Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper June 12, 2025

INTERESTING NEWS

Wildfire in Nahmint, need grows for rain

‘Warmer than normal’ summer is expected, with snowpack at 39 per cent of normal

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

With evacuation orders already in place in British Columbia’s northeast and the uppermost sections of Canada’s prairies, the wildfire season hit Nuu-chah-nulth territory on June 8 with an incident on the side of Nahmint Mountain.

Deep in Nuu-chah-nulth territory south of Sproat Lake, the Nahmint fire was first spotted during a hot Sunday when the temperature rose to 32 Celsius. Over the following day the fire grew to over 23 hectares, sending from the mountain a cloud of smoke that’s visible from Sproat Lake.

The BC Wildfire Service responded with two initial attack crews of three to four personnel each, plus a 20-member unit crew also on scene. On June 9 three helicopters were being deployed to control the blaze and one piece of heavy equipment. The wildfire is believed to be human-caused, and by June 10 was classified as “being held”.

As of the second week of June, this was by far the largest forest fire active on Vancouver Island, but elsewhere in B.C. a wave of out-of-control incidents have led to highway closures and evacuation orders.All of the province’s wildfires of note lie in the northeast corner: the 156,000-hectare Pocket Knife fire, the 81,000 hectares burning by Summit Lake and the over 21,000-hectare Kiskatinaw River blaze that has spread across the Alberta border.

Over 80 wildfires are active in B.C., with an estimated 70 per cent believed to be caused by human activity.

Neil McLoughlin is the superintendent of the BC Wildfire Service’s Predictive Services Unit. During a press conference held by the province on June 9 he noted that not all of these ignitions are intentional.

“That doesn’t mean there were necessarily people out there deliberately setting fires,” explained McLoughlin. “There’s a lot of different mechanisms for how a human-caused fire can start - whether that be a vehicle, heavy equipment, a rail line, a tree on a power line.All of those things qualify as a human-caused wildfire.”

While the number of human-caused incidents usually stay consistent over the fire season, McLoughlin expects lightning starts to increase over the summer.

B.C.’s northeast has an “extreme” fire danger rating, but most of Vancouver Island sits at “moderate” with the southern quarter south of Nitinaht lake rated “high”.

June rain will play a critical role in de-

Deep in Nuu-chah-nulth territory south of Sproat Lake, the Nahmint fire was first spotted during a hot Sunday when the temperature rose to 32 Celsius on June 8. Over the following day the fire grew to over 23 hectares, sending from the mountain a cloud of smoke that’s visible from Sproat Lake.

termining if this risk increases explained McLoughlin, who expects “warmer than normal temperatures” this month.

“June rain can really set the tone for the remainder of the fire season,” he said. “Areas that may experience healthy amounts of the precipitation in the weeks to come here, that just really helps to recover fuel moisture and lessen the fire danger as we head into the summer months.”

The amount of snow still waiting to melt from the mountains will also affect fire danger and drought this summer.As of early June Vancouver Island has 39 per cent of its normal snowpack, according to a recent bulletin from the province’s River Forecast Centre.

During the June 9 press conference David Campbell, the head hydrologist at the River Forecast Centre, expected an “accelerated melt” of this snow after a particularly hot weekend.

“About two thirds of the snow that we started with this year have now melted, while in a normal year we would have about half,” he said.

It was two years ago that western Vancouver Island communities became severely hindered when a wildfire broke out on the bluffs overlooking Cameron Lake. Debris fell onto Highway 4, cutting off road access for weeks – except a detour through logging roads that was deemed for essential travel only. The 2023 Cameron Bluffs wildfire eventually encompassed 229 hectares, costing the region an estimated $61 million in eco-

nomic activity, according to a report from the region’s chambers of commerce. It remains to be seen how difficult this fire season will be for western Vancouver Island residents, and while the snowpack is slightly lower at this time of the year than in 2023, some encouraging signs are evident in drought levels. Vancouver Island still sits with a Level 1 drought rating, according to the province - lower than it was two years ago. Meanwhile in B.C.’s high-risk northeast drought has reached levels of 3 and 4.

