Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper December 17, 2020

INTERESTING NEWS Canada’s Oldest First Nations Newspaper - Serving Nuu-chah-nulth-aht since 1974 Canadian Publications Mail Product Vol. 47 - No. 24—December 17, 2020 haas^i>sa Sales Agreement No. 40047776

Ahousaht COVID patient seeks a!ention four times If it wasn’t for the continued advocacy of her family, Darlene Dick’s COVID-19 illness could have become fatal

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor Tofino, BC - An Ahousaht resident’s battle with COVID-19 is showing fundamental flaws in the health care system’s response for remote communities, after it took four visits seeking medical attention before Darlene Dick was transported to ICU. Since Dec. 1 Dick has been in the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital’s intensive care unit, where her condition with COVID-19 has since improved, said her husband, Alec Dick. But Darlene endured a harrowing few days to get to the ICU, including trips without supervision on a water taxi, stalled testing for the novel coronavirus, and staying alone in a hotel room when her symptoms were at their worst.

The 68-year-old first sought medical attention on Nov. 26 at the Ahousaht medical clinic, where she was told she had had flu symptoms and was sent home without being given a test for COVID-19.

But over the next two days Darlene’s condition worsened, with a fever that ran from hot to cold, muscles cramps, soreness and headaches. By Nov. 28 the family sent her on a water taxi to get treatment at the hospital in Tofino, which is a 45-minute water taxi ride from Darlene’s home in Ahousaht.

In the hospital she was given a COVID-19 test, but sent back to Ahousaht before any results were available.

“Again, she was told that it was a cold,” said Alec.

But that night Darlene’s sickness became even more severe.

“At night she was really in pain. She was literally crying,” Alec recalled. “She was saying, “I want to give up, I want to give up, it’s too much’.”

On Nov. 30 the family called Ahousaht’s emergency services, who placed Darlene in a water taxi on a stretcher, alone with the vessel’s driver. The family was unable to accompany Dalene due to COVID-19 restrictions.

When they reached the Tofino dock an ambulance was waiting to bring her back to the small town’s hospital.

Daughter Ina Dick was there help get her mother off the boat, who hadn’t eaten for at least five days.

“This time she couldn’t even stand, let alone hold her head up,” said Ina. “I think my dad didn’t sleep for three days, four days, because he was being a nurse to my mom, looking after her.”

Upon arriving at the hospital Darlene was informed that her COVID test came

Facebook photo

Darlene Dick, pictured with husband Alec, was transported to ICU in Nanaimo, where her health has been progressing since Dec. 1. back positive, but she wasn’t kept in the think is this going to be the last time I can medical facility. Instead she was sent to see my mom? I can’t even hold her hand a local hotel currently housing people or give her a hug.” who need to isolate due to coronavirus Darlene was again transported to Tofino exposure.

General – the third time since when her Family weren’t permitted to accompany first COVID test was done. Fortunately, a Darlene in the Tofino hospital, and didn’t doctor there determined that the Ahousaht know where Darlene was until Ina called resident’s state required immediate attento check up on her mother. tion. Darlene was rushed to the Nanaimo “The nurse said that she had an option to hospital, which unlike the Tofino facility, go back home or to isolate by herself in a houses COVID-19 patients. hotel room. I just went off, I lost it,” said “To this day I thank that lady docIna. “There was no plan for anybody to tor,” said Alec. “Had it not been for her, go check up on her, to go see her.”

I dread the thought of where my wife Ina found her mom in the hotel room might be today.” alone, appearing as if she hadn’t moved Upon arriving at the Nanaimo hospital, for hours since being brought there. She it was discovered that Darlene was dehywas unable to rise from the bed. Ina was drated with high blood pressure. informed by a doctor who saw her mother “They said that she’s a very sick womthat Darlene was sent to the hotel with an,” said Ina. “It tore my heart apart.” bottles of water, a banana and a can of Fortunately, Darlene’s conditioned soup. improved at the Nanaimo facility. On The daughter opened the hotel room December 11, after 10 days in ICU, her door to bring in fresh air, noticing that spirts had brightened with the hope that Darlene wasn’t responsive to the change she would soon be transported to Tofino in temperature.

General Hospital if progress continued.

“I was cold, and it didn’t even bother “She’s excited,” said Ina on Dec. 11. her. That’s how sick she was,” said Ina. “The doctor is going to find out today if “That was the hardest thing to see, to she’s COVID-free.”

Inside this issue...

UNDRIP bill tabled....................................................Page 3 Care home residents face loneliness...........................Page 6 Six new homes built in Ethlateese......................Pages10-11 New Indigenous podcast...........................................Page 13 Apartment owners ordered to clean up.....................Page 17

Due to the extremely contagious nature of COVID-19, Alec and family have been unable to spend time with Darlene as her body fights the disease.

“Being alone by herself in the room with nobody there to be with her, it’s quite lonely,” he said.

But video chats are regularly being held over the Facetime program, allowing Darlene to see her grandchildren.

In the days leading up to Darlene’s hospitalization Alec contracted COVID-19 himself. But his symptoms have been minor, and on Dec. 11 he was deemed recovered by Island Health.

He hopes that his wife’s struggles to be tested and hospitalized serve as a lessen to the health care system, as facilities and medical professionals struggle to manage the surge of cases in B.C.’s second wave of infections during the pandemic.

“We not looking for blame, but to better the system to make sure our people are checked thoroughly,” said Alec. “I can understand isolation, but in the health situation where you can’t cope for yourself, then there has to be something else that can be put in place to make it safe for our people that are that ill.”

In a statement sent to Ha-Shilth-Sa, Island Health said that it has discussed the ordeal with the Dick family to learn from their experience.

“Island Health acknowledges that the care and support provided did not meet the expectations and needs of this patient and we respect the family’s concern for the well-being of their loved one,” stated the health authority.

“This is not a racial thing, it’s not a blame thing, it’s stressing to strengthen our system where individuals don’t have to go through this, like you’re pushed into a little dark hole and on your own,” said Alec.

“We have heard the family’s concerns about how we can better support the needs of patients in a similar situation moving ahead,” noted Island Health.

“Island Health is reviewing what we have learned through our discussions and we are committed to ensuring clearer communication and processes as it relates to transport and transfers across the care continuum for COVID-19 positive individuals.”

“This could have all been prevented right from the beginning,” Ina stressed.

“The least that they could have done was ship her out to Nanaimo right away.”

“I hope that our hospital changes, that people get better treatment – that they’re taken seriously, with just a common cold, the signs of a cough,” she added.

If undeliverable, please return to: Ha-Shilth-Sa P.O. Box 1383, Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 7M2

Page 2— Ha-Shilth-Sa—December 17, 2020

New Indigenous relations minister addresses issues Rankin recalls long sessions with Nuu-chah-nulth leaders when he was B.C.’s lead treaty negotiator in 1994

By Melissa Renwick Local Journalism Initiative Reporter As First Nations leaders and communities look toward the New Year, some remain frustrated by the province’s inaction on implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

However, new Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister, Murray Rankin, said he is “hitting the ground running,” to develop an action plan that will “begin to align our laws both past and future.”

When the province of B.C. began to re-open in July as part of their COVID-19 restart plan, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) had some reservations.

In an effort to keep their members safe, the NTC laid out four conditions for the provincial government to uphold before British Columbians were encouraged to travel through Nuu-chah-nulth territories.

Judith Sayers, president of the NTC, said they flagged the need for rapid testing machines in each community, contact-tracing training for two members in each of their 14 nations, check points within their territories and details on the confirmed COVID-19 cases in proximate communities.

“We still haven’t had one of those requirements fulfilled yet,” said Sayers.

“Not one. We’re supposed to be on a government-to-government [basis] with them and they’re ignoring us.”

B.C. was the first province to adopt UNDRIP in November 2019. It was developed in collaboration with the First Nations Leadership Council as a frame-

work for reconciliation.

While it marked a significant step towards better transparency and government accountability, some Nuu-chahnulth leaders feel that progress has been slow.

Huu-ay-aht Chief Councillor Robert Dennis Sr. said the province’s “hollow words” and failure to deliver on NTC’s conditions serves as an example of how the government has yet to “meaningfully apply” the declaration.

“They didn’t uphold [the conditions],” said Dennis. “They didn’t listen to us.”

In late-November, Rankin was appointed as the new Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation minister. A public law expert and MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head, he took over the portfolio from Scott Fraser, who did not seek re-election.

Rankin is no stranger to Indigenous law, having served as the lead treaty negotiator for the province in 1994. During that time, he remembers spending many long days with Nuu-chah-nulth leaders in Tofino at the Best Western Tin Wis. “I really developed some deep respect for the Nuu-chah-nulth,” he said. “A lot of friendships were made.”

Because of his background, Sayers said she hopes the new minister will be more responsive to First Nations concerns.

“Since Murray Rankin is a long-time lawyer, I’m hoping that changing laws is going to be something he’s really comfortable with,” she said. “I think Murray Rankin can better understand the issues that we have with some of the existing laws, so that’s positive.”

Murray Rankin Rankin said he understands the desire for a faster uptake on the declaration and takes the concern “seriously.”

“I know it’s easy to say that this work takes time,” he said. “But we’ve made progress since we’ve started.”

The province has put forward a “robust set of health measures” to support rapid testing and contact tracing, with one rapid testing machine installed in Tofino, Rankin said. Additionally, the First Nations Health Authority has been approved to hire 76 First Nations community members to make sure that contact tracing is done in a culturally appropriate way.

“We’ve got to make sure that we have a continuing dialogue between the province, the First Nations Health Authority, and the leadership authority of [First Nations] communities to determine just what opening up looks like in different communities,” he said.

When it comes to the rollout of the new COVID-19 vaccine, Rankin wants to ensure remote Indigenous communities are prioritized to keep the elders and “knowledge keepers” safe.

Above all, the first priority for Rankin is to collaborate on an action plan with First Nations leaders, along with co-establishing a secretariat that will act as a watchdog on the enactment of UNDRIP. Right now, that means entering discussions.

With over 200 First Nations communities across the province, Rankin hasn’t been able to reach every nation. However, since being appointed, he has met with several Nuu-chah-nulth leaders, such as Sayers and Dennis, to discuss their specific concerns.

Dennis said First Nations communities need to become more “assertive” and “direct” in their approach when working with government.

“I never expect that the minister is going to have a recipe to resolve Huu-ay-aht issues,” said Dennis. “I have to clearly communicate what Huu-ay-aht issues are and seek a meeting to find out how we’ll deal with them. I’m confident Murray Rankin is the kind of leader that’ll open his door and be receptive to First Nations who are willing to be proactive and clearly communicate their issues so that we can find some kind of resolution.”

Rankin admits that it won’t always be easy. “There are going to be bumps along the road,” he said. “But this is probably the most important journey that our province has taken. We’ve got 174 years of colonialism to unpack.”

Wishing everyone a safe, joyous and warm holiday season, and all the best for 2021

December 17, 2020—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 3

Consultation lacking as new UNDRIP bill tabled A three-year wait will be too long for legislative implementation of United Nations declaration, Bellegarde says

By Mike Youds Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor Ottawa, ON - Indigenous leaders have reacted with surprise and dismay while cautiously lending support to a draft framework for entrenching Indigenous rights in Canadian law.

Federal Justice Minister David Lametti tabled Bill C-15 in the House of Commons Dec. 3, calling it “a significant step forward on the shared path to reconciliation for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples alike.”

“Once passed, this will bring us another step closer to a brighter future for Canada, one where all our children and grandchildren can prosper and thrive,” Lametti said.

The proposed legislation states the Canadian government must ensure its laws are consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and must develop an action plan to achieve UNDRIP goals.

Lametti repeated Liberal government promises to work “in full partnership” with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to implement the declaration, but that’s precisely what many felt was lacking in the bill’s development.

Consultation with Indigenous groups was considered insufficient in the drafting of a previous UNDRIP bill presented three years ago by former NDP MP Romeo Saganash. After delays in the Senate, that bill died on the order paper once the 2019 election was called.

Bill C-15, based on the Saganash bill with some refinements, could meet a similar fate. A spring 2021 election that

could prevent passage remains a distinct possibility for the minority Liberal government.

Although there was some prior discussion, mutually agreed consultation was absent this time around, said NTC President Judith Sayers. During a recent First Nations Summit, she asked Assembly of First Naions National Chief Perry Bellegarde for an update on the pending legislation and was told the AFN, acting on a motion from regional chiefs, was moving ahead with a technical advisory team. She understood the process was open to comments until Dec. 3 and was surprised to see it tabled that same day.

