Canada’s Oldest First Nation’s Newspaper - Serving Nuu-chah-nulth-aht since 1974 Canadian Publications Mail Product haas^i>sa “ Interesting News” Vol. 31 - No. 13 - July 2, 2004 Sales Agreement No. 40047776
Mowachaht / Muchalaht keep Tsu-xiit free By David Wiwchar Southern Region Reporter Gold River - Elder Gloria Maquinna stands at the end of the partially submerged dock, raises her hands towards the sky and dances to her late husband’s paddle song, along with two of her granddaughters. Behind them, dozens of canoe paddlers, drummers, and community members sing their ancient songs, hoping to pull Tsu-xiit away from his DFO captors. After an hour, with singing voices growing hoarse, and dancers cold and wet in the face of southeast gales, Mowachaht / Muchalaht community members slowly retreat from the Gold River docks, obviously saddened that the young killer whale was still across the harbour inside an area protected by high-powered Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and RCMP boats. “He’s coming!” someone shouts, and people rush back to the dock, pounding drums and paddles on the dock boards, singing at the top of their lungs, hoping to see Tsu-xiit swim back towards them once again as he had throughout the
“I’m very happy today,” said the mother of Tyee Ha’wilth Mike Maquinna, Gloria Maquinna, tears streaming down her face. “These are tears of joy. It’s been really emotional these past ten days and I’m proud my son didn’t give up,” she said.
day, up and down Muchalaht Inlet, as DFO officers and First Nations paddlers played a type of tug-o-war game with the young whale. For the past week, Mowachaht / Muchalaht paddlers have been on the water, trying to lead Tsuxiit out to open ocean, away from DFO boats who have been on the water, trying to lead Tsuxiit into Gold River harbour,
Mowachaht / Muchalaht Tyee Ha’wilth Mike Maquinna carried the weight of his Nation in their struggle to keep Tsu-xiit (Luna) free.
where a series of net pens await, along with slings and steel tanks which are intended to transport him down island to Pedder Bay. Every time the canoe paddlers attracted Tsu-xiit away from DFO, a message was relayed back to the Mowachaht / Muchalaht Marina and Campground, where throngs of people cheered at the news broadcast over the VHF marine radio. On this one day, Tsu-xiit switched directions five times as he followed boats leading him in different directions. “We started leading Tsu-xiit out to open ocean at 6 this morning, and were within sight of it when DFO boats showed up and attracted the whale away from us,” said 35-year old paddler Gary Maquinna. “We turned around and caught up to them at Gore Island where Tsu-xiit was playing in a log boom,” he said. Though the tug boat Tsu-xiit liked to play with was leading him back to waiting DFO boats, paddlers sang and drummed their paddles on the bottom of the canoe, coaxing him back out towards Yuquot. “The DFO boats tried to get aggressive with us, trying to swamp us with their wake since we were already battling rough seas, and taking runs at us,” said Gary Maquinna. “They tried to box us in against the rocks, and then took a run at us, coming within a few inches of our bow. Then they saw we had 4-year old Seth Jack on board, and they backed off a bit,” he said. “The concern we have is that DFO is trying to escalate this into a conflict,” said Mowachaht / Muchalaht Tyee Ha’wilth Mike Maquinna. “All we are doing is the same thing we’ve been doing here for thousands of years;
DFO bans Monitor from capture site .................... Page 2 Treaty Planning in Victoria ..................................... Page 3 Muschum reunite with spirit of Maquinna .......... Page 4 TFN holds anti-violence march .............................. Page 6 NTC hosts Grad 2004 ............................................... Page 9 NEDC Business News ............................................. Page 20
paddling our canoes and singing songs. We have a very special connection with Tsu-xiit and we’re paddling in support of him,” he said. “We’re trying to stay out of harm’s way, but DFO seems committed to turn this into a battle, even though we’ve made it clear we don’t want that. They have bulletproof vests, guns, and high-powered vessels. We’re just paddlers in traditional canoes.” Earlier that evening, DFO had used the boats they had trained Tsu-xiit to follow to successfully lead him into their protected area alongside the former Bowater Mill freighter wharf. They escorted him into the 80’x80’ six-sided net pen, only to watch him rush out before they could close the net behind him.
“He’s coming!” someone shouted, and people rushed down the dock, pounding drums and paddles on dock boards, singing at the top of their lungs, hoping to see Tsu-xiit swim towards them once again as he had throughout the day, up and down Muchalaht Inlet, as DFO officers and Mowachaht / Muchalaht paddlers played a type of tug-owar game with the young whale. With winds whipping up four-foot waves, a few paddlers jumped into one of the dugout canoes and rushed out to try and attract the whale back out. But mirroring the David-and-Goliath battle being played out on the water, the canoe was pushed back to the commercial dock.
After winds calmed slightly, canoes launched another attempt at leading Tsu-xiit out of the net pen, paddling along the log booms and singing traditional songs while a number of support boats motored alongside. Paddlers and support crews erupted in cheers and yells, sending dozens of onlookers on shore into a frenzy, as Tsu-xiit broke away from DFO boats and darted out of the enclosed area towards the canoes. For the next few hours, Tsu-xiit followed the canoes, and the Mowachaht / Muchalaht and Hesquiaht support boats, all the way to Yuquot at the opposite end of Nootka Sound. DFO partially suspended operations through the next day. “We don’t want to perpetuate this tugof-war that’s going on,” said DFO Marine Mammals Coordinator Marilyn Joyce. “But I don’t know if we’ll find an acceptable approach that will make everyone happy.” “What we’ve been saying all along is that nature must be allowed to take its course, but nature has been lost in all of the process,” said Mike Maquinna. “We’re standing with the whale, and will do everything we can to ensure its safety,” he said. But the next day, DFO announced that charges would be forthcoming for people who interfered with the whale. “The interference going on is boats are attracting the whale away from our boats. This is a disturbance of a marine mammal,” said Joyce. “We’re not interfering,” responded Maquinna. “The interference came from DFO preventing our canoes from
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