This summer the province is hoping improved camera systems will be able to detect wildfires faster.

“We’ve been making drastic changes to make sure that we can best tackle the wildfires that occur in our province,” said Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar. “Our wildfire aviation contracts are in place, and with the training and use of night vision technology, will help our crews work overnight and enhanced respiratory gear will help keep them safe.”

Wildfires have already burned for weeks through northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, leading the B.C. Wildfire Service to send help. Just over 100 of B.C.’s crew members have been fighting fires in these other provinces, amounting to approximately 10 per cent of the province’s suppression resources.

“We will continue to be there for them when conditions in B.C. allow,” said Parmar. “We expect the majority of our people and resources will be back in B.C. in the next week.”

Charges for 2016 murder of George Cecil David

Tla-o-qui-aht artist was found dead in an apartment days after boarding a bus from Neah Bay

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

PortAngeles, Wash. – The PortAngeles Police Department has arrested Tina MarieAlcorn in connection to the 2016 murder of 65-year-old George Cecil David. George David was a Tla-o-qui-aht master carver who lived in Neah Bay at the time of his death. On March 26, 2016 he boarded a bus in Neah Bay headed for PortAngeles. He planned to take a ferry to Vancouver Island for a family funeral.

On March 28, 2016, David’s remains were discovered in the apartment of a friend who invited him to stay over. Reports say that he died from a head injury.

On June 10, 2025, the PortAngeles Police Department announced that it has taken custody of Tina MarieAlcorn, 55, of Phillips County,Arkansas, “in connection with the 2016 homicide of George Cecil David, a respected master woodcarver originally from PortAlberni, British Columbia, who was residing in Neah Bay at the time of his death.”

The PAPD goes on to say thatAlcorn, who has ties to Clallam County, was identified early in the investigation as the primary suspect.

“OnApril 19, 2016, PortAngeles Police Department detectives located and arrested her in Mount Vernon, Washington, on an outstanding warrant issued by Arkansas authorities,” stated the PAPD. “They transported her to the Clallam County Jail, where she remained in custody.Although charges in the David homicide were not filed at that time,Alcorn was later extradited toArkansas and incarcerated for violating the conditions of her probation on an unrelated felony theft conviction.”

Apartnership between the PAPD and the Washington StateAttorney General’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force helped to move the investigation forward.

The suspect was booked into the Clallam County Jail by PAPD on June 9. She appeared in court on June 10, and remains in custody on $1 million bail. Her arraignment is scheduled for June 20.

BC Wildfire Service photo

Multiple charges laid after unhoused woman run over

Amberlee Herman charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, u ering threats

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper

Campbell River, BC – Just over six months after 53-year-old Darlene Smith was critically injured after being run over by a vehicle while sleeping in a tent, a Campbell River woman has been charged with multiple offences related to the shocking incident.

It was just after midnight on November 10, 2024, when a vehicle came racing through a quiet downtown alley in Campbell River. It is a place where some of the area’s unhoused set up tents when they can’t find space in a shelter, and that is just what Smith was doing.

In a 2024 Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper article, Darlene reported that she hadn’t been feeling well. Rather than drink alcohol, she retired early to her tent, set up in the alley behind a hotel in downtown Campbell River. Sometime after midnight a woman driving a vehicle drove into the alley and was reportedly heard arguing with those already in the alley.Awitness told Ha-Shilth-Sa that the driver got back into her vehicle – “…(I) heard the car rev again as the driver slammed the car in reverse, running over Darlene Smith, who was sleeping in her tent. The car hit a pole and bounced back onto the tent, running Smith over a second time,” said witness Dan Samvidge.

Friends and acquaintances of Smith quickly came to confront the driver and assist a seriously injured Smith.