“Where was the basic foundation of First Nations consultation,” she asked.

“I was on Twitter and Facebook saying, ‘Tabled? What?’”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government is seeming to rush ahead with the legislation on a tight political agenda having paid little more than lip service to a commitment he made years ago to First Nations, she believes.

Along with the lack of consultation, Sayers was struck by absence of the word “racism” in the bill, especially at a time of increased social awareness when national figures, including Trudeau, have acknowledged systemic racism exists in federal institutions.

“We have to deal with racism as the core reason for injustices in the system,” Sayers wrote in an analysis published Dec. 4 in the online journal The Tyee. “We cannot ignore racism.”

She also echoes concerns of other Indigenous leaders across the country, including Bellegarde, who questions the

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Wonderful New Year

Josie Osborne, MLA Mid Island-Pacific Rim

Michele Babchuk, MLA North Island

josie.osborne.mla@leg.bc.ca

michele.babchuk.mla@leg.bc.ca

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Judith Sayers three-year time frame assigned to creating a plan for implementation.

“We’ve waited too long already,” Bellegarde said as the bill was tabled. “We don’t want to wait another three years …

Canada cannot afford to have that happen again. Systemic racism requires systemic solutions and that’s what the UN declaration provides,” he added. “We have to accept the fact that the status quo is not working.”

Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns said the bill represents the essence of reconciliation.

“As such, it is essential that it be constructed through nation-to-nation collaboration prior to parliamentary approval and Royal Assent,” Johns said.

Until that happens, the process cannot be an excuse to delay action in areas such as safe drinking water, equitable child protection and fair treatment in education, health and justice, he said.

Johns said Lametti and Minister of Crown/Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett have reassured MPs there will be additional consultation with Indigenous leaders.

“We have to see what that really looks like,” he said. “We’re going to be advocating for more meaningful consultation as the bill gets debated.”

The Nuu-cha-nulth Tribal Council has long pursued such federal legislation and Saganash began a national tour in Ahousaht with his bill three years ago, Johns noted. Since the Liberals promised the legislation in 2015, they have dragged their feet, he said.

Prof. John Borrows, a UVIC expert in Indigenous law, drew a distinction between the bill’s provincial forerunner, which calls on government to work directly with Indigenous people to create a sector-by-sector agreements that would recognize UNDRIP legislation. Bill C-15,

by comparison, is basically a framework for implementation.

“With both measures, what you get is a plan to make a plan,” Borrows said.

While it stands a good chance of passage, the legislation carries little weight until it can be adopted into law and people breathe life into it. That will take time, Borrows said.

“The law is not just a noun, it’s a verb,” Borrows said. “If people pick this up, it bodes well for the future. If that really comes to pass, then this legislation opens doors.”

He also sees value in having federal government and provincial governments on side.

“B.C. is the first jurisdiction in the world to pass this legislation,” he said. “I think that it helps to have federal legislation on point as well. This allows both parties to come to the table.”

Borrows stressed the bill does not grant Indigenous peoples the ability to veto developments, which was a key concern raised by Conservative senators over the Saganash bill.

“A veto is not in the declaration,” Borrows said. “What it means is that they have to consult,” and that “informed consent requires democracy.”

Sayers expects, however, that there will be more debate around the interpretation of free, prior and informed consent, a fundamental principle in upholding Indigenous rights around land and resource development.

“It’s consent and consent means Yes or No,” she said. “It’s going to be a huge debate at some point.”

Both Borrows and Sayers feel the bill does not have sufficient enforcement mechanisms to hold the government to account in the event implementation stalls.

“I would have liked to have seen something a little bit more enforceable to require government to negotiate in good faith,” Borrows said.

“We don’t want the prime minister saying they can’t do anything until they have an action plan in place,” an excuse that’s been used by Premier John Horgan since B.C. passed its UNDRIP legislation, Sayers said. “It’s really frustrating to work with B.C. We need an independent tribunal to make sure that it gets done.”

The bill can still be improved as it makes its way through the legislative process.

“It just depends on how much support we can get to make amendments,” Sayers said. “If it’s done properly, it could change the whole landscape of Canada.”

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Page 4— Ha-Shilth-Sa—December 17, 2020

‘No quick fix’ for leaking wreck, Coast Guard says Mowachaht/Muchalaht members remember the 1969 sinking of 8,700-tonne Holland America freighter in Nootka Sound

By Mike Youds Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor Nootka Sound, BC - A 50-year-old shipwreck leaking diesel and oil in Nootka Sound lies more than 100 metres down, an extra challenge for a spill response working to limit environmental damage.

Fuel bubbling from the wreck of the Schiedyk, an 8,700-tonne Holland America freighter that hit a reef off Bligh Island on Jan. 3, 1968, has increased in recent weeks, threatening shoreline and wildlife.

A co-ordinated response, including containment and cleanup efforts, is underway three months after reports in midSeptember of an oily sheen on Zuciarte Channel near the east end of Bligh Island, a marine provincial park in Mowachaht/ Muchalaht territory.

“We have a pretty good idea of what we’re up against,” said Tyler Yager, Canadian Coast Guard incident commander.

“It’s something we’re taking very seriously. There is no indication the upwelling is going to stop any time soon.”

To the contrary, the spill is growing and spreading.

“I think, from everything I’ve heard, that it’s really picked up in the last month,” Yager said.

Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation (MMFN) and Hesquiaht First Nation are part of a unified command post to manage the response and environmental cleanup.

MMFN Chief Jerry Jack said they weren’t aware of the extent of the problem until a helicopter pilot captured aerial images of an oily sheen. Jack was planning to tour the site Wednesday, Dec. 16.

“The biggest concern is whether the oil is contaminating our water and shoreline and animals if any,” he said.

Using a remote operated underwater vehicle (ROV), they didn’t have difficulty connecting the sheen to its source, Schiedyk, roughly 115 metres (360-400 feet) down.

“We did send an ROV down,” Yager said. “We’ve been able to determine significant damage to the ship, either from the grounding or tumbling off the reef.”

A remotely operated camera revealed heavy oil leaking from the hull. A lab test provided another clue critical to cleanup; the fuel type, a diesel and oil mixture.

“That gives us a better idea because, first of all, it confirms the source,” Yager said. “It also gives us a better idea of what we’re looking at moving forward.”

A team of about 40 personnel is working on site while another 43 staff lend support at various other locations in what amounts to a “virtual command post.”

Along with the coast guard, federal and provincial environment ministry staff and Western Canada Marine Response Corporation are involved.

As a pandemic precaution, NTC requested that unified command limit its on-site team and stay clear of Friendly Cove.

Yager, who has handled similar spills in recent years, was still gathering facts Monday and wasn’t sure how long cleanup might take.

“Too soon to say,” he said. “This isn’t going to be a quick fix. We’re going to be here for some time. Right now, we’re very much in a response mode.”

A slow but continuous discharge of fuel drifts from the wreck. Six marine pollution response vessels are working in the channel and two more were expected

Photo supplied by Unified Command

Western Canada Marine Response Corporation crew prepares containment booms on a landing ramp on Bligh Island.

We knew what was going to happen if we culturally sensitive areas can be protectdidn’t change course, but the ship simply ed. Seven sensitive sites have so far been didn’t turn.” identified.

He blamed poorly loaded cargo for the Jack said he was at a Gold River restaucollision, but no cause was officially rant Sunday when one MMFN member determined. mentioned that he helped load the SchieHelp soon arrived. RCMP vessel Tahsis dyk at the Tahsis pulp mill the night of was there in two hours while the icethe sinking. With two experienced pilots breaker Camsell was diverted, arriving in charge, the ship headed down Muchafour hours later to pick up crew. Three lat Inlet in calm seas before grounding tugs were dispatched from Victoria. A two hours later. coast guard cutter and small tugs stood by Roy Williams was living in nearby Yuquot when he and his family learned of ready to assist.

Historic shipwrecks are common on the the rescue that night.

Island’s west coast. From Cape Scott to “We heard it over our CB,” Williams Tillamook Bay in Washington State, the recalled. region is known as the Graveyard of the With his brother-in-law, Williams Pacific, littered with dozens of wreck crossed the sound in a small boat. They stood by, watching within 50 metres of sites. Jack wants to see similar hazards within days. Three dead animals — two identified. the badly listing freighter. sea otters and a great blue heron — have “I’m hoping they will be doing some “When we saw the ship, there were so far been linked to the spill. three master tugs trying to keep it upinvestigating,” he said. “I would imagYager could recall only two similar right,” he said. ine that back in the 1950s and ’60s they incidents over the past decade. In 2013, weren’t as concerned about the environThe last attempt to save the Schiedyk the coast guard responded to fuel from failed and the ship slid off the reef the ment as we are now.”

General M.G Zalinski, a U.S. Army next day.

Schiedyk’s owner, Holland America, transport ship that sank in Grenville Capt. Arie Van Dijik told a Times Colowas later bought out by Carnival CorpoChannel off Prince Rupert in 1946. There nist reporter the ship sailed too close to ration, headquartered in Seattle. Insurer was less fuel involved in that incident and the island and they tried to correct course. Lloyds of London wrote off the wreck in the wreck was 30 metres down. Schiedyk “We saw the shoreline coming,” the 1968 and paid out the value of ship and lies three to four times deeper, close to or skipper said. “We had lots of warning. cargo to Holland America. beyond the maximum depth for divers.

“It’s the deepest,” Yager said. “They all have their own complications, but this is the deepest. It may have to be the ROV that responds.”

Drone footage captured last week showed fuel spreading along the shoreline. Crews are recovering the contaminant as it floats to the surface, using a tandem sweep with a curtain boom and absorbent boom suspended between two vessels. Another oil recovery vessel will If you should be getting a copy of the capture fuel spread by ocean current.

Ha-Shilth-Sa paper delivered to your home, Aerial reconnaissance and marker buoys are charting ocean current flows and help please contact : Holly Stocking at with spill projection modelling.

250-724-5757 or The information gathered should help direct response measures, allowing teams holly.stocking@nuuchahnulth.org to deploy booms so that ecologically and

“This isn’t going to be a quick fix. We’re going to be here for some time. Right now, we’re very much in a response mode.”

~ Tyler Yager, Canadian Coast Guard

Have You Moved?

December 17, 2020—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 5

Ehatis reports 25 infections, but no hospitalisations Province continues to hold onto case data, despite urging from First Nation governments for more info sharing

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor Ehatis, BC - The Ehattesaht/Chinekint are asking the Ministry of Health to put the First Nation “high on the vaccine list”, as one quarter of its on-reserve community in Ehatis has now been infected with COVID-19.

“We all know how challenging COVID is and for those of us who have not been infected and for our vulnerable members, we need this kind of attention,” states a recent notice from Ehattesaht chief and council.

One day before the first round of vaccines arrived in British Columbia, Ehattesaht reported that the case count for the small village next to Zeballos had reached 25 on Dec. 13, including six active infections which were being isolated.

The previous update from the First Nation’s chief and council noted that active cases were being moved to locations in Campbell River to be separate from the Ehatis community, which has been under a lockdown order for weeks.

On Dec. 14 the B.C. Ministry of Health announced that the initial 4,000 doses from Pfizer will be given to long-term care and front-line health care workers in the Lower Mainland. B.C. plans to immunise 400,000 people by March, but for the time being it appears Ehatis residents will be forced to wait for the respiratory disease’s spread to subside.

“With each day that passes we are getting closer to having COVID out of our community,” reads a recent notice from chief and council. “We need everyone to be more careful than ever.”

Since late November residents have

Photo supplied by Province of B.C.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix, pictured at a news conference with Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry, has defended the province’s reluctance to share location data on positive COVID cases due to the need to protect personal information. been advised to isolate and only socialize with those in their household, but as infections spread through Ehatis, on Dec. 6 the First Nation tightened its restrictions even further. The Infectious Disease Bylaw was enacted, bringing tickets and the withdrawal of member supports to those who have visitors in their home

Greetings, On behalf of Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, we would like to wish you all a happy, fun, and safe Holiday Season.

During these challenging times of Covid-19, we are reminded how important it is, now more than ever, to take all necessary precautions to protect ourselves and one another.

We look forward to a time that is safe for us all to gather again as one, but until then, please follow all Health orders and recommendations: no non-essential travel, no social gatherings, and wear a mask in all public spaces. Understanding this may be particularly difficult to do during the Holiday Season, we remind you all that this is only temporary and it is also critical to stop the spread of Covid-19.

