on Eighth. The invitation focused on Indigenous-led operators to best support guests and residents, the majority of whom identify asAboriginal.

The PortAlberni Friendship Center was selected and will begin managing Our Home on 8th, located at 3939 8thAve., onApril 1. BC Housing promises there

as

will be no interruption of services to current shelter guests or supportive housing residents.

“We are committed to creating a safe, culturally connected, and welcoming environment to the residents and guests at Our Home on Eighth,” said Stevens.

BC Housing states that PAFC will have experienced staff onsite around the clock to provide residents and guests with supports, including daily meals, life-skills training, employment assistance and counselling, physical and mental-health resources, as well as access to addiction treatment and recovery services.

In addition to those services, PAFC will incorporate Indigenous culture into their programing. They will offer opportunities for residents, visitors, and guests to experience culture, language, singing, drumming, traditional medicines and teachings from elders and knowledge keepers, according to BC Housing.

The PAFC will also operate the Walyaqil Tiny Shelter Village in PortAlberni, scheduled to open in spring 2023 on 4th Avenue.

“We are looking forward to beginning the important work of supporting those who need it the most by embedding Indigenous culture within the programs and services that will be offered,” said Stevens. “We thank our community and our amazing partners for your support and look forward to working with you all during this transition and into the future.”

Denise Titian photo

BC Housing has terminated the contract for The PortAlberni Shelter Society to operate Our Home on Eighth

of March 31, 2023.

Cyndi Stevens

$100M watershed security fund ‘expression of hope’

The development of a strategy to protect watersheds seeks to align with UNDRIP for a more sustainable future

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Anew watershed fund is being heralded as a critical shift in how the provincial government values the natural resource, with particular attention to long-held Indigenous values.

With $100-million to back up its claim, the province announced the Watershed Security Fund earlier this month, with a pledge that B.C.’s future will be different than the past century and a half of reliance on unsustainable resource extraction.

“Todays announcement is an important expression of hope for the stewardship of our watersheds,” said Nathan Cullen, minister of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship, during a press conference on March 6. “For far too long, too many have taken our abundant freshwater resources for granted. The hard reality is for far too many watersheds in British Columbia, they are facing significant challenges that requires us to take a more ambitious, more strategic approach to ensure the sustainability for future generations.”

The $100-million fund is to be managed by the B.C.-First Nations Water Table, a collective of representatives from the provincial government and Indigenous communities formed in June 2022 to bring in a new strategy to better protect B.C.’s watersheds.

Chief Lydia Hwitsum of the Cowichan Tribes is co-chair of the water table. She called the fund a “significant undertaking and shift in terms of including Indigenous voice [and] respecting Indigenous law.”

“When we work together, we can get

better outcomes,” she said.

With the announcement of the fund, the watershed table released an intentions paper to guide the provincial investment. The document stresses the need to align the provincial government’s policies with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, something that the province was tasked to do when legislation put this declaration into B.C. law in 2019.

Informed by public input received last year, the intentions paper also mentions the need to build a strong foundation of watershed science that people can access, strengthen regulations to protect the resource, find ways to balance water supply with demand and to “adopt wild salmon recovery as a key value.”

Water table delegate Hugh Braker cautioned that B.C.’s industries can have a competing interest in the water supply, something that will collectively need to be resolved.

“We know that those are competing interests, everybody wants a big share of fresh water, but we also know that we cannot fail,” he said. “We cannot let the province of British Columbia lose its natural resources.”

After droughts over the past few summers and an atmospheric river event that left devastation in parts of B.C. due to torrential rainfall in November 2021, more alarms have been raised recently on threats tied to the province’s water.

In March a report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service was released, warning that the earth’s rapidly changing climate is a serious threat to British Columbia’s coastal communities due to rising sea levels. Global warming also

threatens the province’s food security, warned the national spy agency. While the watershed table’s intentions paper focuses on the ongoing concerns of climate change, Braker, who is a member of the Tseshaht First Nation, noted that other human-caused activities cannot be overlooked.

“It’s not just climate change, it’s also industry, logging industry on Vancouver Island for example,” he said.

Over a century of industrial-scale forestry has left an unavoidable mark on Vancouver Island’s watersheds. Towards the southern portion of Nuu-chah-nulth territory, 62 per cent of the Sarita River watershed had been logged by 1997, according to studies conducted by the Huu-ay-aht First Nations around its river, including 97 per cent of the flood plain. Further up the coast, similar effects can be seen in the Gold River, said Mowachaht/Muchalaht Hereditary Chief Jerry Jack, who watches many rivers in his territory dry up each summer.

“Our fish are stuck at the waterfront because they can’t go anywhere,” he said during the March 6 press conference, alluding to the impacts of forestry. “They widen the rivers, the rivers get wider and wider and there’s no more water, [fish] can’t go anywhere. It gets really scary.”

During the announcement provincial representatives noted that forestry companies cannot have a future in the industry unless their processes leave a sustainable environment.

“Water is a precious resource, it’s critical to our individual lives. It’s also a limited resource,” said George Heyman, minster of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “It’s a resource that’s been impacted in often negative ways by practices that came about because we were out of touch with the land, the air and the water in a way that Indigenous peoples in British Columbia could never afford to be.”

“For us, water is a living being - not just to be managed, but to respected and protected,” said Jack, who is on the B.C. Assembly of First Nations board of directors. “Our whalers used to go to the water to prepare to go whaling.Although we don’t whale anymore, we still go there to cleanse ourselves, to make ourselves better for what we’re going to do. If we don’t have that, we won’t have life.”

Another period of public engagement is open for the direction of the Watershed Security Fund untilApril 17. Then the B.C.-First Nations Water Table is tasked with developing a watershed security strategy over the spring and summer.

Input can be submitted to the watershed security initiative at feedback.engage. gov.bc.ca.

Jerry Jack

Homeless allege harassment, bylaw commits to safety

Claims of taking essential items surfaced at a rally, but City of Victoria says it is carefully upholding regulations

By Alexandra Mehl Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Victoria, BC - In the wake of an unsuccessful legal challenge against the City of Victoria’s bylaw department – a case that a tribunal called “extraordinary” for municipal enforcement - members of the city’s unhoused community hosted a rally on March 10 to share the challenges they face.

Niki Ottosen is founder of the Backpack Project in Victoria, an organization that provides supplies like tents, sleeping bags, clothing, and food to Victoria’s homeless.

Otteson filed a claim against the City of Victoria when bylaw enforcement impounded items donated to the Backpack Project, meant for unhoused individuals. The items had been delivered to a fellow advocate to establish a “respite tent” in a city-owned public park, reads the Civil Resolution Tribunal Reason for Decision. Otteson claimed that the items were not returned in the same condition as they were taken, while some were not returned at all. Ottesen’s claim was for $500, the estimated value of the missing items.

The City of Victoria denied these claims, stating it was within its right under a municipal bylaw to impound the items.Aticket was issued to the fellow advocate, while the tent and items were impounded due to it being prohibited on sports fields in a city park. The items were impounded on Sept. 26, 2021, and returned on Oct. 21, 2021.