Campbell River RCMP stated that Smith was transported to hospital with very serious injuries. In an email to HaShilth-Sa, Const. Maury Tyre stated that the driver of the vehicle, a 38-year-old Campbell River woman, was arrested at

the scene for dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

The BC Prosecution Service told HaShilth-Sa that it was onApril 10, 2025, thatAmberlee Joan Herman was charged with two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, and uttering threats.

“Awarrant in the first instance was executed by the police and Ms. Herman was released on an undertaking dated May 20, 2025,” said the BC Prosecution Services Communication Counsel.

According to online court service

records,Amberlee Joan Herman, 38, of Campbell River, appeared in court May 26, facing several charges.

Smith, a Christie Residential School survivor, has six children. He sister Samantha told Ha-Shilth-Sa that Darlene has struggled since the loss of her son, and that she’s had a really rough life right from residential school.

Due to the severity of her injuries, Smith was immediately flown to a Vancouver hospital after being stabilized in the Campbell River health facility. She suffered a head injury and fractures of her spine and ribs.

According to Samantha, her sister’s spinal injuries were treated with rods and pins, and Darlene went through several months of physiotherapy. She was able to take short walks in December.

Afamily member reports that as of May 30, Darlene has been out of hospital for about two weeks, meaning she spent more than six months in hospital care. She is back in the same alley where the incident happened, being cared for by her son. Amberlee Herman will make her next appearance in Campbell River Law Courts on June 16.

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Kyle Harry photo

Darlene Smith stands with Kyle Harry on May 26 by an alley in Campbell River, the location where she was run over last November while sleeping in her tent.

Inconsistencies emerge in day school se lements

Another deadline approaches for former students who were rejected to get compensation from the class action

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Ahousaht, BC - Inconsistencies are emerging in the process of awarding settlements to former Indian day school students, as some have faced multiple rejections while their classmates received compensation from the class action without an issue.

For most of the 20th century, the Canadian government ran Indian day schools in reserves across the country. Indigenous children not enrolled in a residential school were required to attend these programs during daytime classroom hours. Numerous day schools operated in Nuu-chah-nulth territory, including in Ahousaht from 1940 to 1985, Kyuquot 1949-74, Yuquot 1951-68, Opitsaht 195771 and Ucluelet 1948-66.

As has often been the case with residential schools, some former Indian day school students have reported cases of physical, sexual and psychological abuse in the facilities. Reports state that this came from teachers, officials, students and others at the day schools – abuse that in some cases was severe enough to cause lifelong harm.

For this reason a class action lawsuit was launched, with a settlement approved by the Federal Court inAugust 2019. The class action’s lead plaintiff was Garry Leslie McLean, who attended the Dog Creek Day School at the Lake Manitoba First Nation from 1957-65. He died on Feb. 19, 2019, months before the day school settlement was approved. McLean stated that he didn’t know how to speak English when he started at the day school, and was discouraged from speaking his native language of Saulteaux.

“If I spoke my native language in school, I was forced to kneel, face the corner of the classroom and repeat words which I later realized were prayers,” reads an account from Mclean on the class action’s website. “I was forced to do this for lengthy periods of time as punishment and many times my mouth was washed with Sunlight soap. If I moved from the corner, I would be strapped. I was also repeatedly sexually abused by a nun while attending Dog Creek Day School.”

The initial deadline has long passed, and many settlements have already been issued to former day school students. These range from the basic amount of $10,000 for just attending an Indian day school to $200,000 for cases of overt violence causing permanent harm. Claimants are not required to produce evidence of abuse, but are asked to rate the severity of their experience at a day school from level 1-5.

But proving that they even attended an Indian day school has been a discouraging process for some who were in kindergarten inAhousaht during the mid 1980s. TheAhousaht Indian Day School was

Students and faculty at theAhousaht Indian Day School, which was federally operated from 1940 to 1985.

federally run until June 30, 1985, after which period it switched over to the First Nation, eventually becoming Maaqtusiis Elementary. Some in kindergarten classes from just before this changeover have already been compensated, but at least two are still trying after being denied while their former classmates were approved. The deadline to submit missing information to support previous claims is June 27.