This will be a much different Christmas than anyone could have anticipated but we encourage you all to please find ways to connect in a safe and creative way that follows all health orders and recommendations, whether it be social distancing visits outside or organizing a zoom meeting with the family. Also, please remember to check-in on your elders and vulnerable people. Sending wishes of warmth, love, and strength during this Holiday Season to all Nuu-chah-nulth members, Nations, communities, extended families and friends.

Chuu, NTC Presidents & Vice-President

or leave the community without permission from the First Nation’s government.

School bus service and patient travel is suspended, while gatekeepers in Ehatis deny entry or exit without prior approval from the First Nation.

“When you go for a walk stay six feet apart from everyone and wear a mask,” reads a Dec. 6 notice from the First Nation. “Please do not leave the reserve and go into town.”

With Christmas less than two weeks away, arrangements were made for packages to be left at a trailer in Campbell River’s Super Store parking lot on Dec. 17 for gifts to make it into the reserve community.

Despite the 25 infections, Ehatis has yet to report any hospitalisations. COVID-19 overwhelmingly afflicts the elderly, and the First Nation’s good fortune could be due to the age of those infected within Ehatis. The majority of cases have involved residents under 40 years, with just one infection over 70 and another in the 60-69 age range.

The first two cases were reported Nov. 21, one day after the community was alerted to a possible exposure at the nearby Zeballos school. Someone who visited the school, Ehatis and the Nuchatlaht community of Oclujce earlier in the week turned out to be a positive case.

Contact tracing through the B.C. Centre for Disease Control began on Nov. 21, but this coordinated effort failed to determine if the school visitor was the source of Ehatis’ cluster of cases. This inability points to the larger issue of how much information is shared with First Nations about confirmed coronavirus cases in the vicinity of their communities.

The problem was mentioned in a recent report on discrimination against Indigenous peoples within the health care system by former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond. In Plain Site cites the lack of timely and complete sharing of COVID-19 data with First Nations, some-

thing that hasn’t helped the prevalence of infections among Indigenous people.

Over the first seven and a half months of the pandemic, Aboriginal people were infected 80 per cent higher than the rest of the B.C. population, according to TurpelLafond’s report.

A coalition has been pushing the province to better empower First Nations to protect its members from COVID-19 by sharing more information. Since May, the Heiltsuk Nation, Tsilhqot’in National Government and Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council have called for the Ministry of Health to share where infections are if they are close to a First Nation community, if a positive case has been to a village in the past 14 days, and – for the purpose of effective contact tracing - the name of a First Nation’s member if confirmed to have COVID-19.

The province has been reluctant to share this data, citing the need to protect a person’s confidential information in accordance with the Public Health Act. Health Minister Adrian Dix has also said that disclosing an infected person’s identity could discourage others from reporting to the BC Centre for Disease Control, thereby discouraging someone’s “willingness to engage in the process of the health care system.”

In September the group of First Nation governments submitted a complaint to the B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner to push the province to disclose more information, but three months later, a decision has not materialised.

Meanwhile, NTC President Judith Sayers questions the emphasis from Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry on controlling contagion by isolating cases.

“We don’t really agree with that,” she said, noting the high number of people living in many Nuu-chah-nulth households. “Sometimes in our homes, if you find one [infected] person, all of them are going to be positive because they’ve been around that person for so long.”

Merry Christmas!

Page 6— Ha-Shilth-Sa—December 17, 2020 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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Logistics show long wait for vaccines Trudeau announced inoculation would begin by mid December in major cities

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor Ottawa, ON - Amid a season of escalating COVID-19 cases across the country, a positive announcement from Ottawa surprised the country Dec. 7. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that vaccines for the respiratory disease could be in Canada as mid December, due to an agreement secured with the American drug company Pfizer.

Arrival of the 249,000 doses of the vaccine were contingent on approval from Health Canada, which came later in the week, and millions more are due to arrive in January. Two doses must be given to a person for the shot to have its 95 per cent effectiveness rate of warding off COVID-19, according to Pfizer’s clinical trials.

This announcement accelerates a distribution plan previously announced from Ottawa, which would have put Canada a month behind some other first-world countries in the race to break the spread of COVID-19 through mass-inoculation.

But although Indigenous communities have been identified as a priority group for vaccination, initial details of the campaign indicate that it will be several weeks before doses come to remote Nuu-chah-nulth communities. The Pfizer vaccine requires doses to be stored at -80 C, before vast quantities are administered within a short period of time.

Before Trudeau’s announcement, Dr. Charmaine Enns, medical health officer for Island Health’s northern region, spoke about the Pfizer shot during the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council’s Annual General Meeting on Nov. 24. She said the first rounds of the vaccine will likely be given in large cities this winter.

“It’s very difficult for transporting because of cold chains, so most likely that vaccine will be dropped off in large centres - and once you open it, I think it’s almost about 1,000 doses that have to be given in three hours,” said Enns. “So that will go to large places, probably to health care workers. The next group that’s most likely going to be given preference will be long-term care facilities and residents

Ehattesaht First Nation/Facebook photo

Medical Health Officer Charmaine Enns sat in on one the Ehattesaht First Nation’s regular COVID-19 video updates for its members on Nov. 30. in long-term care facilities.”

On Dec. 7 Trudeau stated that 14 sites across the country will be identified for the rollout, including two in British Columbia. As the bulk of B.C.’s COVID-19 cases have come from Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, Enns expected that the initial distribution wouldn’t be anywhere near Nuu-chah-nulth territories.

“I can tell you if a vaccine came to British Columbia, we probably wouldn’t get it on the island,” she said. “It would go to the Lower Mainland and most specifically to Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health because of the amount of activity there.”

“How would we bring all of our elders and vulnerable people to Vancouver?” asked NTC President Judith Sayers after Trudeau’s announcement. “I think we should be prioritizing people in remote communities who don’t have easy access to hospitals.”

Meanwhile, Ehatis continues to be the hardest hit remote settlement on the west coast of Vancouver Island. With 25 confirmed cases as of Dec. 13, one quarter of the Ehattesaht Chinehkint’s on-reserve population has become infected, although 19 of the 25 reported cases have recovered and the First Nation has yet to report any hospitalizations.

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“After some success in our community, the virus is making another attack on our families,” read Councillor Ashley John during a Facebook announcement from Ehattesaht’s elected chief and council on Dec. 6. “Some people have chosen to disregard these measures.”

Following two weeks under lockdown, the First Nation announced more stringent rules on Dec. 6 with the Infectious Disease Bylaw. This brings tickets and the withdrawal of membership supports for those found to be breaking the lockdown orders of hosting gatherings or having any visitors in one’s household.

Ehatis residents are also required to wear a mask if outside of their home, and must apply to the First Nation three days in advance for approval to leave the reserve.

Even travel for medical appointments has been suspended, and gatekeepers will deny entry without approval from the nation’s government.

Other vaccines have come before health Canada that could better suit distribution in small, remote communities. The federal government has made purchase agreements with Massachusetts-based Moderna, which can be kept at fridge temperatures for up to a month before being administered.

Ha-Shilth-Sa belongs to every Nuu-chah-nulth person including those who have passed on, and those who are not yet born. A community newspaper cannot exist without community involvement. If you have any great pictures you’ve taken, stories or poems you’ve written, or artwork you have done, please let us know so we can include it in your newspaper. E-mail holly.stocking@nuuchahnulth.org. This year is Ha-Shilth-Sa’s 46th year of serving the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations.

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December 17, 2020—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 7

Care home residents face pandemic loneliness Two Port Alberni facilities avoid outbreaks by limiting visits to essential needs and for palliative care residents

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter Port Alberni, BC – It has been nearly ten months since the province declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and seniors in care facilities remain in lockdown. Some fear that the impacts of long-term social isolation will negatively impact the mental health and well-being of those in longterm care homes.

This fall the Office of the Seniors Advocate released their results of a provincewide survey on the impact of visit restrictions at long-term care and assisted living homes called Staying Apart to Stay Safe.

The report speaks to the experiences of seniors in care homes and their family members.

At the time of its early November release, the report said B.C. seniors and their families are seeking a better balance between preventing the transmission of COVID-19 and ensuring a decent quality of life. But this fall case numbers started to increase rapidly as the second wave of the pandemic struck, causing more restrictions throughout the province.

At Echo Village, a long-term care home in Port Alberni, Beatrice Swan has been a resident for a year. In her 50s, Swan suffered a burst aneurysm in 2018 that resulted in partial paralysis. Her older brother George August is in a room just down the hall. He suffered a stroke that left him with memory issues and forced him to start using a walker.

Prior to their health emergencies, the siblings were active. BA, as her family calls her, was busy with her two adult daughters. Prior to the pandemic, George could be seen taking his daily long walks along River Road and uptown, where he would visit friends.

The pandemic has kept them both indoors since mid-March.

BA told Ha-Shilth-Sa that she would see her daughters every day prior to the pan-

Submitted photo

Beatrice Swan, pictured in the wheelchair surrounded by family, is a resident at the Echo Village long-term care home in Port Alberni. The facility has so far avoided COVID-19 cases by carefully restricting visitors. demic. Her sister would bring lunch and BA says there are three other Nuu-chahthey would eat together. In March, when nulth residents at Echo Village. the state of emergency was declared, BA Joe McQuaid, executive director of the said people stopped coming around.

Alberni-Clayoquot Continuing Care Soci“We can’t go out on the grounds anyety, which runs Fir Park Village and Echo more, nobody is allowed out,” she said.

Village, says their top priority is keeping She has noticed that her older brother residents safe during the pandemic. gets agitated about the confinement.

“We’ve had to limit accessibility for our “I try to keep George calm as much as I home from the outside,” he said, adding can but he’s frustrated,” she said, adding that there are 66 residents at Fir Park Vilthat he is so used going out for his walk lage and 67 at Echo Village. uptown. “Everybody knows him.”

While access to the facility has been It has been about a month since BA saw restricted, McQuaid said the resident’s her daughters. bubble is fairly large.

“I used to see them every day, then it “Some are close friends,” he noted. just stopped,” she said.

There was a point in time during the To pass time she watches TV, movies pandemic when visitors were allowed or plays games on her tablet. Sometimes after health screening, but with increasGeorge joins her to watch movies. ing numbers of cases in Port Alberni, the BA says she is depressed. decision was made to put an end to social “If I could sneak out every once in a visits. Essential services and palliative while, it would be good; George said he’d care visits are permitted after screening, come with me,” she added. temperature checks and full PPE is used

(gowns, masks, gloves). Social visits were suspended Nov. 20 when screening produced red flags. McQuaid said that there were connections between some of the visitors and the places that had positive cases, like the hospital unit that had an outbreak and the schools.

Both of the care homes had a COVID-19 outbreak simulation, going through the necessary steps to contain the spread of the virus had there been cases in the facilities.

“This helps us strategize, to develop contingency plans and it helps alleviate staff stress,” said McQuaid.

“We’re still not out of the woods with this highly contagious and deadly virus,” he added, but they have managed to avoid outbreaks in their facilities.

He looks forward to January 2021 when the COVID-19 vaccination will be made available.

Tsawaayuus Rainbow Gardens had an outbreak of COVID-19 in their facility in November. Ha-Shilth-Sa reached out to Tsawaayuus administration, but calls were not returned. Their website message indicates that they are working in partnership with Island Health and the B.C. Ministry of Health to implement safety and preventative measures for coronavirus (COVID-19).

“Our priority is to protect our residents and staff based on current recommendations. As this is an evolving situation, we are making changes daily to provide the best possible care to your family member or friend living here at Tsawaayuus (Rainbow Gardens),” stated the care facility.

They go on to say that only essential visits are allowed for residents who are critically ill or receiving end-of-life care.

Eligible visitors must pass screening criteria. Families are asked not to send food and gifts to residents at this time.

At Echo Village, BA Swan sums it up this way, “It’s no fun, but it’s what we have to do to stay safe.”

Hotel Zed offers Nuu-chah-nulth safe place to isolate

By Melissa Renwick Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Tofino, BC - As B.C.’s top doctor urges British Columbians to avoid all non-essential travel, many hotels and resorts in Tofino have closed their doors to leisure visitors.

Hotel Zed is among them. But as the newly established hotel continues construction, it has remained open to accommodate the tradesmen building its restaurant. Sitting otherwise empty, general manager and Tofino councillor Britt Chalmers said that they wanted “to do something to help out the community.”