The tribunal dismissed Ottesen’s claim, indicating that she had no standing because she did not have ownership of the impounded property. The items had been donated by Otteson’s mother and given to the advocate.

The tribunal also dismissed the city, which counter-claimed $5,000 to cover a “portion” of the legal fees. For the city, “this dispute was extraordinary because it could impact the city’s ability to enforce certain bylaws if Mrs. Ottosen was successful, and so it was required to ‘vigorously defend’the claim,” according to the tribunal’s decision.

“I can only imagine how hard it must be for people to file a complaint or a claim who live outside in tents, who are being harassed and displaced and traumatized on a daily basis,” said Otteson at the rally.

“People who are without transportation and are constantly having to retrieve their possessions that are being impounded.”

Otteson goes on to explain that essential survival items, such as blankets, sleeping bags, and clothing, are impounded containing other things like birth certificates, ID, life saving medications and bus passes.

“Along with the loss of essential items, they also lose items of irreplaceable worth, including family photos, journals, artworks, and the ashes of loved ones,” said Otteson.

For Victoria’s homeless, this dispute is only the tip of the iceberg pertaining to issues with the city’s bylaw enforcement.

Patricia Nataucappo, and her husband, Kyle Rodway, have lived on Pandora Street for the last three years.

Nautocappo explained that one day prior to the rally she and her husband had their belongings impounded.

“Your stuff still gets stolen every day,” said Natucappo. “There’s still one victim every single day.”

“They quarter us off and then they tape

us off,” said Nataucappo. “Then they take everything that they put inside the tape.”

“Then they go and lock it away somewhere telling you that it’s safe,” she continued.

Nataucappo goes on to explain that when they get their belongings back, often items of value, such as electronics, have not been returned.

“We’ve always gotten our clothes back, we’ve always gotten our stuff back, but it’s always been moldy and it’s always been without our monetary electronics,” said Nataucappo.

Trent Smith, is homeless in Victoria. He became unhoused over the pandemic when the Fairfield Hotel closed down without giving him proper notice. He lost roughly $10,000 worth of belongings, he said.

“Bylaw is out there every day or every second or third day, but they come out with the intention of impounding, not the intention of just enforcement,” said Trent. “It’s not about just making sure people are okay, and that everything is good. It’s about bullying people and controlling people.”

Before becoming homeless, Smith had previously worked in the hospitality industry for 30 years.

“I’ve taken care of people, [and] this is different. I’m not used to this,” said Smith when reflecting on his experiences living unhoused. “It rips you apart from the inside…just having to watch this and see this on a daily basis.”

Smith would like to see a level of human sensitivity in the enforcement.

“I see everybody around me get harassed, and have [their] stuff impounded and stolen, not just myself,” he said.

Water hose allegations

Karen Mills, an outreach worker who had previously been unhoused for eight years, spoke at the rally claiming she has witnessed bylaw enforcement use a water hose in the morning so that homeless people would pack up and move along.

“I wasn’t a person, because I was a homeless person,” said Mills. “Today, I’m not homeless, and my voice does count.”

Nataucappo also claimed to have wit-

nessed the use of the water hose, though she said it has not happened in roughly three years.

“I’ve watched them show up there at six o’clock in the morning and start, you know, spraying the water hose at them, and that stopped real quick,” said Nataucappo. “We had to stay on the block in order to get that stopped.”

When asked, the City of Victoria Bylaw Department denied these claims.

Director of Bylaw Shannon Perkins explained that Victoria’s officers enforce two main bylaws regulated in “city owned public spaces” that pertain to unhoused individuals. These are Streets and Traffic, and Parks Regulations.

Perkins wrote that the Street and Traffic Bylaw regulates the “safe passage of people, bikes and vehicles” on sidewalks, bike lanes, and streets. The maintenance of this bylaw also includes ensuring city departments can do their jobs, such as sanitation and refuse removal, parking services and electrical services, wrote Perkins.

With the Parks Regulations bylaw officers ensure that those using temporary shelter are lawfully in permitted areas within permitted times, said Perkins. Additionally, they must ensure that others can use the park safely.

“Each person is dealt with on an individual basis and enforcement decisions are based on their ability to comply either over time or on any day,” wrote Perkins. Though not all unhoused individuals experience mental health, drug addiction, and other ailments, in the cases that individuals do, it impacts their ability to comply, she said.

“It certainly is a dominant factor,” wrote Perkins. “For these reasons, compliance can take several days or weeks to achieve. This is why tents will remain up, despite bylaw officer attendance.”

When asked about extreme weather, Perkins wrote that the city does not require unhoused individuals to tear down structures during heavy rainfall, and with freezing temperatures they are “anxiously engaged in getting people inside.”

The enforcement that bylaw does during extreme weather like windstorms, wrote

Perkins, is to move people away from hazards such as falling limbs. With impounded property, items are “sorted, cataloged, and stored” for thirty days.

“City staff work very hard to ensure that items of value are retained, documented and photographed so they can be returned to rightful owners,” wrote Perkins. Bylaw officers are authorized to impound items when they are unlawfully placed, she wrote.

“Our goal is to help people understand the rules, coordinate with other service providers to assist in this understanding, provide education and warning before conducting any impounds. Our goal is voluntary compliance,” wrote Perkins.

One third are Indigenous

According to the 2020 Greater Victoria Point-in-Time Homelessness Count and Housing Needs Survey the top three barriers to securing housing are high rental prices, low income and lack of options available.

Ninety-two per cent of respondents in the survey indicated that they want permanent housing. Thirty-five per cent identified as Indigenous, and 45 respondents out of the 854 surveyed identified as Nuu-chah-nulth. Of the Indigenous respondents, 12 per cent are on a waitlist for on-reserve housing, 15 per cent for urbanAboriginal housing, and seven per cent are on both.

Single individuals may not consider putting themselves on a waitlist, because these housing opportunities often prioritizes families, reads the report.

Of the 84 youth respondents surveyed, 36 per cent identified as Indigenous.

“We have so many Indigenous youth on our streets that are not getting the care that they need,” said Mills. “They’re out there [and] they’re trying to survive.”

“It’s heart wrenching for me to give somebody a tent and watch their home being displaced every single morning when I gave them a home the night before,” said Mills. “We need better treatment of these people. Nobody deserves or chooses to be homeless.”

The Mayor and City Council did not respond for comment.

Alexandra Mehl photo

Millie Modeste, an advocate for Victoria’s unhoused community, speaks at rally in the city’s downtown on March 10.

Ha-Shilth-Sa newspaper is published by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council for distribution to the members of the NTC-member First Nations, as well as other interested groups and individuals.

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FNHA provides health feedback office

Quality Care and Safety Office aims to improves health care services across province

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

British Columbia – The First Nations HealthAuthority is informing front-line workers about its Quality Care and Safety

Office, offering support to Indigenous people as they navigate through the health care system in the province.

“The goal of the First Nations Health Authority’s Quality Care and Safety

Office is to improve health and wellness programs and services for First Nations people across B.C.,” wrote the FNHAin an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa.

Through the Quality Care and Safety

Office, clients of the various health services in British Columbia provide feedback, either positive or negative, about their quality of care.