Dave Frank III was at theAhousaht Indian Day School from 1982 to 1984. He started in nursery school and went to kindergarten twice. This has been confirmed to Ha-Shilth-Sa by a former kindergarten teacher at the day school.

“I did kindergarten twice because my best friend was younger than me,” said Frank, whose application for a settlement has been denied four times.

Producing evidence that is acceptable to the class action settlement has been a challenge, but Frank hopes that an endorsement from his former teacher will change the outcome this summer.

“They sent me another letter stating that I needed proof of a report card, doctor’s report, all of the things that aren’t here anymore,” he said. “I just want something for my grandkids. My only son is going to have twins.”

Over the past few years Frank became

ery school and including kindergarten, says Titian. She’s currently working on gathering records to support her case.A photo of a kindergarten class she attended has her picture right next to someone who received compensation for attending the day school. Her attendance in the kindergarten class also been confirmed to Ha-Shilth-Sa by the former teacher.

When she first applied Titian recalls being advised that asking for the basic amount would ensure the funds came faster, but this wasn’t a fair categorization of her experience at the Indian day school.

“I went through my life thinking that I had put all this behind me. I didn’t realize that my daily life was a reflection of everything that happened in day school,” she said, noting that the rejections for a settlement hit her personally. “I said, ‘It’s like you guys are saying that I don’t matter, that it didn’t happen’.”

The difficulty appears to relate to complications around what body was legally mandated to run the school, and at what time.

“Ahousaht Nursery (in operation September 1978 to June 30, 1985) and Ahousaht Day/Maaqtusiis Elementary (in operation after September 1, 1985) were not federally operated schools and students that attended these schools are not eligible for compensation through this settlement,” states email correspondence from the SettlementAgreement and Childhood Claims branch of Crown-Indigenous Relations and NorthernAffairs Canada.

fed up with continually asking for compensation, but was prompted to reapply by his father.

“I told him, ‘I’m tired of fighting for this. I don’t want the government’s money for my trauma anymore’,” he said, recalling the difficulty of reliving childhood pain during the application process, including abuse from one particular teacher. “She would put her hands on every kid she felt done wrong, I was one of them. I wasn’t in her class, but I still got a few hits in the lip from her. The principle would just tell my parents otherwise.”

QéLyn Titian is also hoping for a different result from the upcoming deadline. She attended theAhousaht Indian Day School from 1983-85, starting with nurs-

Titian recalls being re-traumatized by the application process, something that appeared to change her personality.

“I couldn’t go out, I became almost like an agoraphobe. I was scared to go out because I just felt all that pain,” she said. “Dealing with pain, all the hurt, the anguish, and thinking about everybody that was a part of inflicting that pain, how a lot of them were classmates, older students. It really changed my life in a dramatic manner.”

“It’s taken a lot to ground myself again, to say that, ‘I’m going to be okay. This doesn’t have to have a hold on my life and impact it negatively’,” added Titian.

Information about the status of Indian day school claims is available at 1-888221-2898.

Archive photo

Chantel Moore’s mom talks about change in policing

Young woman was fatally shot by police five years ago, during a late-night wellness check in New Brunswick

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tofino, BC – Chantel Moore’s daughter Gracie is 11 this year.

“She’s growing. She often talks about her mom and how she misses her,” said Gracie’s grandmother Martha Martin on June 4, 2025, the fifth anniversary of her daughter’s fatal shooting by Edmundson City Police Force Officer Jeremy Son during a wellness check.

“She was six when her mom passed,” said Martin. “She struggled with it for a really long time. She would always ask, ‘When are the angels going to be done with my mom? Can they just send her back now?’”

“There are times when she gets really quiet and it’s in those moments I know that she is missing her mom, and rightfully so,” she adds. “It’s really tough. I’m never going to be able to take her mother’s place.”

Moore was 26 when she was shot and killed at her New Brunswick home.