By offering its rooms to members from Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht who need a safe place to isolate at no cost, Chalmers said that she hopes it can alleviate some of the pressure local communities are undergoing.

On Dec. 15 Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced that an additional 522 people had been infected with COVID-19 over the last day, bringing the total amount of people who have been diagnosed with the virus to 43,463 in B.C. As of Dec. 15, there are 9,860 active cases in the province, with at least 12 reported cases in Ahousaht.

While Henry said that the restrictive measures introduced Nov. 19 are starting to work, “all around us, in every com-

munity, the virus continues to circulate,” she said.

Tla-o-qui-aht Emergency Operations Centre chair, Elmer Frank, said that Hotel Zed’s offer is a big help.

With multiple generations living together, the ability to separate families to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 is “certainly a benefit,” he said.

The hotel, which participates in the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation’s Tribal Parks Allies Program, has a touchless checkin system that allows guests to maintain distance. After a guest checks out, a disinfectant fog is sprayed and left to settle before any staff are authorized to enter the room.

Chalmers said that no one has taken Hotel Zed up on its offer as of yet and hopes that no one needs to.

“If [they] don’t need to, it means that things are going well,” she said. “But we’re available if it reaches that point.”

Working with Vancouver Island Health Authority, the Best Western Tin Wis is offering around six rooms at a 20 per cent discounted rate, said general manager Jared Deaton, which are being paid for by Island Health. The hotel’s agreement was made to assist local residents who need to isolate.

Solely in charge of making bookings, Deaton said the rooms are being monitored and managed through Island Health

Photo by Melisssa Renwick

Hotel Zed general manager and Tofino councillor Britt Chalmers poses for a portrait outside the hotel, in Tofino. essential services workers during this staff. “difficult” time.

With the death toll approaching 700, “We are quite remote from the rest of Henry announced that B.C.’s social rethe island,” she said. “I think this town strictions are extending through Christalways has supported each other and the mas and New Year’s to Jan. 8, 2021. more we can do for each other, the betChalmers said that Hotel Zed wants to ter.” be available to First Nations elders, or

Page 8— Ha-Shilth-Sa—December 17, 2020

Pop-up warming centre approved for trial run Temporary site erected for three days next to Port Alberni Friendship Center for unsheltered homeless people

By Karly Blats Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor Port Alberni, BC - A pop-up warming site has been set up on Fourth Avenue next to the Friendship Centre to serve the community’s homeless population.

Lisa George and a group of advocates were given approval from the City of Port Alberni to set up tents on a gravel lot on a trial basis. Three 10 X 10 tents were erected from 6 p.m. to midnight on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12 and on an unannounced day the following week to provide those in need a place to warm up by a propane fire and grab some food.

“We have been granted a trial run, so it’s been decided that we can do three days.

We’re going to do [Friday, Dec. 11] and [Saturday, Dec. 12] but we really want to do a day during the week to see what the difference is between a weekday and a weekend,” said organizer Lisa George.

“Especially because we want a weekday where the Friendship Centre is coming in the next day to work and [staff] can see that [the lot] is left clean.”

Because the warming centre will be set up for 6 p.m. and taken down by midnight, it won’t be in operation during the operating hours of the Friendship Centre’s child care centre next door.

The Friendship Centre executive director was unavailable for comment on Friday.

George said after the three-day trial run, volunteers would debrief with the city on how operations went and from there future plans for the warming centre will be arranged.

“Ideally we’d like it to be seven days a week for the duration of the winter,” George said, noting that securing volunteers to work at the site is a challenge.

“We intend to take names and contact information from anyone who wants to volunteer and then see how much man power we have moving forward.”

George said her and the other volunteers encourage anyone to come by the site and ask questions or inquire about volunteering, or to just show their support.

“We need two volunteers all the time, no one can be there by themselves,” George said. “We’re going to need folks to help with the set up and take down because [the tents] have to go up and down everyday.”

George said COVID-19 safety protocols will be in place during the hours of operation. There can only be 10 people under the three tents at one time, everyone must wear masks and any food being distributed will be individually packaged.

www.alberniport.ca

Photo by Karly Blats

A temporary site was erected for three days next to the Port Alberni Friendship Center for the city’s unsheltered homeless population.

“That was a big thing with the city making sure we were COVID safe,” George said.

Manager of community safety with the City of Port Alberni, Gaylene Thorogood, said COVID precautions were the main safety concern from the city about the pop-up warming centre. “[Organizers] have assured us that they’re cleaning and masking up, they’ll have their PPE, they’re going to sanitize anything that’s high touch areas and they’re going to be giving out packaged meals,” Thorogood said.

Thorogood added the volunteers have assured the city any garbage or mess will be cleaned up before they leave the site.

“We’re wishing them success with this,” she said.

After the three-day trial run, the city will debrief with the volunteers and see if something on a more permanent, or semipermanent basis can be arranged for the warming centre.

“They’re going to continue with the tents, not a permanent structure, so say if this site becomes unsuitable for whatever reason we would definitely look at putting them at a different place on city property,” Thorogood said.

The pop-up warming centre will serve

as a place for vulnerable individuals to go after the Bread of Life Society’s recently opened warming centre closes for the day. The Bread of Life’s warming Centre opened on Dec. 4 with hours of operation occurring on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Colin Minions with the Bread of Life said the warming centre will be expanding to five days a week (with the same hours) next week.

“We were looking for funding so we actually received a grant from the United Way, so that’s allowed us to expand to five days a week,” Minions said. “We’re looking at adding days rather than hours.

We’re actually going to explore opening on weekends as well but not this weekend.”

Minions said since opening, about 10 to 15 people have utilized the warming centre each day. He said that since daytime temperatures haven’t been extremely low, the warming centre has been pretty quiet so far.

Minions said having a pop-up warming centre during the evening will be a great addition for the community.

Mariah Charleson, vice-president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, said having a pop-up warming centre on

Fourth Avenue is a good start in helping the community’s most vulnerable people.

Charleson has been in contact with George and other organizers for weeks about the warming centre and said she’s fully supportive of the endeavour.

“We’ve heard from the beginning of this pandemic Dr. Bonnie Henry go live and she always said at the beginning we need to protect our most vulnerable people,” Charleson said. “We know there’s substantial gaps. Why are vulnerable people continuing to fall through the cracks?

From where I currently stand, I am in support because these people are in really dire need right now.”

Charleson said the NTC helps with homelessness outreach and support through their Quu’asa program and Teechuktl mental health supports.

“There’s a good partnership between the Quu’asa team and the Port Alberni RCMP. The [RCMP] have an Indigenous Navigator Program, so they have a list of clients they go over on a regular basis with our Quu’asa team,” Charleson said of the many homeless people in Port Alberni. “It’s really our outreach workers from Quu’asa as well as our Teechuktl team that work directly with our vulnerable populations.”

December 17, 2020—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 9

One week into lockdown, Ahoushat comes together Measures tightly restricting access to community continued into mid December, as over a dozen cases reported

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter Ahousaht, BC – It has been three weeks since Ahousaht went on lockdown while COVID-19 numbers escalated in British Columbia. In his daily leadership update, elected Chief Greg Louie announced on Dec. 2 that he was informed by health authorities that there are eight positive COVID-19 cases in Ahousaht living in four households. In addition, there are a total 15 people living in those four households that are considered close contacts to the positive cases.

The number of cases in the community has since grown to over a dozen. At this time, all people must wear masks outside their homes in the village. Louie said that the number of cases may climb as lab results come in from other residents that have taken the test.

Louie said that leadership does not receive information about the identities of the positive cases, but that staff and leadership pledge to protect that confidentiality if they are informed of the identities. However, for those that wish to disclose to Ahousaht’s EOC staff that they tested positive, their disclosure will be kept private while staff offer additional services to help support those that are in 14-day isolation.

According to Deputy Chief Melinda Swan, a vehicle has been hired to deliver food, medication and other necessities to those that are under 14-day isolation. In addition, the nation is having food delivered to the village, as they arrange for the safe and orderly distribution of the free food to its nearly 1,000 residents.

Photo by Denise Titian

Larry Swan collects care packages for Ahousaht residents unable to leave the village during a stop in Port Alberni Dec. 3.

In another measure to help people stay Chief Louie says his staff are busy positive, but also for close contacts and home, Ahousaht sends its freight truck to networking with health officers and those afraid they were exposed, but tested Port Alberni periodically to pick up care nurses, implementing their advice to keep negative. packages from friends and family in Port the community safe from the spread of “It can take several days for symptoms Alberni for delivery to the village. City the virus. He noted that there are angry to show, and some people have different residents shop for items and pack them people that are calling or messaging staff symptoms than others,” so it’s important in plastic totes, which are clearly marked at the Ahousaht EOC, swearing at them. to do the entire 14 days of isolation,” he with the recipient’s name. Each tote is “There’s lots of anxiety about the isolatold the people. disinfected and delivered to driver Larry tion, but we need to do it for 14 days,” He pleaded with people to refrain from Swan with gloved hands and masks. said Louie in a live Facebook video mes- abusing staff with vulgarity, disrespect The nation has received two mobile sage on Dec. 2. and rudeness. homes, which will be set up in Ahousaht Louie says that the 14-day isolation “We are doing our best to protect your and used for isolating those that test posi- period is mandatory for Ahousaht resisafety,” he said. tive for the virus. dents - not only for those that have tested

Page 10— Ha-Shilth-Sa—December 17, 2020

Six new homes built in Ethlateese in time for Christmas Eight more units are due to be finished in 2021, increasing the remote Uchucklesaht village’s population many times over

By Melissa Renwick Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Ethlateese, BC - As a young girl, Gina Laing spent her days in the remote village of Ethlateese living off the land. Considered the wettest place in North America, Ethlateese is tucked away in the Uchucklesaht Inlet. Surrounded by uninterrupted forest, the tiny village looks as though it is about to be swallowed whole by the surrounding mountains.

It was the birthplace of Laing’s father, who lived there his entire life – the way his mother had before him.

Those deep ancestral ties have connected Laing to the quiet piece of land ever since her earliest memories.

“It was a really healthy way to grow up,” she said.

Back then, Laing’s diet consisted of whatever the land and sea provided. Her father hunted wild game and foraged for clams, while Laing’s grandmothers took her out to pick fresh berries.

“When the tide was out, your table was set,” said Laing’s brother and Uchucklesaht elected chief, Charlie Cootes. “It was one of the best places to live [and] best place to grow up as a child.”

All of that changed when they were picked up by boat to go to residential school. “[The government] was successful in their mandate to strip us from our culture, our traditions, our language and to alienate [us] from our families,” said Cootes. “It takes a long time to come back from that.”

Now, only three members remain living in the village. Without access to health care, education and a lack of economic opportunities, many were forced to relocate.

Despite that, Laing stayed.

“It’s part of our history,” she said. “Part of our culture, part of our everyday living.”

But like so many others, Laing eventually found herself in Port Alberni. Her life was uprooted five years ago when she lost her home in a house fire and had nowhere else to go.

The transition hasn’t been easy for the 73-year-old, who misses the sounds of crows trying to break open muscles on the top of her roof.

“I’m living in a house that’s not mine,” she said. “It’s so different – the atmosphere is completely different. I just miss home.”

Photo supplied by Uchucklesaht Tribe Government

Only three people currently reside in Ethlateese, which is located in the Uchucklesaht Inlet, near Barkley Sound on western Vancouver Island.

As a way to try and re-establish the village, Uchucklesaht chief administrative officer, Scott Coulson, acquired federal funding through Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada to renovate the existing homes in Ethlateese.

After an initial analysis was done on the remaining homes, it was determined they were uninhabitable.

When Indigenous Northern Affairs Canada redeveloped the village around 40 years ago, they built individual septic tanks for each home in the floodplain, said Coulson. “[The septic tanks] were all decomposed and useless,” he said. “They were actually falling into the ground, so we had to redevelop a septic system for the entire village.”

The renovation project quickly turned into a replacement project and within nine months, six new homes have been built and

will be ready before Christmas.

One of them is for Laing.

“I’m so grateful,” she said. “It’s going to be so peaceful and it’s going to be so nice to hear things again.”

Laing said she looks forward to returning to sounds of “seagulls squawking over leftovers down on the beach,” and to the loud barks from sea lions when the fish are in.

An additional eight homes are scheduled for completion next year, which will increase the village’s population by four or five hundred per cent, said Coulson.