“FNHA’s quality care staff provide channels for easy access to those wishing to provide feedback regarding the care that they, their family members and/ or loved ones have received,” wrote the FNHA.

At a recent meeting of the NTC nursing department, guests Desiree Holmes and Krista Joseph from FNHAspoke about the Quality Care and Safety Office.After hearing complaints that could be from clients who have used services in the health care system, like the hospital, ambulance, doctor, pharmacy, or dentist, QCSO staff will act on the issue, seeking resolution. One example that the FNHA staff spoke about was a client with a complaint about a pharmacy.Advocacy from QCSO reportedly resulted in changes at the BC College of Pharmacists.

The FNHAsays that when the QCSO receives a complaint about the health care system, the quality care team assists by providing support with a transparent process for accountability.Aperson’s unique care concerns are considered, and the complaint office helps people navigate through the system.

The QCSO also receives complements and feedback about positive experiences in the health care system.

“(The QCSO) also shares positive experiences with the appropriate program, service and/or provider,” said the FNHA.

“B.C. First Nations people have rights when sharing feedback regarding their

care.”

FNHA’s quality care staff uphold and provide education regarding those rights, he added.

You can provide feedback on your experience with any B.C. public health care service, including: those delivered directly by FNHA(such as nursing stations, Virtual Doctor of the Day and some health benefits) those delivered by external health-care providers (such as hospitals) those funded by FNHA(such as care provided in First Nations community health centres, Pacific Blue Cross and PharmaCare Plan W)

Once a complaint has been filed the FNHAQuality Care and Safety Office

will respond to you within two business days. They say they will listen and respond to the complaint with privacy and respect.After gathering information, they will outline the options available to you, including restorative approaches to healing in a cultural way.

The QCSO will work with the client according to their wishes and will provide a written summary.

If you have feedback about your experience in the B.C. health care system that you would like to share, you can email, phone, or text FNHAQuality Care and Safety Office.

Phone: 1-844-935-1044 (toll free), email: quality@fnha.ca

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Courtenay Louie photo

AnAhousaht resident receives a vaccination shot for COVID-19 in January 2021 from a nurse with the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. Indigenous people across B.C. can provide feedback on their positive or negative experiences with health care providers through an office established by the First Nations HealthAuthority.

Fog, faulty equipment factors in crash, says report

Transportation Safety Board outlines adverse conditions that faced an over-dedicated water taxi operator in ‘22

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Tofino, BC -Atransportation Safety Board investigation is pointing to the combination of dense fog, instrument failure and fatigue from an overworked operator as factors that could have led a water taxi to crash into a rock during a routine trip from Tofino toAhousaht.

The federal agency released its report on March 13, with details leading up to the crash involving the Rocky Pass in early 2022. Four of the five people aboard the water taxi were seriously injured when it hit a rock in a shallow area between Tofino andAhousaht on Jan. 25, 2022, including skipper Chris Frank.

The accident occurred during a morning of thick fog, conditions that prompted Environment Canada to warn that visibility could be reduced “suddenly to near zero” on the water around Vancouver Island. The Rocky Pass, which was one of the busiest water taxis between Tofino andAhousaht at the time, had arrived from the Flores Island community to make its first pick up at Tofino’s First Street Dock.

Rocky Pass left the dock at 9:05 a.m., as another water taxi was also headed to Ahousaht, while two more were coming the other way towards Tofino. Halfway through the journey the vessel passed through Coomes Bank, a shallow area with rocks that become exposed during low tide, which is the typical passage for water taxis venturing between Tofino andAhousaht. The boat was steered a few metres to the right of its usual track through Coomes Bank to give the oncoming vessels space, stated the TSB report, noting that its speed was 22 knots, three knots slower than normal for water taxi travel through this area.

“As the vessel was transiting Coomes Bank, the GPS display froze and, as a result, the operator could no longer view the vessel’s actual position on the display,” described the report. “The operator was attempting to reset the GPS by using the zoom feature when he observed a rock directly in front of the vessel.”

Rocky Pass hit the rock at 9:28 a.m.

“The operator was thrown forward out of his seat and struck the front window but was subsequently able to stop the engines and transmit a Mayday call using the VHF radiotelephone with the assistance of one of the passengers,” continued the TSB.

The Canadian Coast Guard responded, as did the Coastal Nations Coast Guard Auxiliary and other vessels in the area.

With a large dent and hole in the hull, witnesses saw the taxi taking in water. Reports said that the vessel’s radar had problems “with the clarity of the display that affected its usefulness”, stated the federal agency.

“This speed in these conditions provided the operator with approximately two seconds to react to any navigational hazards,” said the report. “As well, the operator was relying on a single navigational aid, the GPS, to maintain a safe passage because the vessel’s radar was not in use during the voyage. When the GPS display froze, the operator had no back-up navigational aid to provide positional information.”

On such a foggy morning, a back-up navigational aid could have provided welcome assistance - especially considering that Frank had returned from transporting someone for a medical issue just hours before he got up for work that morning.Ahousaht relies on water taxis for medical evacuations to Tofino, and without a set schedule, Frank ended up being the driver willing to take an emergency call the previous night when he was getting ready to go to bed.

“He waited approximately 20 minutes to see if someone else would respond to the call, and when no one else did, he responded,” stated the report, noting that Rocky Pass leftAhousaht at 11 p.m. with the patient. “Once in Tofino, the operator stayed at the wharf to see whether the

patient would require a return transfer to Ahousaht.”

As he waited Frank slept in the boat, before heading home without the patient. He got back toAhousaht at 2 a.m., and was awake at 6:15 a.m. to depart on the first trip of the day half an hour later.

Although the TSB couldn’t determine if fatigue was a factor in the Jan. 25 colli-

sion, it notes that the lack of coordination among water taxis to perform medical evacuations fromAhousaht creates a risk for the vessel operators.

“This unpredictability makes it challenging for operators to prioritize their hours of rest and exposes them to the rick of fatigue,” stated the report.

Submitted photos

On Jan. 25, 2022 the Rocky Pass hit a rock during a morning trip from Tofino toAhousaht, causing a large dent in its hull. Since then, the water taxi has been out of operation.

‘Indigenous practice is prevention’ in foster system

As the impacts of residential schools trickle down to youngsters in care, workers point to Indigenous practices

By Alexandra Mehl Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It was scary for Victoria Oscar and her brother to leave their family home in Kyuquot Sound and enter the foster care system.

From age two to 16 Oscar and her brother were in and out of foster care, living in Campbell River, Zeballos,Alert Bay and Kyuquot, among other places. When they entered the foster care system, they arrived with only what they could carry, said Oscar.

Over the course of a year when Oscar was a teenager, they were waiting for “approval” to live with her grandfather, though soon after they were in his care, he passed away.

“We always got to stay with family.

That’s why they moved us so much,” said Oscar. “We just wanted to be home, close to our mom and our stepdad.”

Oscar and her brother were able to stay together throughout the years, in and out of foster care.

“When you’re trying to keep your siblings together, it’s a matter of space,” said Oscar when sharing some of the challenges of being in foster care. “Alot of places we were stuck in the same room.”