To honour the memory of her daughter, Martin is walking with family and supporters 33-kilometres from the TofinoUcluelet Junction to Tofino’s First Street Dock. Last year when she did the walk, the pain from a leg injury and her personal struggle with mental health had her in tears by the end.

But this year, Martin says she’s in better health – physically and mentally.

“Hopefully it won’t be as hard and as long. I’ve been doing training for the last month. This year I’m more prepared,” Martin told the Ha-Shilth-Sa before setting off north to Tofino.

There are also positive developments within policing services that Martin shared.

“Victoria’s Police Chief Del Manak started a co-response team in honour of my daughter.Acouple of weeks ago I was there, and I was able to do a presentation. I put the yellow pin dress on their co-response team,” said Martin.

She offered a “huge applause” to Chief Del Manak for being willing to make change.

Front line RCMP officers are now being equipped with body-worn cameras as part of a national rollout to across Canada’s rural, urban and remote locations. The de-

ployment of body-cameras is something the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council has been calling for since Moore’s shooting death in 2020.

“My daughter had a huge part of this,” said Martin.

There is no actual real-time surveillance, police vehicle dash cam or bodyworn video camera evidence depicting the actual events of what took place the day Moore was shot four times by Officer Son.

Officer Son was not criminally charged for the shooting death of Moore, and within a few weeks of the tragedy he was back on duty. Martin has a civil lawsuit against the City of Edmundston and Son, with a meeting set for March 2026.

Moore’s auntie Corinne Martin says she misses her niece’s bubbly personality.

“She was so full of life, just her energy. She was just like her mom when she walked into the room, she could get everybody’s attention,” said Corinne, who joined Martin for the journey from the junction to Tofino.

Moore’s family members Hjalmer

Wenstob and Timothy Masso performed the Healing Song for Martin before she began to walk on the overcast Wednesday morning.

Five months after Moore’s tragic shooting death, Martin’s son Mike Martin died in police custody.

“I’m keeping her name alive. I will never let the government forget her or my son,” she said.

She went on to note that Hotel Zed Tofino currently has a display up in the lobby that tells Chantel Moore’s story.

“I look at my granddaughter and I see my nieces and nephews and I want to ensure that their future safety - should anyone be pulled over and should anyone need a mental health check - that they will not be shot multiple times. That’s unacceptable,” said Martin.

Nora O’Malley photos

The family of Chantel Moore gather on June 4 at the Tofino-Ucluelet Junction before walking to remember the loss of a young Tla-o-qui-aht woman.

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Bills pushed through to expedite projects

First Nations Leadership Council accuses NDP of breaking commitment to consent

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Victoria, BC - “Reconciliation in B.C. is having a near-death experience,” says a First Nation leader after the Legislative Assembly passed two bills in late May designed to fast-track projects.

This comment came from Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, who joined others in the First Nations Leadership Council criticizing the new legislation that passed on the evening May 28, one day before MLAs adjourned for a summer break.

Victoria passed Bill 14, the Renewable Projects (Streamlined Permitting)Act, and Bill 15, the Infrastructure Projects Act, with a 47-46 vote. Using the razorthin NDP majority in the legislature, House Speaker Raj Chouhan broke the tie to pass the bills.

Bill 14 intends to expedite the development of renewable energy projects by expanding the authority of the B.C. Energy Regulator, while some see Bill 15 as more broad reaching in its potential to centralize the provincial government’s power. Passed without any amendments within a month of being introduced, the Infrastructure ProjectsAct intends to eliminate delays in getting major capital developments built. The legislation pledges to speed up approvals for projects that are “designated as provincially significant,” according to a press release from the government. These identified projects will be reviewed more quickly through B.C.’s environmental assessment process to ensure that schools, hospitals and private sector developments “needed to drive economic growth” get built on time, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure.

The province stated it will ensure projects get “robust environmental reviews and consultation with First Nations.” But the new legislation was drafted without First Nations’input, says Judith Sayers, president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.

“If they want a bill like this, they should have talked to First Nations about it. But they didn’t, they just pushed it through really quickly,” she said. “This could be easily fixed if they talked to First Nations.”