“I think everybody’s pretty excited about it,” he said. “It’s been 10 years since we’ve seen people coming back and utilizing the area for fishing and now they’ll be able to do that again.”

When Laing thinks back to her childhood, it was Ethlateese that got her through some of her darkest days. The Uchucklesaht elder

attended the Alberni Indian Residential School until she was 16 years old. For 10 years, she was only able to return to the village during the summer months.

“Going to residential school I always thought I was just a burden to society,” said Laing.

But during those brief visits to Ethlateese, Laing said she felt like she belonged.

“It’s just a part of us,” she said. “It’s home – it’ been home.”

December 17, 2020—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 11

hristmas

many times over

Rafferty Baker/CBC photo

Hupacasath First Nation member Wawmeesh Hamilton won a Jack Webster Award for his story on Haisla Nation outreach worker James Harry, pictured above.

Hupacasath First Nation member wins prestigious journalism award

By Sam Laskaris Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor

ed by Uchucklesaht Tribe Government

on western Vancouver Island.

ian Residential School until she years, she was only able to ng the summer months. chool I always thought I was just

visits to Ethlateese, Laing said

she said. “It’s home – it’s always

Photos by Tina Halverson

Phyllis Halvorsen is one the last elders to live in Ethlateese. She participated in the cleansing in the village before construction began and took one last picture with her house before it was torn down.

Vancouver, BC – A Hupacasath First Nation member has captured one of the top journalism awards in western Canada.

Wawmeesh Hamilton took top honors in the Best Feature/Enterprise Reporting category for radio or a podcast at this year’s ceremony for the Jack Webster Awards.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s ceremony was held online on Dec. 8.

The awards are named after Webster, a journalist who had a career in British Columbia spanning more than 40 years in print, radio and television. Webster retired in 1986 and died 13 years later at the age of 80.

As a tribute to his distinguished career, colleagues and friends launched the Jack Webster Foundation in 1987 to recognize journalistic excellence in B.C. What started off as being one single accolade has grown into the Jack Webster Awards, which now recognizes recipients in 14 categories. The newest category, which was added this year, was for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Reporting.

The various awards were for excellence in print, radio, television and online media sources. Besides news, entries covering other topics including sports, business, the arts and community issues were also accepted.

Hamilton’s winning entry, titled Not Alone, aired this past February on CBC Radio’s program called The Current. It also appeared in text on CBC’s website.

Not Alone is about Haisla Nation member James Harry, who is employed by his First Nation. Harry, an outreach worker, is part of a unique program run by his First Nation. His job is to specifically seek out Haisla Nation members who are struggling with addictions and to get them off Vancouver streets.

This marked the first time Hamilton had won one of the Jack Webster Awards.

“It’s the story that won, not me,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton was nominated in two categories this year. He was also one of three finalists for the City Mike Award for Broadcaster of the Year. But this award was won

by Andrew Nikiforuk from The Tyee.

Hamilton had also been nominated for Jack Webster Awards in 2018 and ’19.

He described how he felt on hearing his name declared as one of the winners of the Jack Websters Awards last week.

“For a moment it was surreal,” Hamilton said.

And even a few days afterwards, Hamilton was still trying to comprehend the magnitude of his accomplishment.

“It’s still sinking in,” he said. “Having said that, I’m proud such a deep, complex and sensitive story about the most vulnerable of Indigenous people won the notice (of award officials) and ultimately the win.”

While other family members were in his Vancouver home at the time, Hamilton said he watched the awards ceremony by himself in his office.

Hamilton shared his award with producer Joan Webber and associate producer Rafferty Baker, who both also worked on Not Alone.

After his win, Hamilton tweeted out about the significance of his award.

“This award is dedicated to my late father,” he said. “I never knew him. He died when I was 6. I remember watching him reading books & newspapers. This is my 1st memory of #journalism. He and my mother never lived to see my work, or what their son became. This is for them.”

Hamilton had met Harry at a basketball tournament after interviewing his son.

When Hamilton discovered what Harry did for a living he felt there was a story waiting to be told.

Hamilton was immediately intrigued with Harry’s job. He was curious to not only find out exactly how Harry conducted his job but also why he was doing it.

He conducted numerous interviews with Harry from the fall of 2019 until early in 2020. Hamilton estimates he also went on as many as 10 outreach walks, sometimes with Harry, while doing research for his story.

“The most challenging part of doing this story was going on the outreach walks and seeing some of the Nuu-chah-nulth people that were struggling,” he said.

Hamilton was also recognized with an impressive accolade last November.

To celebrate its 49th year, representatives from Langara College, located on 49th Avenue in Vancouver, chose to honor 49 Langarans. These individuals were distinguished alumni, community partners as well as former and current college employees.

Hamilton had taken Langara College’s one-year Journalism program, starting in 2006.

He completed his Master of Journalism degree from the University of British Columbia in 2015.

In recent years his writings have focused on Indigenous issues and First Nations people.

Page 12— Ha-Shilth-Sa—December 17, 2020

Indian medicine making helps isolated community Qaamina Hunter of Ahousaht learned from his grandmother that prayer is necessary for the medicine to work

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter Ahousaht, BC – One of his earliest memories is paddling around Hesquiaht territory with his grandmother, Katherine Lucas, collecting medicinal plants.

“She was my mom’s mother and when I was about seven or eight years old, I remember she would row us to places to pick medicine,” said Qaamina Hunter of Ahousaht.

He recalls seeing his grandmother standing by a river. She called her grandson to stand by her side while she did a prayer chant.

“Then we would go pick medicine,” said Hunter.

As he grew older, about the age of 11 or 12, Qaamina was back in Ahousaht where he learned more about harvesting ingredients for medicine under the guidance of his parents, Stanley and Katie Sam. “My father used to tell me there are teachings about picking medicine,” said Hunter. “I used to pick the root, but my dad said if the plant knows you and it recognizes your spirit then it will produce for you all the time.”

From there Hunter learned to pick certain parts of the plant and to leave enough there so that it can recover and keep producing medicine.

Qaamina and his wife Ruth help people in Ahousaht struggling with addiction and those needing other forms of spiritual or emotional support.

“We do retreats; we help people struggling with drugs and alcohol,” said Hunter.

Since the pandemic brought further restriction in mid-November, Ahousaht has come up with a unique plan to support addicted members while keeping the community protected from outside travelers. During these retreats Hunter sometimes takes people on walks through the forest to teach them which plants to pick and proper harvesting methods.

“We gather medicines for whatever they need; it could be detox, anxiety, or stress,” Hunter said.

Besides detox, the Indian medicine they are making helps to build their immune systems.

Praying and belief in the power of the gifts from the Creator, says Hunter, is the most important part of Indian medicine.

“If someone asks for medicine and I don’t have any I start praying,” he said.

From the time he leaves his home to his arrival at the forest, Hunter prays to be guided to the appropriate medicinal plants.

After decades of harvesting medicinal plants, Hunter has many familiar places that provide what he needs, and he’s teaching his grandchildren all the steps in making medicine.

“When I am there (in the forest), I will

“When I am there (in the forest), I will chant. I don’t know how to describe it but it’s like it draws you to the right plant” ~ Qaamina Hunter chant. I don’t know how to describe it but it’s like it draws you to the right plant,” said Hunter.

He went on to say that he was taught that as long as you are moving, your prayers and your spirit are guiding you.

And when you’re done picking, you give thanks and leave with honor.

With his 11 grandchildren that live with him, Hunter says they pray on their way home.

“I tell my grandchildren to pray for the person that needs the medicine while we harvest; these are the teachings we give them,” he added.

The grandchildren range in age from eight to 17, and all eleven of them are learning about Indian medicine from their grandparents.

“We all sit at the table together working on it (medicine). As long as you’re touching the medicine, you are cleansing yourself,” said Hunter.

Qaamina and Ruth have faced tragedy in their marriage, losing three of their children. Two were lost in a plane crash.

“I miss my children, a lot,” he shared.

“Working on medicine soothes me, it brings me comfort.”

Qaamina firmly believes in the healing powers of the medicine his family makes.

“Someone asked if it would work for diabetes, we said yes, if you pray for it,” he said.

He shared the story of a woman that

Submitted photo

Qaamina Hunter makes traditional medicine with his wife and 11 grandchildren. was battling cancer. She started taking medicine that he made to help deal with her stress and anxiety, and after taking it over several weeks she beat cancer.

Ruth, Qaamina and family have made over 400 quarts of medicine that they deliver to people’s doors in Ahousaht.

“We’re getting donations of jars from Cermaq and First Nations Health Authority, and the kids drop the jars off at the door and knock – there is no contact,” he shared.

The family is getting requests for medicine from as far away as Victoria and Prince George. They sent ingredients to make medicine to Zeballos when relatives became ill with COVID-19.

“My nephew was so sick he said he was

afraid to go to sleep – he was afraid he wouldn’t wake up,” said Hunter. “I told him to pray when he takes the medicine, pray for what you need.”

The nephew and his wife have recovered and are grateful for the medicine.

He said they were taught that these plants are gifts from the Creator, so it wouldn’t be proper to keep it for themselves.

The demand for medicine is so great that the family has begun freezing medicinal plants to keep up with the need. When they’re done, they bring the trimmings back to where they got it from, giving thanks.

“It’s all about prayer and staying connected,” said Hunter.

Phrase of the week: Ciciqinknis^%a> N’aas %uu%its%a+kun suuwas %i @uy’i +eekuu +eekuu Pronounced: Cee cee kink nish oo its alt koon sue was e Ooh ii kleco kleco . Means: We pray when we make our medicine. Supplied by ciisma.

Illustration by Ivy Cargill-Martin

December 17, 2020—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 13

Happy holiday!

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Submitted photo

Hours of operation - 7:00 am - 10:30 pm Phone: 724-3944 E-mail: claudine@tseshahtmarket.ca Find us on Facebook

Tchadas Leo is hoping to include Nuu-chah-nulth content on his new podcast titled Our Native Land.

New Victoria-based podcast seeks to include Nuu-chah-nulth content

By Sam Laskaris Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor Ladysmith, BC – A new Indigenousthemed podcast has begun in Victoria.

And Tchadas Leo, the host and creator of the podcast titled Our Native Land, is hoping to include plenty of Nuu-chahnulth content on his show, which is being recorded out of the CHEK TV studio in Victoria.

The podcast is being billed as one that will explore all things Indigenous and First Nations. It will include interviews and discussions about cuisine, culture, heritage as well as other topics focused on Vancouver Island but also including other parts of the world.

Leo, a member of Homalco First Nation, is commuting from his home in Ladysmith to Victoria, about a 75-minute drive, to tape his weekly podcast.

New podcasts will be available to be downloaded each Monday.

Leo had provincial politician Melanie Mark on his inaugural episode. Mark, who represents the riding of VancouverMount Pleasant, is the first First Nations woman elected to B.C.’s legislative assembly.

She’s now the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sports and the first First Nations woman to serve in the B.C. cabinet.

Jared Williams, a chef who runs Elders Kitchen for Cowichan Tribes, was the guest on Leo’s second show.

Leo said the initial responses to his podcast have been rather positive.

“I’ve probably gotten 20-30 Facebook and email messages,” he said. “Considering we’ve just started it’s pretty overwhelming.”

Also, the podcast’s Facebook page has about 300 likes thus far.

And the podcast has averaged about 300 downloads per show.

“I had a goal of getting 1,000 (listeners),” Leo said. “But we’ve got to work our way up to it. I think within the next two months we should be able to be at 1,000.”

Leo anticipates the majority of his podcasts to be between 45-60 minutes in length.

Leo said he has contacted the Nuu-chahnulth Tribal Council to let them know about his new podcast and that he is look-

ing for suggestions for Nuu-chah-nulth individuals to interview.

Future plans include contacting Nuuchah-nulth First Nations individually to see if they can provide guest suggestions.

Leo said he’s keen to talk to various individuals.

“I’m looking forward to talking to people who are storytellers, who can talk about old traditions and upholding them,” he said. “I’m also looking to talk to musicians. And I’m looking forward to talking to people from various professions.”

Those with suggestions can contact Leo through the podcast’s email address at OurNativeLandPodcast@gmail.com Our Native Land is CHEK TV’s first podcast show.

Leo said he contacted officials at the TV station about a year and a half ago.

“They enjoyed my resume,” he said.

“For the past year and a half we’ve been talking back and forth deciding what I should do for them.”

It appears officials from the TV station are hoping Leo’s podcast will succeed.