Reflecting on the social workers she interacted with, Oscar remembers one in particular who treated her well, understanding the importance of keeping the girl close to her culture, community, and family. Oscar said this social worker was the reason her and her brother were able to stay together.

“We’re okay living out of bags. We’re okay sleeping in a tent. We’re not scared of anything. We’re not afraid to sleep on the floor or the cement,” reflected Oscar.

In 2021, she began school at the Native Education College in Vancouver. This was the same time that Oscar overcame addictions she had struggled with since age 15.

“When I started school, I hit the ground running and I just couldn’t stop,” said Oscar. “They help you grow… They give you the tools to build your own foundation, and it’s a really beautiful place.”

Oscar has two more math classes before she receives her GED, and plans to walk across the stage next year.

Disruption to the family dynamic

Geena Haiyupus of Hesquiaht is a youth navigator for Usma Nuu-chah-nulth Family and Child Services. Haiyupus helps youth as they age out of care by assisting them with life skills required when they leave Usma.

Haiyupus explains that Canada’s colonial history directly impacts the youth in Usma services.

“They tore us apart from [our culture], and then they separated us from our language and our traditional roles that we would have taken very seriously had we still been living in community,” said Haiyupus.

She explains that residential schools and the foster care system cause disruptions in the traditional family dynamic, and has done so through generations.

The biggest challenge that the youth face is finding a sense of belonging, whether it be with their parents, relatives, or community, said Haiyupus.

“That disruption of connection and sense of belonging really impacts them,” she said. “They go and look for outside resources [to have] a sense of belonging, and that often comes with the streets.”

One method that Usma employs to support young people is to keep them busy,

away from the streets and other outside influences by following protocols that build connection with their families and communities, explains Haiyupus.

Charlene Thompson-Reid (Wiick-saawilth) of Tseshaht has been working with Usma since 2009.

“Culture to us, here at Usma, is mandatory,” said Thompson-Reid. “They deserve to be invited, to be included to be part of that culture.”

Though many youth in care with Usma are with extended family and community members, with non-native homes, Usma brings culture to them, explained Thompson-Reid.

This ranges from activities such as making traditional headbands, drums, and shawls, having an elder teaching roles and values, or learning about hunting and fishing.

Staff will also bring youth to Hesquiaht, Tseshaht,Ahousaht, and Huu-ay-aht dance classes, said Thompson-Reid.

If the child isn’t connected to family, they will make sure Usma organizes a naming ceremony and celebration, she added.

When Haiyupus is with the youth she will point out who their relatives are, so they can build connections and deepen their sense of belonging.

“It’s slowly changing, less kids are getting removed as much as they were even 14 years ago, when I first started here,” said Thompson-Reid.

‘Indigenous practice is prevention’

According to statistics from the Ministry of Child and Family Development, from 2001 to 2021 the number ofAbnoriginal youth in foster care decreased from 4,273 to 3,548, though 67 per cent of children in foster care are currently Indigenous.

“Indigenous practice is prevention,” said Haiyupus. “The more we practice our Indigenous worldview, the more that we bring sacred practices back to what we’re doing, the more healing we have.”

When asked where foster care can improve, Oscar said they need to “Indigenize” the system, using things like the “healing wheel”.

“The only way that we’re going to find prevention is by seeking that healing,” said Haiyupus.

In December of 2022 Murphy Battista LLP filed a class action lawsuit against the Ministry of Child and Family Development for failing to provide the proper care for children in the foster system, alleging that the MCFD didn’t supply basic rights like being fed, clothed, and nurtured.

“As a result of this alleged failure, children in care were exposed to physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, exposure to drug use, exposure to criminal activity, given inadequate food/nourishment, given inadequate medical and other treatments and given inadequate support…to complete a Grade 12 education,” reads the class action. In an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa, the Ministry of Children and Family Development writes that it is their “first priority to keep children and youth close to families, communities and cultures. More children than ever before are staying connected to their families, communities, and cultures in out-of-care arrangements with extended family or friends.”

“As of January 31, 2023, we currently have the lowest number of Indigenous children and youth in foster care in 20 years - 2,281,” continued the ministry. “Last year over 93 per cent of Indigenous children who needed protection were able to return to living safely with their families after receiving supports.”

“With the 2023 budget investing $85 million to support caregivers, kinship, and out-of-care providers with costs of food, clothing, and transportation, this investment will increase maintenance rates by 47 per cent and reach more than 5,000 caregivers,” wrote the ministry. “Increased funding for kinship and outof-care caregivers increases the likelihood that a child or youth can be well supported without having to come into care, while maintaining connections with their family, community, and culture.”

The monthly maintenance rate for a child, ranging from an infant to age eleven, is $1,024.64, and as ofApril 1

this will increase to $1,465.86. For youth aged 12-19, the maintenance rate is $1,124.19 and will increase to $1,655.91, wrote the ministry.

British Columbia is the first jurisdiction in Canada to pass legislation, in late 2022, that recognizes the right for Indigenous communities to provide their own child and family services, enabling them to keep their youth safe and connected to families, culture, and communities, according to MCFD.

“The ministry, I feel like they’re miles behind us,” said Thompson-Reid. “I feel like [Usma] has been supporting our caregivers culturally, way longer than it was even implemented that we were made to do it.”

‘The only light that shines over you’

One of the challenges that Usma is presently facing is the lack of foster homes for youth, explains Thompson-Reid. Some homes have up to eight children. Due to the nature of the work Usma does, there is often a fear and lack of trust in communities, she said.

With the goal to keep teenagers out of group homes, keep siblings together, and keep Nuu-chah-nulth youth connected to their communities, Thompson-Reid explains that the communities are partner groups, and that there is a need to work together, build trust and provide homes for the youth in care.

“We need a lot of healing so that we can trust again,” she said.

“That cultural component with every single child in care will get them through those times in care,” continued Thompson-Reid. “It’s almost like the only light that shines over you in those moments.”

Eric Plummer photo

Children in care gather at Hesquiaht Harbour in the First Nation’s homeland during a family reconnection event.

Court approves $2.8B residential school se lement

Judge calls ruling ‘transformational’, as it helps 325 First Nations impacted by Indian residential school system

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Ottawa, ON - Federal Court has approved the terms of a $2.8-billion settlement that Canada is calling the first compensation to First Nations communities for the loss of language, culture and heritage due to the residential school system.

On March 13 the court determined that terms of the Gottfriedson Band class settlement are fair and in the best interests of the 325 First Nations tied to the litigation. This long list includes First Nations that opted to participate in the class action lawsuit due to the longstanding impacts of their members being forced to attend Indian residential schools, which were Christian-oriented institutions run across Canada from the 1860s to the 1990s. In Nuu-chah-nulth territory theAhousaht, Christie andAlberni Indian residential schools are named in the litigation, with the Ehattesaht/Chinehkint,Ahousaht, Tlao-qui-aht, Tseshaht, Hupacasath, Uchucklesaht and Huu-ay-aht First Nations listed in the class action due to the continued impacts of these assimilationist institutions on their members.