Much of the criticism towards Bill 15 has come from its failure to follow the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous PeoplesAct. Passed in 2019, this act sets out an obligation for the province to align its laws with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – an internationally recognized document that stresses the need for consent.

“States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the Indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them,” says UNDRIP.

Now the First Nations Leadership Council is considering its legal options. The council is composed of representation from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, the First Nations Summit and the B.C.Assembly of First Nations.

“The passage of Bills 14 and 15 represents a new low point in the relationship between the provincial Crown and First Nations,” stated BCAFN Regional Chief Terry Teegee. “Premier Eby and his government have chosen to ignore our voices, dismiss our rights, and trample on the very reconciliation framework they helped to create. The damage to our relationship will be profound and lasting.”

Ha-Shilth-Sa belongs to every Nuu-chah-nulth person including those who have passed on, and those who are not yet born.Acommunity 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 51st year of serving the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations. We look forward to your continued input and support. Kleco! Kleco!

The Union of B.C. Municipalities has also called for Bill 15 to be killed.A clause in the act states that “alternative authorizations” could allow the Ministry of Infrastructure to push a project through if delays from a local government persist.

“Bill 15 provides the cabinet with extraordinary powers to override regulations, including local government [official community plans], zoning bylaw amendment and subdivision approval processes,” stated the UBCM.

While discussing the bill in the legislature on May 28, Minister of Infrastructure Bowin Ma said the act was introduced to help communities get critical projects built faster.

“It will be obvious to any health care worker who is working in a hospital that can no longer be fully utilized because that hospital is at end of life and requires rapid replacement,” she said. “That urgency will be obvious to anyone with an aging parent who is on a wait list to get into a long-term-care home. That urgency will be known by a First Nation who may be ready to go with a project partnership on a critical economic development opportunity for their community, and they are coming to the province and asking us to get our house in order. That is the urgency behind this bill.”

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Province of B.C. photo Minister of Infrastructure Bowin Ma speaks alongside Premier David Eby in Victoria during the announcement of the Infrastructure ProjectsAct in May.

Standards announced for overdose prevention sites

B.C. now has 58 supervised locations, part of the widespread effort to minimize harm amongst illicit drug users

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Victoria, BC - With an eye on ensuring safety and cutting down on disruptions to the surrounding community, the province has announced minimum standards for publicly funded overdose prevention sites across British Columbia.

As the opioid crisis was escalating into a public health emergency that remains in place today, in 2016 the provincial government issued a ministerial order for regional health service providers to open sites across B.C. where staff can monitor drug use, intervening in the event of an overdose. Since then, overdose prevention locations have opened according to a community’s need - now numbering 58 across B.C., including nine in hospitals.

Announced on June 5, the province’s new standards require a minimum of two staff to be on hand at the sites, who are trained in responding to a drug poisoning and can provide a “rapid response to adverse events”. The standards also require the distribution of harm reduction supplies to clients, such as Naloxone kits that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, with training provided to drug users in how to respond to a poisoning.

The province reports 5.7 million visits to B.C.’s overdose prevention sites since January 2017, with an estimation that these services have prevented more than 12,400 deaths. Since the public health emergency was declared inApril 2016, over 16,000 lives have been lost due to illicit drug use in B.C. Only two deaths have been reported from overdose prevention sites, according to the Ministry of Health.

First Nations people are particularly at risk, as they face a fatality rate six times that of the rest of B.C.’s population, reports the First Nations HealthAuthority. Just about every Nuu-chah-nulth family has been hit by the tragic epidemic, which led the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council to declare a state of emergency in September 2024.

“We don’t have enough capacity and dollars. Certainly, we provide services at the tribal council, but it’s not enough,” said NTC President Judith Sayers when the state of emergency was called. “We are asking the governments, First Nations HealthAuthority, Vancouver Island HealthAuthority, to help us have dollars to be able to devise our own solutions, devise our own strategies on mental health, toxic drugs. We need to have this before we lose any more people.”