They’ve brought him into their studios and made a pair of promotional videos about the podcast.

“I’ve been in front of the camera and that’s good practice for me,” he said.

Though he has not been in the broadcast industry for about a decade, Leo is no stranger to the business.

Leo got his introduction to broadcasting at the young age of 12, when he started volunteering for the then-called CRTV (Campbell River Television) in his hometown.

He started off doing various jobs including assisting with video production.

By the age of 16 he had a part-time job working as an assistant producer for the station, which was bought by Shaw Communications.

Afterwards, Leo was also in the digital media program at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo.

While continuing his studies Leo also spent the past decade working in various jobs in the car industry.

He’s left that behind now and is hoping to continue finding some other broadcasting work.

“Hopefully this is a good start to get into a broadcasting career,” he said of his podcast.

Page 14— Ha-Shilth-Sa—December 17, 2020

Salmon crisis calls for tripartite action, MPs told $176-million fishway announced as a remedy to the Big Bar Slide, which devastated Fraser River stocks in 2019

By Mike Youds Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor An all-out tripartite response to rescue Fraser River stocks after the Big Bar Slide should be a template for reversing steep declines of Pacific salmon coastwide.

That proposal was among a raft of reforms demanded by witnesses who appeared Wednesday, Dec. 9 before the Parliamentary standing committee on fisheries and oceans. The two-hour testimony gave a handful of First Nation representatives a chance to speak their minds on the collapse of wild salmon stocks, a disaster unfolding.

“There really has been a huge lack of connection with reality out here,” said Wickaninnish, Cliff Atleo of Ahousaht, testifying before MPs via Zoom.

Witnesses had only five minutes each to convey the seriousness of steep declines in wild salmon on the West Coast. A DFO policy that used fishing pressure on U.S. chinook stocks as leverage to negotiate a salmon treaty was an initial blow, Atleo said.

“Our stocks have never recovered from that,” he said. “The existence of fish farms along the west coast of Vancouver Island has severely restricted the recovery of all species … DFO has the authority to manage with devastating results.”

Poor logging practices and irresponsible land use have also contributed to the decline, he added.

“Poor action in addressing climate change by all governments is not helping, either,” Atleo said.

Only after First Nations raised alarm in the aftermath of the Big Bar disaster last year was there an appropriate response from governments, he recalled.

The committee session was held the same morning as the Big Bar Slide response team announced via teleconference that work will begin shortly on a $176-million permanent fishway, a virtual life ring for struggling Fraser stocks.

A contract has been awarded to Peter Kiewit Sons, the same company hired to clear the river channel of debris from a massive 2019 slide that threatened salmon migrating to Interior spawning grounds. Construction is to start during this winter’s low-water period with the goal of having the fishway operational by the start of 2022 migration.

After extensive channel remediation work last winter, an analysis concluded in July that a fishway is the only long-term solution that can provide reliable fish passage at Big Bar, said Gwil Roberts, director of the response team.

“The construction will begin immediately with mobilization and design work happening quickly,” Roberts said. “It’s a difficult place for trying to install anything in the river,” he added. “We need to ensure that the fishway is large enough to handle high volumes … but not so large it would cause additional issues in that canyon.”

Record-breaking high-water levels this year complicated slide remediation work and dealt another blow to early-season salmon stocks that were already imperiled.

“Kiewit and First Nation crews, along with provincial and federal staff, have made remarkable progress to support the 2020 migrating salmon,” said Chief Roy Fletcher of High Bar First Nation. “We are pleased that the federal government is now moving ahead with a permanent solution at Big Bar. Our hope is that once

Photo supplied by Province of B.C.

Radio tagging chinook at Big Bar, part of measures to amend the disaster to a critical salmon pathway near Lillooet, B.C. this pathway is completed, we will once again see salmon flow in our streams.”

Government officials repeatedly stressed the importance of the tripartite approach in responding to the challenge posed by the slide barrier.

“This is very much a trilateral, government to government to government response,” said Trevor Bohay, who called it a great example of incorporating the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. “Local First Nation support has gone a long way to help Fisheries and Oceans and B.C. get solutions in place.”

“Together, Canada, B.C. and First Nations have overseen tremendous efforts to help ensure salmon have safe passage,” Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan said in a news release.

Governments need to adopt the same collaborative approach to save wild Pacific salmon as a whole, the Parliamentary committee was told.

“Free, prior and informed consent must be an essential component,” said Chief Bob Chamberlin of First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance. “The crisis that is B.C.’s state of salmon simply cannot wait for implementation (of UNDRIP). This is the beginning of a downward spiral of a species, and this is no exaggeration.”

Governments need to embrace the precautionary principle of doing no harm, he added, pointing to DFO’s recent scientific review of Broughton archipelago fish farm health risks that omitted sea lice.

“This is extremely concerning,” Chamberlin said. “Sea lice can physically kill juvenile salmon but also change behavior, making them more prone to predation.”

ZoAnn Morten of Pacific Streamkeepers Federation also drew an analogy with the Big Bar response.

“Never before have I seen such an effort to engage the public,” Morten said.

“Thousands have stepped up. Where is the three-government command centre for salmon where the work is done just for salmon?”

Chief Tyrone McNeil of Stolo Tribal Council said they consider the Fraser as the mother of all rivers: “It’s in our blood, it’s in our DNA. I would think that in the era of reconciliation, folks like you would be doing everything to ensure that

sustenance is met.”

The federal government has completely dropped the ball when it comes to consultation, he said.

What solutions could witnesses offer?

“It would be to start recognizing the results of their poor management,” Atleo said.

Recognizing Marshall and Sparrow rulings, decisions upholding Indigenous fishing rights, would go a long way to overcoming systemic racism, McNeil said.

Other suggestions included moving immediately to closed containment fish farming, working with First Nations to identify rehabilitation efforts and adopting a departmental zero-tolerance policy toward racism.

“I think we need to connect all the dots,” Atleo said. “All the things mentioned are inter-related. In our view, management is not accountable and that should never be when it comes to management of a natural resource.”

“Right now, I believe this is a watershed moment,” said Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns, a member of the Commons committee, as the meeting ended.

“Without emergency action, this could be the minister who oversees the collapse of wild salmon.”

“Our culture, our way of life and wellbeing will all collapse, forcing us into Third World conditions in our homelands,” said Arthur Adolph of Xaxli’p First Nation.

ANNOUNCEMENT Ditidaht First Nation will remain on Lock down Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry has now extended her decision for the public to refrain from gatherings from December 7th to January 8th, 2021.

The Ditidaht community located at Malachan I.R. #11 (90.7 km’s south of Port Alberni) will continue to remain on lockdown as well.

Ditidaht Chief and Council are in full support to keep the community of 230 members safe during the world wide pandemic. “We have perimeter security check-point staff that will remain at the gates for up to 24 hours until a decision is made when we start to see a decrease in numbers,” Karen Mack EPC. Ditidaht First Nation does not permit; non-community members, members from the Mainland and family members to enter Malachan I.R. (Ditidaht Community).

Community members are requested to only travel for medical appointments and essential shopping with 1-2 persons in the vehicle. Non-essential travel is not permitted at this time.

We ask that you please respect the decision of our leadership at this time, for the protection of our elders, children and community members.

Ditidaht Elected Chief and Council

December 17, 2020—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 15

Indigenous groups monitor Clayoquot fish farm trial Cermaq Canada says contained, ocean-based system will help protect farmed fish, while separating them from wild stocks

By Mike Youds Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor Clayoquot Sound, BC - Indigenous and environmental groups are monitoring a containment system trial in Clayoquot Sound designed to eliminate interaction between wild and farmed salmon.

Maaqutussis Hahoulthee Stewardship Society (MHSS) together with Uu-athluk, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council fisheries department, and Tofino-based environmental group Clayoquot Action are watching and analyzing as Cermaq begins testing a semi-closed containment system (SCCS) in Millar Channel.

David Kiemele, Cermaq Canada’s managing director, said the company sees potential in SCCS for several reasons.

“The first is the potential benefits for salmon, as trials in Norway have shown us that the system essentially eliminates the transfer of lice from wild salmon to our farmed populations,” Kiemele said in a news release announcing the trial launch. “We are also excited to see how the farmed populations perform in the system in Canadian waters. In Norway, we have seen our fish grow faster and have better overall performance.”

SCCS is untested in Pacific waters. The experiment, which runs until summer 2022, will analyze performance of Atlantic salmon smolts grown in the system compared to control groups grown in a conventional open-pen system.

Millar Channel lies in traditional Ahousaht territory, and the First Nation supports fish farming through an agree-

Photo supplied by Clayoquot Action

Skipper Lennie John and Clayoquot Action’s Nicole Holman observe Cermaq’s installation of a semi-closed containment system. dent of Cermaq,” Caton said. “One of ment with Cermaq. the things they’re doing right now with Fish farms in the Hahoulthee of Hawiih operate with consent from Ahousaht NTC is called micro-trolling for sea lice. hereditary chiefs.

Catching young chinook, one to one and a half years old, catch and release, gatherHereditary Chiefs Economic Development Corporation spokesman John Caton ing lice counts, water temperature and said in July that they were skeptical of water quality data.” the trial while encouraging Cermaq to Jared Dick, NTC’s central region biolomove to closed containment fish farming gist, said ongoing Uu-a-thluk sampling by 2025. MHSS hired biologist Danny of juvenile salmon in Clayoquot Sound, O’Farrell in September to monitor the including beach seining of juvenile chum, trial. does not look specifically at the SCCS “Work is going on between NTC and trial but may give some indication of fish Danny in conjunction with but indepenfarm impacts in terms of infectious agents (i.e. viruses and bacteria) and sea lice.

Through the spring and summer, NTC counted sea lice on wild juvenile chinook on their out-migration, a co-operative effort with Ahousaht Fisheries and Cedar Coast Field Station, Dick said. They NTC is doing Round 2 of our dialogue on Reconciliation are also working with DFO’s molecular with Canada. First Nations are doing their own genetics lab at Pacific Biological Stareconciliation and this is for Nuu-chah-nulth as a whole. tion studying gill tissue samples and We ask any Nuu-chah-nulth to participate in any of the conducting RNA analyses to determine sessions. We will do this on computer over zoom. what may be stressing the fish.

“We counted less than 500 adult chiCommunity Engagement Schedule: Meeting will be held nook in Clayoquot Sound rivers this Fall,” Dick said. “These are extinction

by Zoom, Zoom links will be put on Ha-shilth-sa Facelevels. What is stressing them?” book Page. Sessions will be up to 2 hours in length.

Tsimka Martin of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation was hiking at Cox Bay near Southern Region: Jan 5, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.

Tofino in September when she spotted the SCCS under tow and alerted others of its Central Region: Jan 6, 2021 at 6 p.m. arrival. Martin is behind the Nuu-chahNorthern Region: Jan 7, 2021 at 6 p.m. nulth Salmon Alliance, which is allied with Clayoquot Action in an effort to Away from Home Members: Jan 11, 2021 at 6 p.m. (can have fish farms removed from the sound, join the regional sessions as well) a move they feel is vital to save wild salmon stocks.

“We have been monitoring it closely, as Open for all Nuu-chah-nulth closely as we’re able to,” said Clayoquot Action’s Dan Lewis, commenting on the Forestry, hunting and gathering: Jan 12, 2021 at 10:00 SCCS trial. “It’s just a stalling tactic, a a.m.

PR statement.”

After receiving word from Martin, Fisheries and Marine Protected Areas: Jan 14, 2021 at Lewis and others visited Millar Channel 10:00 a.m. last month as part of a program they call CSI (Clayoquot Salmon Investigation), Housing: Jan 15, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. observing fish farm activities.

Language and Culture: Jan 19, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.

“It seems like a lot of work to go through to partially raise smolts. It’s not a MMIW Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and solution to the problem,” Lewis said. Fish Girls: Jan 20, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. feces and viral particles will still leave

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Health: Jan 26, 2021 at 6 p.m.

RCMP and Policing: Feb. 1, 2021 at 6 p.m.

Women: Feb 3, 2021 at 10 a.m.

Youth: Feb. 9, 2021 at 6 p.m.

Elders: Feb. 11, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.

the system, he said.

“It looks like they’re trying to protect their own fish,” he said.

Feces feed algae blooms, Lewis contends, noting Cermaq experienced an unseasonal bloom last November: “They’re becoming more frequent around the world due to eutrophication, warming water and feeding the algae.”

