INTERESTING NEWS Canada’s Oldest First Nations Newspaper - Serving Nuu-chah-nulth-aht since 1974 Canadian Publications Mail Product Vol. 50 - No. 16—August 24, 2023 haas^i>sa Sales Agreement No. 40047776
Alexandra Mehl photo
Youth of the Mułaa, Rising Tide Surf team use a spokeshave to round the edges of traditional surfboards at Esowista. This month the team was visited by Lacy Kaheaku, a native to Hawaiʻi, to learn how to carve traditional wooden surfboards and the Indigenous roots of the sport. Story on page 10.
Smoky winds reminder of prolonged wildfire season Port Alberni sees a weekend with heavy smoke, while vulnerable people in other parts of the island are warned By Alexandra Mehl Local Journalism Initiative Reporter As wildfire season roars throughout the province, smoke travels from north and northwest of Vancouver Island making its way to impact Nuu-chah-nulth territories. According to the Coastal Fire Centre, last week’s cold weather event caused a shift in wind direction to a northerly direction, which brought smoke to loom over the majority of Vancouver Island. Over the weekend, as ash settled onto cars in Port Alberni, the particulate matter reached up to 50 micrograms per cubic meter, a measurement for pollutants in the air, but as skies begin to clear it has lowered to six micrograms per cubic meter. According to the air quality index, six micrograms per cubic meter means the air quality is currently 1.2 times the World Health Organization’s air quality guideline. “You don’t see our elders out doing much activities outside,” said Hupačasath Chief Councillor Brandy Lauder, who is currently down two employees due to asthma. Lauder said that normally she’d prepare
for wildfires in the last three weeks of August, but this year has been the longest and earliest season which has impacted cultural practices, including barbequing and smoking salmon. Category two and three fire bans have been in effect since May and a category one fire ban has been in effect since June of this year, making campfires prohibited in all areas of the province except for Haida Gwaii. “People are so used to the sockeye coming up, we got fires in the backyard, [and] we’re cooking on the [tlup-chus] sticks,” said Lauder. “That’s out the window because you can’t even have a campfire in the backyard.” “When you can’t cook fish on a [tlupchus] stick, it hurts,” said Lauder. For Tofino, roughly 126 kilometers west of Port Alberni, most of the smoke has been pushed away by the winds. Though over the weekend of Aug. 19-20 Lone Cone, located on Meares Island, was not visible from across the Harbour, said Saya Masso. “Fine particulate matter in wildfire smoke matter carries the greatest risk to people’s health because it can be inhaled deep into the lungs and cause inflamma-
Inside this issue... Facebook blocks Ha-Shilth-Sa.......................................Page 3 Tseshaht member advances in Pow Wow Pitch..............Page 5 BC Elder’s Gathering returns..................................Page 8 & 9 Decades of service in Nuu-chah-nulth waters..............Page 11 Youth restore traditional clam gardens.........................Page 15
BC Wildfire Service photo
Currently the Mount Con Reid wildfire is the largest on Vancouver Island, burning to nearly 1,500 hectares west of Buttle Lake in the territory of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation. tion and irritation,” reads a press release ratory infections, or for infants, children from the Ministry of Health. and older adults who are at a greater risk The province is reminding people to of impacts. stay safe as the poor air quality impacts The province suggests sealing doors and the province. This is particularly imwindows of the home, staying indoors, portant for those with health conditions keeping hydrated, using an air filter, such as obstructive pulmonary disease, avoiding overexertion, and even wearing asthma, heart disease, diabetes and respi- a respirator outdoors. If undeliverable, please return to: Ha-Shilth-Sa P.O. Box 1383, Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 7M2