The settlement entails the federal government placing $2.8 billion into a not-for-profit trust fund to be managed by a board of nine Indigenous directors elected to represent the interests of the 325 First Nations. Funding is intended to apply to the settlement’s four pillars: The revival and protection of Indigenous languages, preservingAboriginal cultures, supporting the wellness of First Nations communities, as well as the promotion of

their heritage.

“Settlements are not often described as ‘monumental’, ‘historic’, and ‘transformational.’Here, however, I agree that those words aptly describe this settlement agreement,” wrote JusticeAnn Marie McDonald in her decision. “The flexibility this structure affords to the band class members, to set their own priorities to work within the four pillars and thereby address needs unique to their nations, is unprecedented.”

An initial amount of $200,000 will be available to each First Nation tied to the litigation, funding the development of a proposal for a larger amount of money for initiatives that attend to the settlement’s four pillars.

First Nations are also to receive a share of the fund’s annual investment income, which will be dispersed with consideration given to population size.

The Gottfriedson Band class settlement differs from individual compensation to residential school survivors that resulted from statements given to the Truth and reconciliation Commission of Canada. Instead, the settlement is intended to help communities with the collective harm caused by residential schools.

“This settlement is not intended to place a value on the losses, but instead is a step forward in rebuilding our relationship with Indigenous Peoples,” stated Marc Miller, Canada’s minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. “Residential schools

are part of Canada’s history, even recent history, and they continue to have devastating effects across the country. Part of this horrific legacy is the loss of Indigenous culture, knowledge and traditions.”

The class settlement is named after Shane Gottfriedson, a former elected chief of the Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation who launched the litigation. It builds upon the Gottfriedson Day Scholars settlement of 2021, which applies to those who attended residential schools but did not live at the institutions. According to the terms of the settlement, after two 30-day appeal periods, the federal government will transfer funds into the trust.

House of Commons video still

In January Marc Miller, Canada’s minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, announced that the government has reached a $2.8-billion settlement with representatives of the 325 First Nations tied to the litigation.

Naa%uu, come together and feast, celebrates culture

Tla-o-qui-aht’s creation story goes back thousands of years, bringing alive its heritage from before colonization

By Alexandra Mehl Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tofino, BC -Among round tables, in a traditionally inspired longhouse, Naaʔuu invites community members to gather and celebrate Tla-o-qui-aht culture for an evening.

On March 16 the evening began with Hjalmer Wenstob, co-host and artistic director for Naaʔuu, along with singers welcoming guests with a paddle song. Soon after, the room filled with sounds of laughter and conversation as plates were brimming with salmon, mussels, and bannock, an abundance of coastal cuisine made by Heartwood Kitchen.

Wenstob said this event was an opportunity to tell Tla-o-qui-aht’s narrative from their own perspective.

“What we’re doing is sharing a history that you may have not heard before,” said Wenstob. “Alot of the time Indigenous histories and our own histories aren’t told from our perspective, they’re told from a perspective other than our own and in that they can get skewed.”

Tla-o-qui-aht’s story goes back thousands of years before the first contact with Europeans that is commonly spoken about and taught in schools, explained Wenstob.

“The way that we share in public is to tell the story and lead the story in our own words, with our own visuals, with our own dancers, and singers,” he said.

Wenstob began with sharing that “the beginning of stories” for Tla-o-qui-aht connects to the ocean, salmon, and cedar. His account journeyed back many years to “the very beginning of time,” Tla-oqui-aht’s creation story.

“The elements around us that really make us and make up who we are,” he explained.

Adrum began to play, a faint song followed, and as Wenstob shared, a dancer wearing a salmon mask moved across the stage and through the longhouse.

Soon after a dancer, dressed in fur and Joe David’s bear mask, slowly moved its way through the crowd. Throughout the night the guardian mask, language mask, Covid mask, and raven mask followed, sharing stories of Tla-o-qui-aht, their connection to the land and their culture, through time.

He shared a story of Captain Robert Gray, who commissioned Tla-o-qui-aht to build the first tall ship on the coast. After Tla-o-qui-aht refused Captain Gray’s request to take food, supplies, and women from their community, Gray destroyed over 200 Totem poles and the houses that lined the shoreline of the village of Opitsaht.

“In a time of truth, and in a time of reconciliation…it’s really important for you to hear those stories, it’s really important for you to hear those truths,” shared Wenstob.

In 1984, when Meares Island was at risk of being logged, hereditary chiefs and elders declared it a Tribal Park for protection from logging.

With the 2008 Tribal Parks Declaration, Tribal Park Guardians would then help monitor and implement the Tribal Park plan, explained Tla-o-qui-aht Natural Resources Manager Saya Masso.

Tla-o-qui-aht territory is now divided into four Tribal Parks that encompass their territory: Wah-nuh-jus - Hilth-hoois (Meares Island), Tranquil Tribal Park, Ha`uukmin (Kennedy Lake Watershed), and Esowista Tribal Park.

“It’s been a tool for us to engage busi-

ness, for sharing who Tla-o-qui-aht is, to explain how we envision our territories to be used and respected,” said Masso. Through the guardianship program, Masso said Tla-o-qui-aht can benefit from tourism while also mitigating the impacts of it.

According to a 2018 report, Tofino saw a total of 600,000 visitors, with an average of 6,600 daily tourists in July and August.

“If tourists want to come and be here, we want to teach them. We want to have a space of education too,” said Wenstob. Wenstob explains that tourism can be a space where Tla-o-qui-aht culture is revived while also protecting their homeland and giving back to the local communities.

“We started with a story, a story that reflects in the fact that we’re known as salmon people, we’re known as cedar people, we’re known as amazing singers and whalers, because of our connection to this place,” said Wenstob as he concludes his segment of Tla-o-qui-aht

history at Naaʔuu.

“Who are cedar people without cedar, who are salmon people without salmon, who are whalers without whales?” asked Wenstob. “Our work has changed from harvesting to relationships with sustain-

ability and stewardship, we’ve had to change to become protectors, we’ve had the chance to become guardians, guardians of this place.”

Proceeds from ticket sales for Naaʔuu support the Tribal Parks Guardians.

Eric Plummer photos

Hjalmer Wenstob, second from right, and other Tla-o-qui-aht members sing during Naaʔuu, a cultural sharing and storytelling experience being held at the Best Western Tin Wis in Tofino this month.

Trading beads from the the early colonial period are displayed with an item brought from India, atop a Hudson’s Bay Company blanket.

A coastal family’s story through masks, song & dance

Hjalmer Wenstob and Timothy Masso tell their Tla-o-qui-aht story through art at the Naa%uu cultural event

By Alexandra Mehl Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tofino, BC - Timothy Masso and Hjalmer Wenstob have spent over a decade working together and collaborating on traditional masks, dances, and songs. In the recent years their collaborations have been used to share Tla-o-qui-aht culture with others.At Naaʔuu the two brothers shared their First Nation’s history, and their family connections.

During the first four evenings of Naaʔuu Wenstob is host; for the remaining evenings fellow Tla-o-qui-aht member Terry Dorward of the Seitcher family will stand before the audience.

On March 16 Wenstob and his family welcomed community members into a room made to resemble a traditional longhouse, sharing their Tla-o-qui-aht culture.