Brock Thomson, Cermaq’s project director for the trial, said SCCS performs well in Norway but Pacific waters are warmer and more biodiverse.

“We also have different fish welfare concerns, many of which we are hopeful the system will help to mitigate,” Thomson said.

The Canadian trial is adapted to local waters with use of four deep-water intakes roughly 25 metres beneath the ocean surface.

“The hope is that this will potentially eliminate harmful algae and sea lice from entering the system,” Thomson said. “Overall, this technology gives us a greater ability to control water quality within the system.”

An initial control group of 233,000 smolts is being reared in two open-pen nets while 495,000 smolts are in the SCCS. Cermaq plans to transfer fish from the SCCS to the net pen to test performance and effectiveness of the system.

“We are also investigating the feasibility of using this technology as smolt entry sites or nurseries,” Thomson said.

The practice of moving smolts from freshwater to sea pen can be stressful, making them more prone to health risks associated with marine environments.

“By using the SCCS as an entry site, we may be able to reduce stress and minimize exposure for smolts, helping to improve overall fish performance and welfare,” Thomson said.

Clayoquot Action questions why the federal government would subsidize the trial — 15-20 percent of the $5-million cost comes from the Clean Energy Fund — believing public funds should instead support a transition to land-based fish farming and workers along the coast who will be affected.

“This is not for wild salmon,” Lewis said.

“It all circles back to the Cohen commission recommendation No. 3,” that the federal government remove the DFO mandate to promote salmon farming, he added. “We know how DFO handled the (Atlantic) cod and they knew the science then. Their scientists were telling them then and the scientists are telling them now.”

SCCS is designed to eliminate lateral interaction between farmed and wild salmon and thereby reduce the transfer of sea lice between wild and farmed salmon, benefiting both, Cermaq says.

“We will be tracking sea lice numbers on our fish as part of the project and we see this type of technology as potentially being a useful addition to our production approaches in reducing the level of interactions between our salmon and wild salmon,” said Cermaq spokeswoman Amy Jonsson.

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Page 16— Ha-Shilth-Sa—December 17, 2020

New public safety building to open in Port Alberni Constructed with unused police funds, the facility is designed to help the city’s growing homelessness issue

By Karly Blats Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor Port Alberni, BC - In an effort to improve safety in the Uptown District, the City of Port Alberni has purchased a building on Third Avenue for Bylaw services and the Community Policing team.

The building was purchased in alignment with Port Alberni city council’s Corporate Strategic Plan goal of fostering a complete community that is safe, healthy and inclusive. The new Public Safety Building is scheduled to open mid 2021 once renovations are complete.

Funds for the $287,000 building at 3075 Third Ave. came from the city’s Policing Reserve Fund which currently sits at around $2 million, said Port Alberni Mayor Sharie Minions in a social media post. Policing Reserve funds are built up by refunds from the RCMP budget, typically when staff positions are not able to be filled for periods throughout the year.

Minions said the reserve has sat for many years and has only grown.

Minions said the Public Safety Building strategy has been used to make a positive impact in other communities and that council expects it will provide a street level, common location for non-policing agencies to come together in order to jointly address public safety and community challenges. “[The building] will facilitate foot patrols in the areas by multi-agency teams.

It is anticipated that people in need can feel welcome to enter and seek local government support or access to a number of partnering agencies,” Minions said.

The role of the volunteer-based community policing team is to support the RCMP in addressing emerging public safety challenges through programs such as Speed Watch, Crime Watch, Citizens on Patrol, Bike Registration and block watch.

Minions said the new building is expected to have a positive effect on the housing issues facing the community.

“The building is being located in the

Photo by Karly Blats

The City of Port Alberni has purchased the building at 3075 Third Avenue to house Bylaw Services and the Community Policing Team. The New Public Safety Building is set to open mid 2021 after renovations are complete.

Uptown District in part to place the city’s Bylaw Services team and Community Policing team into an area where many citizens are experiencing homelessness or are being housed in buildings that are not adequately maintained,” Minions said.

“The new Public Safety Building will feature a public-access washroom. This has been a high-priority request for the Uptown District over recent years. This will provide a much needed clean and safe facility for those in the area who are underhoused.”

Both the Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations were informally made aware of the strategic plans for the new Public Safety Building, Minions said.

“The city regularly discusses strategic initiatives, challenges and current events with Hupacasath First Nation and Tseshaht First Nation leaders,” Minions said.

“The city has also been working with the Indigenous Safety Team, and hope to integrate that team into the new building.”

December 17, 2020—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 17

Port Alberni apartment owners ordered to clean up ‘Ghe•o’ building owner refuses to remove trailers, ensures city that he is providing shelter for the homeless

By Karly Blats Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor Port Alberni, BC - Property owners of Port Alberni’s Wintergreen Apartments on Fourth Avenue are being held accountable for unsafe living conditions and are ordered to comply with city requirements to clean up and make improvements to the building.

Port Alberni city council voted unanimously at a Nov. 23 meeting to put a remedial action order on the apartments (sometimes referred to as “the Ghetto”) and the surrounding property. Property owners, Randy Brown from Port Alberni and Martin Chambers from Victoria, have 30 days to undertake an extensive list of repairs and upgrades to bring the property up to acceptable safety standards.

Improvements required include repairing the exterior walls of the building to protect the structure from weather and the possibility of insect and rodent infestations, remove all garbage from the interior and exterior common spaces of the property, repair ceilings, railings and fire protection systems and obtain proper permits and building inspections for renovations.

“The property has been in a state of decline for a number of years. Since that time the property has deteriorated significantly and has significant increasing high call volumes that consume resources from police, fire, building and bylaw services,” Gaylene Thorogood, manager of community safety with the City of Port Alberni, told council at Monday’s meeting. “The continuing and distinct pattern of nuisance activity inside the building and on the property is negatively impacting the community and creating immediate and immense concern for the safety of the residents, visitors, workers, city staff and first responders.”

In a letter to council, the Port Alberni RCMP say there’s been 94 calls for service to the Wintergreen Apartments over the past year, a 13 per cent rise from 2019. The letter states investigations at the site are predominately criminal code offences.

Thorogood said the city doesn’t know exactly how many people are living in each unit at the Wintergreen Apartments but they estimate there’s a lot.

“There’s an electrical room that has people in it and I understand that the trailers have more than one person in each trailer, not necessarily from the same family,” Thorogood said. “[The owners] have done alterations to the building without building permits to try to install a shower and laundry facility, they’ve altered the electrical…we have fined them on all of these things.”

Property owner Martin Chambers also owns the Harbourview Apartments on Third Avenue, which is another Port Alberni building that’s been given a remedial action order, but to date little progress has been made to address the requirements. Council will meet in-camera to consider the next steps for that building.

Another requirement for the Wintergreen Apartments is the removal of all trailers and recreational vehicles on property.

Recently a number of trailers were moved onto the lot next to the apartment building by owner Randy Brown to offer homeless individuals a place to live, but some council members are questioning whether the living conditions of the trailers are better than sleeping outside.

“We have people sleeping under those trailers too…we have a slum landlord not

Photo by Karly Blats

The owners of the Wintergreen Apartments on Fourth Avenue have been ordered by the City of Port Alberni to comply with an extensive list of upgrades and safety actions, including removing all trailers from the property. looking after the people, and I will say that, that’s me saying it, not council saying it,” said Coun. Cindy Solda. “When I see people having to go back on the streets because there’s no heat and it’s warmer to be on the streets, that tells you a big story. A lot of people think yeah, they have a roof over their head but is it better than not having heat? I feel that no one should live in those deplorable situations and the landlord collects whatever rent he collects and it goes in his pocket without him fixing it up.”

Coun. Ron Paulson said the deplorable conditions at the Wintergreen Apartment are not safe or fair for people to be living in.

“I know the landlord approached us at the last meeting and he feels deep in his heart that he’s applying a service. If he was applying a service he would take care of these buildings and make sure that those people were housed in a dignified and clean and healthy way,” Paulson said.

“We’re at a point where people are being housed in conditions less than suitable for animals. We need to find a roof for these people where they can have some dignity.”

Solda questioned what would happen to the people living in the trailers who could get displaced by the city’s remedial action order.

“As long as we help the people that are there to move them into safe spaces I am for this,” Solda said.

Mayor Sharie Minions pointed to BC Housing’s mention of the availability of beds at the Port Alberni shelter and available overflow beds that can be used if capacity is reached at Our Home on Eighth.

“On an average night we are hearing that there’s anywhere from five to 10 available beds at the shelter, plus the eight that are available at the old shelter,” Minions said.

Minions acknowledged that removing the trailers from the Fourth Avenue

property would create additional pressure on an already challenging homeless situation.

“We are ordering the removal of the trailers as I absolutely feel we should, it is unsafe and it’s a dangerous situation.

At the same time we know as a result of this, as soon as it’s complied with, we’ll immediately see additional pressures,” Minions said.

Later Minions added that the city will work closely with BC Housing and housing providers to enact emergency actions if needed for people who may become displaced.

Tim Pley, City of Port Alberni CAO, said it is the city’s job to lobby senior government and the provincial government to provide medical and housing support for a municipality. But enforcing bylaws is also a responsibility of the municipality.

“I understand the challenge you face that exercising that part of your role is likely going to impact the housing for some people who are there,” Pley said to council. “The shelter has options, but some people choose to camp outside the shelter or take other supports. I think that we have to accept that in the end it’s really the individual’s choice whether they except housing that’s provided or not.”

Pley said the city will work with stakeholders to ensure that if people are displaced by city action, someone will be there to help them find alternate housing.

Property owner Randy Brown says he has no intention of removing the trailers from his lot, and in fact plans to bring in more.

“I’m going to do all the improvements (ordered by the city) but I’m not going to remove the trailers. I am going to run legal septic to all of them,” Brown said.

“It’s going to take a while, but in the meantime, even a trailer with a little bit of heat in it is better than a park bench or a sidewalk.”

Brown charges $500 rent per trailer and

$400 per person living in the seven-suite apartment building, which includes utilities. He said there are approximately 18 people currently living in the apartments.

“I don’t take advantage of tenants, all my tenants there love me and I would be the first person they’d be calling if they were in jail and they needed bail money,” Brown said. “I have a good rapport with every tenant that I have and they all absolutely love me.”

Brown said over the past year, he’s put approximately $20,000 into fixing up the Wintergreen Apartments, most notably painting the exterior of the building and putting up a fence around the lot. He’s also re-tiled three of the seven suites’ floors.

He says most of the garbage that accumulates on or around his property is left there by homeless individuals and not necessarily his tenants.

Another improvement Brown is working on is revamping a laundry room to create a space for all homeless people and tenants to do their laundry for free.

“We’re putting in a toilet, a shower and a sink and free laundry facilities for all the homeless people. Basically [the homeless] are using all the tenants’ places to go to the washroom and shower,” he said. “I might as well just allow them to use the washer and dryer and just see how it goes. As long as I have the trailers in there I should be able to produce enough income to let all the tenants do [laundry] for free.”

Once improvements are made, Brown envisions adding more living spaces at his property for the community’s vulnerable population.

“I have a vision of this whole place. I can’t tell you exactly what I’m working on right now but I’m working on something bigger,” Brown said. “It’s going to be a little village and there’s going to be trailers and transition housing.”

Page 18— Ha-Shilth-Sa—December 17, 2020

Small-scale power producers face uphill ba•le Huu-ay-aht’s Sarita River project is scheduled to break ground in 2021, among the last approved purchase deals

By Mike Youds Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor Anacla, BC - With winter still ahead, Anacla and Bamfield have already seen seasonal power outages, reminding residents of their notoriously unreliable electrical service.

“We’ve had at least two now,” said Trevor Cootes, Huu-ay-aht First Nation councillor.

“This is the time of year when I get reminded of other considerations of importance to this energy project,” added Cootes, who is responsible for the Huuay-aht economic development portfolio.

“Huu-ay-aht struggles quite often and it’s out of the hands of B.C. Hydro.”

Power outages are more than a temporary inconvenience. They can have serious consequences, risking health and safety, particularly for elders.

The community, however, has a permanent and sustainable solution within grasp after years of planning and development.

Before B.C. Hydro’s Standing Offer Program was indefinitely suspended last year, Huu-ay-aht was among five Indigenous communities with which the Crown corporation agreed to negotiate electrical purchase agreements (EPA). A $37-million run-of-river project, capable of generating 5.2 megawatts from the Sarita River, is advancing toward the start of construction in 2022.