Besides preventing more deaths, part

of the purpose of overdose prevention sites is to provide users with an avenue to treatment. The new standards stress the need to connect clients to treatment options “when requested”, while access to the sites will not be denied unless a person poses a risk to others. The sites are advised to be open for at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

Daily cleaning and infection control is also required, with monitored washrooms and furnishings at the sites made of “nonporous materials”.

Ian Haynes is a peer support worker at the overdose prevention service at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.

“In the past, knowing that there was no safe place to manage substance use on site, one would have to hide while using drugs,” stated Haynes in a press release issued by the province. “This is meeting the needs of our community, providing a safe haven for the people who had every option taken away, including safe health care.”

B.C. is currently more than two years into a three-year decriminalization project, through an exemption granted under Canada’s Controlled Drugs and SubstancesAct. This took effect Jan. 31, 2024, which frees those carrying up to 2.5 grams of the most common illicit substances from criminal charges.

But in the months that followed reports emerged of increased illicit drug use in public spaces - including hospitals.Amid concerns of growing community disorder, in May of 2024 the province scaled back decriminalization to ban open drug use on the street and in public facilities, while still allowing consumption in private spaces and overdose prevention sites.

Now the new standards specify the need for these sites to “act as good neighbours” in their locations by limiting congregation outside a facility, while de-escalating crisis situations, picking up litter and gathering any discarded drug

paraphernalia.

While decriminalization has sparked debate over how to best manage the prevalence of illicit drug use, deaths have been in decline this year. Over the first three months of 2025 the B.C. Coroners Service has reported fatalities falling to an average of 4.7 each day – well below the peak of seven deaths a day that hit B.C. in 2023.Among the fatal incidents reported so far this year, fentanyl has been detected in 70 per cent of cases.At 62 per cent, smoking is the most common form of consumption in these tragic incidents, and 76 per cent of the lives lost this year were male.

Eric Plummer photos

People congregate (above) outside an overdose prevention site on PandoraAvenue in Victoria, one of three listed in the Vancouver Island city. Nuu-chah-nulth-aht sing (below) outside PortAlberni’s overdose prevention site.

Decolonizing surfing by learning Nuu-chah-nulth

mułaa, the Rising Tide Surf Team created a map with Indigenous language and traditional names of surf breaks

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Esowista, BC – For mułaa (pronounced mu-thla) Rising Tide Surf Team, the love of surfing runs in tandem with learning how to say surfing – and all the surf words – in Nuu-chah-nulth language.

Anyone can come along for the ride too; mułaa worked with Gisele Martin at the Tla-o-qui-aht Language Department and Samantha Touchie from Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government to create a surf map that showcases the traditional names of surf breaks from načiks (Tofino) to Ucluelet.

Graphic designer Riley Milroy of Crimson Studio Illustration did the artwork for the map, and it was printed on t-shirts, toques, posters, postcards and tote bags, which can be purchased at the Tourism Tofino Visitor Centre or Tsawaak RV Resort and Campground.

The non-profit’s co-founder Rachel Dickens-Greening says mułaa’s surf map and surf language card has empowered the Indigenous youth to take ownership back over the local surf breaks.

“Indigenous languages carry our traditions, values, and worldviews. Language is deeply tied to traditional knowledges on land, medicine, spirituality, and governance. When a language disappears, an entire way of understanding the world is lost,” said Dickens-Greening.

“When the youth ask for more language throughout the program, they are keeping this knowledge alive. Speaking the language, and seeing the non-Indigenous community engage with it, such as through the t-shirt and map sales, also fosters pride and self-confidence,” she continued.

Most recently, mułaa collaborated with Slowtide Towels to create a 100 per cent recycled quick dry towel featuring their surf map. Slowtide donated 50 towels to the Indigenous surf team and 20 more will be sold on the companies’website, with all the profits going to mułaa.

Cass Hale, mułaa’s program co-ordinator sinceApril 2024, says the towel project took flight about a year ago.