“Every family has a different history in Tla-o-qui-aht,” said Wenstob. “We want to really highlight and elevate our territory through this.”

In addition to the Salmon, Bear, and Guardian masks that were made by world renowned Tla-o-qui-aht carver Joe David, Wenstob and his family showcased three more masks accompanied by fun songs.

Wenstob said that because historically Nuu-chah-nulth didn’t have a written language, moments in time were recorded through carving, art, and oral histories.

“It was a way of recording that point in history to tell it so it wouldn’t be forgotten,” said Wenstob, reflecting on a Tla-o-qui-aht mask carved in response to smallpox.

When the pandemic hit, Wenstob and his brother set out to create a Covid mask and song.

“When Covid hit our communities took it very seriously. It wasn’t the first pandemic our people have faced, and we weren’t going to let those numbers be as atrocious as they were the first two or three that we’ve faced already,” said Wenstob.

Wenstob called his brother and said, “We have to record this point in history, we can’t write it down. We have to record it properly.”

With inspiration from the smallpox and Pookmis mask, which depicts a drowned whaler, Wenstob carved a mask out of red cedar that would be danced. The mask is equipped with two moveable hands that open and cover the sickly mouth.

When Masso set out to write the Covid song that would pair with the mask, he decided he wanted a healing piece.

“When we set out to write a song we think about what our end goal is [and]

think about what we want to really achieve with that song,” said Masso.

He started out with sayings such as “let there be no sickness” and “help us.”

“Nuu-chah-nulth is a really complex language that doesn’t really allow for direct translation,” Masso cautioned.

He consulted with elders to find Nuuchah-nulth words that would fit. Once they had the words and phrases, over Zoom Wenstob and Masso figured out a beat and tune.

For the language mask, Masso said they wanted to demonstrate the connection between language and art.

“[Wenstob], and I sat down and we talked about how can we show language coming back in a mask, and that was something that was kind of hard to explain,” said Masso.

To showcase this, the mask has two pieces; one with a mouth, the other without one.

“Halfway through the dance, do a transformation where we have a mask below that has a mouth to show that our language is coming back, we’re now able to speak,” said Masso.

Due to the way the dancers move and hold the masks, Wenstob used alder, which dries to be a hardwood.

“We use alder because then we can get it really thin and really light,” said the carver. “You can dance two masks at

once and they’re light enough to hold together.”

The two masks and the transformation symbolize the history of generations who were not allowed to speak their language, to those who now are reviving their dialects, shared Wenstob.

The raven mask, made of red cedar, was specifically carved to be interactive at Naaʔuu, said Wenstob. They designed it so that it could be danced through the longhouse.

“We’ve always found a raven as such a curious creature,” said Masso. “There’s lots of stories about how the raven stole the sun and then is always trying to find something that is the next big thing.”

“For me as a dancer, [it’s] really exciting to have a mask that the mouth opens up and you can get closer and get really involved with people,” he added. During Naaʔuu, Masso playfully dances through the crowd stealing forks and phones off tables with the beak of the raven.

When Wenstob carved the raven mask, he made it as long as his brother, Masso, was tall. Due to how heavy the mask is, it’s tied down to Massos back to counterbalance.

Wenstob explained that with the raven mask, he carved it while also receiving insights from his brother.

“It›s not really just about me carving a sculptural work, it›s about something that’s going to be danced, [and] it has to be weighted properly,” said Wenstob.

Though Wenstob carves the masks and Masso writes and dances the songs, both brothers agree they are collaborating on all aspects of creating cultural pieces, said Wenstob. The whole family is involved, he continued.

“[It’s] such an inspiring thing for [brothers] to work together like this,” said Wenstob.

The remaining dates for Naaʔuu are March 22, 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31. Tickets can be purchased online.

Eric Plummer photos

Timothy Masso wears a mask depicting the COVID-19 pandemic, which was made by his brother Hjalmer Wenstob, at Tin Wis in Tofino on March 16. Below are other masks displyed during the event.

Ahousaht

enjoys k`#

aqmis as herring spawn spreads

submitted photos

There was joy inAhousaht over the second weekend in March as the people shared their photos of the first kʷaqmis harvest of the season.

The ocean took on a pale green, an indicator that the herring are spawning in coastal areas.

People set hemlock branches in quiet inlets to collect the herring eggs as the annual spawn began inAhousaht territory. Pictured are Dwayne Martin Sr., left, and Keon Frank Sr.

Phrase†of†the†week:†+’upiici+%a>quu†%uuyii%iš†%a>†+a>š†i>†@uuyii%aqkin

Pronounced ‘Cluupii chilt athl koo tlahk Wii chilt ish alth ooh re ugh kin’, it means ‘Spring is when plants grow and we can get new medicine.’Supplied by ciisma.

Illustration by Koyah Morgan-Banke

In a building once used for residential school, Jesse Maquinna speaks in her ancestral language for an invitation 8-year-old traditionally invites NTC to cultural event

By Alexandra Mehl Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

PortAlberni, BC - In a building that was formerly part of theAlberni Indian Residential School, a place where speaking Nuu-chah-nulth was banned among the children who had attended, eight-year-old Jesse Maquinna spoke in the ancestral language to traditionally invite the NTC executive to a cultural sharing event.

Nuu-chah-nulth Education Worker Marsha Maquinna and her daughter, Jesse, traveled from Gold River to present a cultural invitation to the Nuu-chah-nulth

Tribal Council’s executive director, president and vice-president on March 13.

This was Jesse’s second traditional invitation.

“I’m very proud of her,” said Marsha, “for an eight-year-old to stand up in front of people and invite [them].”

“Even when I’m shy,” added Jesse.

“[I’m] realizing that she does teach me,” said Marsha.

The mother explained that when Jesse comes home from school, she shares Nuu-chah-nulth words with her.

Richard Samuel, cultural development supervisor with the Education, Training, and Social Development department at NTC, said it was great to hear Jesse speak in Nuu-chah-nulth.

“To hear… a young person speak Nuuchah-nulth language in that building, it makes it… positive,” said Samuel.

Samuel added that, “supporting and uplifting one another” is part of the Nuuchah-nulth way of life. When witnessing a young person speak in the language, perform a traditional dance or song, it’s uplifting, he continued.

“It makes a sense of belonging, and helps us support one another in a positive way,” Samuel said.

“Whatever the schools are doing is… great. It’s keeping it alive,” he said. “That’s the most important thing we can do now is just keep it alive [by] saying those words, Nuu-chah-nulth words.”

“[It] was very empowering to have a young Mowachaht girl come and invite the NTC executive to a big event in our language. She was confident in herself and spoke well,” wrote NTC President

Judith Sayers in an email to Ha-ShilthSa. “Following the invite, the tradition of gifting then was done. [It is] so good to see that our young people are being taught the right way to invite people in person. I will make sure I go to that event to see more of our culture on display by our youth.”

Jesse Maquinna stands with NTC President Judith Sayers and Executive Director Florence Wylie during a gift presentation practice every Tuesday and every other Wednesday. They hold practice at the Mowachaht/Muchalaht’s of House of Unity in Tsaxana. They have been planning and preparing for this event since October 2022, which will be co-hosted by the Gold River Secondary School and Ray Watkins Elementary School.