“As Huu-ay-aht, we’ve been working on this for the last 12 years,” Cootes said.

“We’ve been able to move the project forward even though we’ve gone through changes. We’re feeling good about that.”

Launched in 2008 to promote development of clean, renewable energy, standing offers enabled independent power developers to negotiate a set price for electricity produced. Revenue assured, small enterprises such as those of First Nations were able to proceed with costly development. After the NDP formed government in 2017, having promised to review the controversial Site C hydroelectric project, the program was placed in hiatus without warning.

A B.C. Utilities Commission review of B.C. Hydro suggested the standing offer program was a poor investment of public dollars, committing the corporation to buy power at higher prices when an energy surplus was keeping market prices low. The review did not consult with First Nations. B.C. Hydro said it had no plans to issue any further EPAs until the government’s energy review was complete.

Small-scale projects in development were

Supplied photo by Huu-ay-aht First Nations

A design illustration shows the Sarita River run-of-river project in operation, which is designed to generate 5.2 megawatts. suddenly in question.

When Premier John Horgan gave Site C a green light, he promised to open up the Standing Offer Program, which proved to be partly true. They would allow a few projects in before slamming the door.

“It was definitely a moment of pause for us being able to move forward,” Cootes said.

They were among the last five First Nations that were eventually approved to negotiate agreements in 2018.

“As Huu-ay-aht, we were very fortunate to get in when we did,” Cootes added.

B.C.’s policy shift away from smallscale power is not well founded, energy analysts have argued. In 2019, Energy, Mines and Resources commissioned a report, Zapped: A Review of B.C. Hydro’s Purchase of Power from IPPs. According to the Clean Energy Association of B.C., Zapped was full of holes, politically motivated and crafted to focus on overspending that was exaggerated.

CEABC maintains the report overlooked IPP benefits to First Nation communities, 30 of which operate 78 IPP projects in the province. Almost all owe their existence to B.C. Hydro’s purchase agreements.

While several Nuu-chah-nulth communities already own and operate power systems, others are confronted with major obstacles: Government policy and the Site C project, now half completed.

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation has three hydroelectric plants at Canoe Creek, Haaak-suuk Creek and Winchie Creek with plans to develop four more in Tofino and

Tranquil watersheds. Hesquiaht is completing its Ahtaapq Creek hydro project.

Toquaht, Ahousaht and Ditidaht also have clean energy projects planned. Only NDP government policy stands in the way of communities realizing ambitions, said NTC President Judith Sayers.

“I think it’s an uphill battle,” said Sayers, who took part in a two-day B.C. First Nations Energy Summit last month.

“I don’t think it’s a challenge to other First Nations,” she said. “What challenges there are lie with B.C. policies.

There are no incentives for smaller projects other than those funded through the Clean Energy Fund.”

In July, B.C. Hydro admitted to serious concerns about Site C, further behind schedule due to COVID-19. Critics of the Peace River megaproject point to geotechnical risks, First Nations treaty rights, loss of productive agricultural land, environmental impacts, massive cost overruns, increased public opposition and questions of economic viability. A joint federal/provincial review concluded electrical demand and alternatives have not been clearly established.

Energy Minister Bruce Ralston appointed a former deputy finance minister, Peter Milburn, as special adviser on the project.

Milburn’s report is due within weeks.

Horgan said does not favour pulling the plug on Site C but will wait for the report before making a final decision.

Sayers sees an opportunity ahead rather than an obstacle with Site C’s future less than assured.

“Is John Horgan’s ego big enough [that] he’s going to continue despite all the issues with the project?” she asked.

The provincial government’s tilt away from independent power continues. Nuuchah-nulth Tribal Council, First Nations Leadership Council and a host of other groups have urged the government to withdraw Bill 17, amendments to the Clean Energy Act they say run counter to reconciliation.

“Of the 14 Nuu-chah-nulth Nations, 13 nations are involved in the development and production of clean energy or want to be,” Mariah Charleson, NTC vicepresident, stated in July. “There is a great interest in Nuu-chah-nulth nations in this industry and the failure of the government to work with us on this amendment is a failure of reconciliation, UNDRIP and DRIPA.” Sayers remains optimistic about what she describes as “energy sovereignty.”

“People are not giving up,” she said. “If Site C goes down, B.C. Hydro is going to be scrambling to produce and calling for power projects. That’s an opportunity.”

The energy in Anacla is similarly upbeat. Huu-ay-aht is focused on finalizing its agreement with Hydro and optimizing the design of Sarita River power. Cootes views the development as an economic model for Indigenous communities.

“I call that economic reconciliation in action,” he said. “You’re participating in supporting an Indigenous community to bring self-reliance.”

December 17, 2020—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 19

Blockades continue, halting logging of old growth An industry group accuses protestors of harming many families that rely on income from forestry harvesting

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor Port Renfrew, BC - Ancient cedar trees within Nuu-chah-nulth territory have become the focus of a battle between environmental groups and forestry operators.

In November the Ancient Forest Alliance reported that a grove containing massive Western red cedars east of Nitinaht Lake had been logged. Located in Ditidaht First Nation territory and part of the Caycuse River watershed, the trees were still standing when the environmental group previously visited the site in April.

Then on Dec. 2 a collective calling themselves the Rain4est Flying Squad blocked logging trucks north of Duncan in protest of harvesting just outside Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park, which lies south of the Caycuse River.

A vehicle carrying old-growth logs was held up for an hour by the demonstrators forcing a red light at a crosswalk. Other northbound logging trucks passed the blockage, but protestors stopped them for several hours before the vehicles reached a log sort in Ladysmith, according to the Rain4est Flying Squad.

Five days later the environmental group announced that a blockade was in place at Bugaboo Creek, north of Port Renfrew.

Bobby Arbess, who was at the blockade when it was established on Dec. 7, said he could see that work to build a 2.5-kilometre road into the old-growth forest was underway, directed at red and yellow cedars up to 800 years in age. Bugaboo Creek is in in Pacheedaht territory, where several blockades have been in place to stop logging in the nearby Fairie Creek watershed since August. The First Nation has not taken a stance on this opposition to forestry in its territory.

The BC Forestry Alliance denounced the blockades, accusing the activity of harming Vancouver Island families that rely on the industry to sustain themselves.

“These workers and their communities are enduring difficult conditions, both economically and personally, to continue providing for their families during this pandemic and economic downturn,” said spokesperson Carl Sweet. “For these protesters to interfere with their livelihood during this time we find extremely

Photo supplied by Rain4est Flying Squad

A blockade was established on Dec. 7 at Bugaboo Creek north of Port Renfrew to halt road building into an old-growth forest, according to demonstrators. distasteful.” old-growth, and will continue to be for from a human-centric view of old-growth The provincial government has emthe foreseeable future, according to the to a belief that these forests are valuable phasized the importance of the forestry B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural to all living things. industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, Resource Operations and Rural DevelopThe United Steelworkers, the forestry declaring it an “essential service”. ment. industry’s most powerful union in B.C., “We are calling on the government to The Union of BC Indian Chiefs have responded to the Old Growth Strategic send a clear message to these protesttaken a stand against this reliance on log- Review to clarify what should be paraers that they cannot be part of a process ging ancient trees, and passed a motion at mount in forestry considerations. if they refuse to respect the needs of their September Annual General Meet“It’s concerning that the old growth workers going about their business,” said ing to designate old growth forests as report is largely silent on the issues raised Sweet. “The continued illegal blockades “heritage habitats”. The advocacy group by workers, industry and communities in Ladysmith and elsewhere must not be cited low enforcement standards in the and completely silent on possible socioallowed to continue.” province that jeopardize salmon-bearing economic impacts,” said Jeff Bromley, The Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natu- streams and other wildlife, while accusUSW Wood Council Chair, in a press ral Resource Operations has admitted that ing the provincial agency BC Timber release. “Any restriction on access to old the blockades are illegal. However, the sales and private corporations of taking growth forests must have the known and provincial department is hesitant to take advantage of the economic limitations measurable impacts applied before any sides. many First Nations face. determination is made. Further restric“Our government understands that for “Despite Vancouver Island’s old-growth tions on harvesting rights in the working too long, there has been a divisive and forests approaching extinction, the govforest will ultimately result in layoffs and patchwork approach to how old growth ernment agency BC Timber Sales and hinder the growth and viability of the forests were managed in our province,” private corporations are responsible for industry.” said ministry spokesperson Tyler Hooper. the logging of irreplaceable swathes of “We are working collaboratively with These old-growth areas in southwestancient trees, including those in NuuIndigenous leaders and organizations, on ern Vancouver Island are within Tree chah-nulth territories and the Nahmint a government-to-government basis on Farm Licence 46, a section of Crown Valley in Hupacasath and Tseshaht First next steps,” ensured Hooper. “We will land currently licenced to the Teal Jones Nation territories,” reads the UBCIC mo- keep working hard to ensure we protect Group for harvesting and management. tion, which passed in September. old growth and biodiversity while supApproximately half of the coastal Crown That same month the province reporting forest workers and communities.” land auctioned for harvest each year is leased the Old Growth Strategic Review, According to Arbess, the blockades compiled from provincewide consultanear Port Renfrew appear to be working. tions held by two veteran foresters. The Forestry activity near Fairie Creek ceased review stated that B.C. is in the midst in late summer when a stream of volunof a “paradigm shift” in how the public teers came to man the outposts. And since views ancient forests. Indigenous people the Bugaboo Creek blockade went up are destined to be “key players” in how on Dec. 7, Stone Pacific, a road building old-growth forests are managed, states subcontractor, has asked for permission the review, while a transition is underway to remove its machinery from the area.

Page 20— Ha-Shilth-Sa—December 17, 2020

New Year, New Start?

Are you considering going to post-secondary school in the new year? The NTC POST SECONDARY FUNDING PROGRAM provides support for students in certificate, diploma, Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s Degrees and beyond. The DEADLINES for applications are:

March 1st DEADLINE For Programs that Start September 2021 August 1st DEADLINE For Programs that Start January 2022 Applications received AFTER the deadlines will be waitlisted and may not be approved!

• All new, continuing and returning students must apply for post-secondary funding EACH year • Applications are processed for funding approval when they are COMPLETE. Please provide complete applications to increase your chance for funding!

• All applicants are required to meet with the NTC Post-Secondary Counsellor so please contact the NTC Post-secondary Counsellor at psinfo@nuuchahnulth.org For further information, please see the NTC Website: https://nuuchahnulth.org/node/210

COVID-19 & K-12 Education In July, the BC Ministry of Education mandated that all public schools in BC reopen (BC’s Back to School Plan https:// www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/covid-19-return-to-school#health-safety) Since September, schools in SD 70 and SD 84 have had low-risk exposure events at some schools. This has resulted in some students becoming disengaged from schools. The NTC Nuu-chah-nulth Education Workers work in public schools in School District 70 (Pacific Rim) and School District 84 (Vancouver Island West). If you or your child is experiencing disconnection from school and would like support, the Nuu-chah-nulth Education Workers are there to assist. Please reach out today, or to Richard Samuel, Cultural Development Supervisor for the NEW Team at Richard.samuel@nuuchahnulth.org

SD 84 (Vancouver Island West) Ray Watkins Elementary School Gold River Secondary School Zeballos School Zeballos School Kyuquot School

Marsha Maquinna – mmaquinna@viw.sd84.bc.ca Evangeline Charleson – echarleson@viw.sd84.bc.ca Celina Charleson – ccharleson@viw.sd84.bc.ca Sheila John – sjohn@viw.sd84.bc.ca Daisy Hanson – dhanson@viw.sd84.bc.ca

SD 70 (Pacific Rim) Wickaninnish Community School Ucluelet Secondary School A.W. Neill Elementary Alberni Elementary John Howitt Elementary Alberni District Secondary School Alberni District Secondary School Wood Elementary E.J. Dunn Elementary Eighth Avenue Learning Centre Maquinna Elementary

Darlene Frank – dfrank@sd70.bc.ca Jason Sam – jsam@sd70.bc.ca Tamiko Rampanen – trampanen@sd70.bc.ca Aaron Watts – awatts@sd70.bc.ca Iris Sanders – isanders@sd70.bc.ca Georgina Haiyupis – ghaiyupis@sd70.bc.ca Deborah Potter – dpotter@sd70.bc.ca Iris Sanders – isanders@sd70.bc.ca Deb Masso – dmasso@sd70.bc.ca Diane Gallic – dgallic@sd70.bc.ca Jean Thomas – jthomas@sd70.bc.ca