In preparation for the cultural sharing event, they have been meeting to

The event will be on May 18, at GRSS.

Ditidaht students deliver invitation to Haahuupayak

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

PortAlberni, BC – On March 10 a small group from Ditidaht Community School traveled the long bumpy ride from Nitinaht Lake to PortAlberni in their school bus to invite seventh-grade Haahuupayuk School students to their Paddle Days.

Usually an annual event, the Ditidaht Community School Paddle Days came to a halt at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Paddle days comes in the last few weeks of the school year as the weather warms up. It allows the children to not only play but also learn how to navigate and paddle traditional dugout canoes on Nitinaht Lake as they race each other and students from other schools.

“We’ve had as many as 130 guests at Paddle Days,” said Sarah Tom, who was speaking on behalf of the DCS students. Guests either camp or stay overnight in the classrooms.

Dressed in shawls and regalia, six DCS students and their supporters stood faceto-face with their Haahuupayuk counterparts. Cheyenne Tate got things off to a start with a prayer chant before the students, using their Ditidaht dialect of Nuuchah-nulth, introduced themselves. They mentioned where they came from and who their parents and grandparents are, in traditional Nuu-chah-nulth custom.

Sarah Tom translated their message in English.

“Our students came to invite you to our Paddle Days event on June 7th and 8th,”

she told the Haahuupayuk students. “We will paddle around, we will feed you and we will entertain you.”

Trevor Little, the Nuu-chah-nulth Studies assistant at Haahuupayuk School (owned by Tseshaht First Nation), thanked their guests for the invitation. He also thanked the students for sharing the beautiful song and for speaking their language in their introductions and invitation.

“It sounds awesome,” he told them.

The Haahuupayuk School students raised their hands and thanked the Ditidaht Community Schools in the Nuuchah-nulth language.

“We’re excited and hope you can come,” said Sarah Tom.

She said the students that came to do the invitations are volunteers, doing this during their spring break. Those students wereAmanda Peter, Karen Williams,

Cheyenne Tate, Shanice Chester-Edgar, MabelAdams, and Brayden Tom.

Principal Emily McLennan was there along with elders Christine Edgar, Dorothy Sheperd, Tina Joseph, Grace Marshall and Chester John.

The group went off to Nanoose to issue more invitations. They had already been to Penelakut and Port Renfrew to invite students from there as well.

Alexandra Mehl photo

Denise Titian photo

In March students from Ditidaht Community School issued a formal invitation to Haahuupayak to participate in Ditidaht Paddle Days, which is scheduled for June 7-8.

Employment and Training &Community Beyond

Tseshaht House of Regalia moccasin workshop

March 25 - 26, 2023

House of Regalia (old sewing center)

10:00am-4:00pm During this workshop we will create moccasins. This will be for Tseshaht members and their significant others ONLY, to build our Regalia to stay within Tseshaht. This is first come, first served. Space for 10, Tseshaht only. For more information contact Gail K. Gus at 250-731-6622

Toxic Drug Crisis Tseshaht First Nation call to action!

March 27 - 28, 2023

Maht Mahs Gym, PortAlberni

9:00am-4:00pm. Calling all community leaders, stakeholders, organizations, governments, individual government officials, health officials and those involved in combatting the opioid drug crisis and state of emergency in theAlberni Valley. We are gathering to unify on a certified and fully funded detox center and stabilization unit as a common action item in order to address the opioid crisis. RSVP to Gail K. Gus at 250-731-6622 or gkgus@tseshaht.com

Huuayaht Gatherings

Wednesday March 29, 2023

House of Huu-ay-aht, PortAlberni

6-8 PM. Please join us for culture and Huu-ay-aht history. For questions, please contact: Cory Howard – cory.j.h@ huuayaht.org or Mel Edwards – mel.e@ huuayaht.org or call 250-728-3414

Meet and Greet PES staff

April 5 - 6, 2023

Community Hall, Ditihdaht

10:00am-3:00pm. Join us for lunch, meet the staff and discover the services we provide to income assistance. For more information please contact Janice Webster, Southern Region Case Manager

Cell:250-720-1131 Email: Janice.webster@nuuchahnulth.org or Laloni Everitt, PES Coordinator Tel: 778-421-8807 Email laloni.everitt@nuuchahnulth.org.

Tseshaht Health Fair

April 20 - 21, 2023

Maht Mahs Gym, PortAlberni

10:00am to 3:00pm daily, the theme is regaining our health. Contact Gail Gus or Melissa Bigmore at at 250-731-6622

Memorial Potlatch

May 6, 2023

Thunderbird Hall, Campbell River

We are extending an invitation to you and your family to join us as we celebrate the life of our late mother

MARGARET JACK and my perfect late son TREVORANTHONY JACK on May 6, 2023, starting at NOON at the Thunderbird Hall, 1420 Weiwaikum Road, Campbell River. If you have any questions, please messageAnita Baker on Facebook or text/call 778-676-1012

Marcy Keitlah Memorial Potlatch

September 23, 2023

PortAlberni, BC

Your hosts; Calvin Keitlah, Cory Frank, along with Grandparents Marilyn Watts and Rudy Watts Sr.

UVic breaks ground on new Indigenous law centre

Facility seen as a step towards the recognition of First Nations’ traditional laws within Canada’s legal system

By Konnor Oliver Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor

Victoria, BC - In 2018, the University of Victoria became the first in the world to have a program focusing on Indigenous law.And now, months after the program’s first class has graduated, construction has begun on a major facility upgrade.

The National Centre for Indigenous Laws (NCIL) is multi-million-dollar facility, with funding donations from the Law Foundation of British Columbia, and both the federal and provincial governments. Once completed, it will be home to a joint degree program in Canadian Common Law and Indigenous legal orders, as well as the Indigenous Law Research Unit.

The NCIL is being constructed as an addition to the already existing Fraser law building, and will also contain the Environmental Law Centre, the Business Law Clinic, and theAccess to Justice Centre. There will also be spaces for gatherings and ceremonies, as well as an elders’ room and garden.

“This physical structure represents a sanctuary where our laws, which enable us to be peoples, will be safe, and where both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students will learn about those laws, creating the foundation to a multi-juridical Canada,” said Dean of Law Val Napoleon.

When the program launched in 2018, a large goal was to provide the groundwork to expand the legal system in Canada, and allow Indigenous law to work in concert with other levels of Canadian law, something which advocates have been wanting for years, and that has seen improvements recently.

Kate Gunn and Cody O’Neil from the First Peoples Law Corporation have

worked to highlight this, showing the struggles of the Canadian legal system to work with Indigenous law, but also showing the progress being made in recent years. In Whalen v. Fort McMurray No. 468 First Nation, a 2019 case, the court determined that it was able to “recognize the existence of a rule of Indigenous law when it is shown to reflect the broad consensus of the membership of a First Nation,” when it comes to elections.

There have also been family law cases as far back as 1993, which included the right to customary adoption under section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.

There is still much work to be done, however. In the high-profile case of the Wet’suwet’en roadblocks and Coastal GasLink, the courts determined that Indigenous laws are only effective under Canadian law if they have been recognized prior “through treaties, court declarations or statutory provisions.”

“It is imperative that Canadian governments begin to acknowledge the role of Indigenous law in the formation and existence of Canada based on the grow-

ing call from Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike to finally respect and be accountable to Indigenous laws on Indigenous lands,” say Gunn and O’Neil in a study.

Construction of the NCIL broke ground in early March, and is expected to be completed in the Fall of 2024. The University of Victoria has partnered with Two RowArchitect as the main consultant, anAboriginal-owned company from Ontario. They will also be working to employ local carpenters and labourers, and have an Indigenous-owned company from Duncan working on civil and excavation.

UVic photo

Stephen Teeple, founder of TeepleArchitects, displays renderings for the upcoming National Centre for Indigenous Laws with Patricia Barkaskas, associate professor at UVic’s Faculty of Law and the strategic advisor to the dean for the centre, when the University of Victoria marked the beginning of construction for the new facility on March 9.

Yuquot energy project could help nation return home

A renewable energy microgrid is in development, using a wave energy device that can power some facilities

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

Yuquot, BC – The University of Victoria has received a $1 million grant to develop a clean, renewable energy source using the power of ocean waves to supply energy to Yuquot, the ancestral home of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht people.

In a statement dated March 3, the University of Victoria said its Pacific Regional Institute for Marine Energy Discovery (PRIMED) has received a grant from the 2022 TD Ready Challenge to develop a clean energy project that captures the power of wave energy at Yuquot, BC.

“PRIMED is working towards the development of a first-of-its-kind renewable energy microgrid incorporating a wave energy device at Yuquot on Nootka Island, a National Historic site and traditional home of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation (MMFN), located off the west coast of Vancouver Island,” reads the UVic press release.

UVic went on to say that this project will be at the cutting edge of renewable energy system development.

“It will support the nation to achieve their long-held dream of re-occupying Yuquot after being forcibly relocated decades ago, and contribute to reconciliation,” added the university.

But moving back home will have to wait as the innovative clean power source has been scaled back.According to MMFN AdministratorAzar Kamran, the initial feasibility study was not “as conclusive as they would have liked to have seen,” so the project took on a smaller scale.

The wave energy microgrid will deliver 15 kilowatts of power to Yuquot.According to Kamran, that would be enough to provide lighting to the compostable restroom facilities and maybe some lights for the tourist cabins that MMFN operates and plan to renovate.

The microgrid is expected to be operating in 2024, making the annual Yuquot Summerfest more safe with lights in the restroom areas.

“If it works, then we will build something similar,” said Kamran, adding that this is the very first step in many, many more, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Brad Buckham, chair of UVic’s Mechanical Engineering department and codirector of PRIMED, said he is excited to be working with Mowachaht/Muchalaht to help develop clean energy ideas for their eventual reoccupation of Yuquot. But large-scale wave energy is a “completely green field,” he told Ha-Shilth-Sa. He said there are various types of machinery used to harness wave energy and this project will help determine the best fit for the needs of Mowachaht/Muchalaht, both now and in the future.

For now, PRIMED will deploy a buoy off of Yuquot that will collect data on windspeeds, waves and currents.

“Yuquot is located on a world-class wave energy supply and the nation is highly motivated to pursue clean energy solutions that improve quality of life, facilitate economic development and support self-determination,” reads a statement from the PRIMED initiative. “As keepers of the land, they want to demonstrate technological solutions that achieve these goals while also lessening negative impacts on the environment, thus setting a positive, sustainable example that the rest of society can follow.”

There is one family living in Yuquot year-round and the church is used a cultural centre. They rely on gasolinefueled generators for electricity, but these

are noisy, said Kamran. There are some limited solar-powered lights at the old village site.

Buckham says it’s not only a question of cost, but also what the best combination of technology is that can be economically feasible. While the idea is for wind/solar/ wave energy to displace the dependence

~ Roger Dunlop,

Lands Resources and Fisheries

on diesel power, for now, there is a place for diesel as a back-up source when there is not enough sun or wind.

“It is exciting that we can play a role in these trade-offs,” said Buckham.

“It is the wish and dream of every single MMFN person that I know, and I know most of them, to return there and to live there and to go back to a way of life there that was going on for thousands of years,” said Roger Dunlop, MMFN’s Lands Resources and Fisheries manager.

“This clean energy generation project is kind of step two in the re-occupation of Yuquot.”

The Mowachaht and Muchalaht First Nations formally amalgamated in the 1950s, and made Yuquot (Friendly Cove) their home base. The MMFN people were moved from Yuquot to Gold River in the 1960s and then again, about 30 years later in the 1990s, to Tsaxana, according to an article by historian John Dewhirst.

Every year many Mowachaht/Muchalaht return home to Yuquot for their Summerfest. Many yearn to return on a permanent basis.

“This is such an exciting, pure and wonderful example of an Indigenous-led, community-based resurgence through clean energy,” says Buckham. “The idea of reinvigorating a community and helping them return to their traditional lands is powerful. You can’t undo history, but you can change the future and this project represents a symbolic changing of course where all of us are working together to support the Nation to go back to their rightful home in Yuquot.”

“Located on Nootka Island, Yuquot is the center of the universe for the Mowachaht/Muchalaht people, who have long stewarded the sea and lands around it,” reads a statement from UVic.

It’s also considered to be the origin of modern British Columbia. In 1778 Captain James Cook landed at Yuquot, establishing the first sustained European contact with Indigenous peoples in Western Canada. This eventually led to a series of harms that continued through the ensuing generations.

“In the 1950s, the MMFN were forced to leave by the federal government to locations that were easier to service, with most of the surviving population moved to unfamiliar urban centres on Vancouver Island,” noted the university. “Since then, the MMFN have long aspired to return

home to Yuquot. However, a planned return necessitates creating an electricity supply for the community. The emissions of diesel generators, both in terms of pollution and noise, are an affront to cultural priorities, and they are intent on implementing renewable energy alternatives that are clean and self-sustaining.”

“The Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation is refusing to take the easy way out by continuing to rely on diesel fuels,” said Buckham. “They are willing partners demonstrating leadership by embracing an entirely new microgrid system of clean, renewable energy that has the potential to be a model of how wave energy is harnessed in small coastal communities here in Canada and around the world.”

Buckham says it could be as early as 2025 that the MMFN choose which direction they wish to go in creating their vision of a repopulated Yuquot with a clean energy source.

According to TD Bank Group, the grants are awarded to projects designed to assist people and communities disproportionately affected by climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy. The TD Bank Group awarded 10 $1 Million grants for projects of this nature, across Canada. This was the only grant awarded to a project in British Columbia.

Eric Plummer photo

Children play in the waves at Yuquot, during the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation’s Summerfest in 2021. The development of a wind power system could provide renewable energy for more members of the community to live in their ancestral homeland.

“It is the wish and dream of every single MMFN person that I know, and I know most of them, to return there and to live there and to go back to a way of life there that was going on for thousands of years”

MMFN’s

manager

PRIMED photo