“To see it is awesome. The kids in summer camp last year picked out the colour. I think they are fantastic. I love it,” said Hale during a mid-spring session at their local surf break on Long Beach or yaaqsis (pronounced yaaq-sis) in front of the Tlao-qui-aht village of Esowista.

Team gather

end of Long Beach, or yaaqsis.

Ucluelet resident, surf dad and cofounder of Slowtide Dario Phillips delivered the towels in-person and caught waves with the crew.

“It means a lot for me to be here,” he told the youth.

“For us as a company and for me living here, we just want to support our local area and do whatever we can to give back. I use these beaches all the time and that’s why we support Rising Tide,” said Phillips.

He said his two kids, ages six and nine, are learning to speak Nuu-chah-nulth in school.

“It’s awesome. I love it. Even in my group thread with most of my surf dads, we are calling it by the original reclaimed names. It’s really cool to see my kids look at an eagle and call it the Nuu-chahnulth name,” said Phillips. “Things like that I didn’t learn throughout my childhood.”

Emelia Hale, 11, has been part of mułaa for two years. Her surf goal is to do a headstand on a wave, and she’s getting better at pronouncing Nuu-chah-nulth words.

“It’s really hard to learn Nuu-chahnulth, but it can be done. Surfing is really fun because we get to do party waves. That’s the most fun,” said Emelia, who is

Hale’s daughter and of Nuu-chah-nulth and Metis heritage.

The Nuu-chah-nulth alphabet has 45 letters. It is a phonetic alphabet, meaning each letter represents a different sound, and every sound is represented by only one letter, notes a page on Tla-o-qui-aht’s website.

“I’m getting better at learning (place names). I know what it breaks down to really just spending time with the alphabet,” said Hale.

There are 16 youth registered in the program this year, three support workers, six surf instructors that rotate throughout the season and Tla-o-qui-aht language revitalization support worker Tsimka Martin has also joined the team.

“That circle is really starting to feel complete in our program,” Hale beamed. Mułaa was awarded grant funding from the federal Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities (SSDIC) initiative, which covers basic operations for the year. Dickens-Greening says they also rely on donations from community members and visitors to the region. In the past, they have worked with

a Hawaiian group to make traditional surfboards and since launching in 2019, they have added a winter ski trip to their programming.

“They would love to travel the world surfing to dip their feet in different oceans. Now that we have this steady group, they’ve been there a long time, they’re getting older together, we get to adventure a whole lot more with them,” said Hale, adding that they’re door is open to building new relationships with nations around Vancouver Island and the world.

“We are thinking of working with other nations to expand the surf map and there is talk of going to Haida Gwaii for a cultural exchange,” she shared.

At the beginning of each weekly surf session, the group has started to include a spontaneous Nuu-chah-nulth phrase for everyone to learn before going over the usual safety talk.

Who’s ready to ride the wave?

Surfing or siiksaanapšiił (pronounced seek-saw-nup-sheelth) refers to going in with the waves (siiksaana), and šiił refers to doing something over and over again.

Nora O’Malley photos mułaa, Rising Tide Surf

for a team pic after a stellar mid-spring Monday session at their local break at the north

Tsawaak RV Resort and Campground front desk administrator Gina Coon throws a shaka and shows off the Rising Tide surf map poster, which are on sale for $10 at the Tsawaak surf shop and gallery.

There are 16 youth registered with the mułaa, Rising Tide Surf Team this year.

Ditidaht hosts Pacheedaht and Makah at Paddle Days

Twenty one visitors honour invitation by travelling across the Juan de Fuca Strait from Neah Bay Makah village

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

Nitinaht Lake, BC – Chants, cheers, laughter and screams could be heard at a secluded section of Nitinaht Lake as school children and their invited guests raced each other in Ditidaht Community School’s annual Paddle Day event.

Tina Joseph, an organizer and staff member of Ditidaht Community School, said the fun day event has been going on for 14 or 15 years, except for the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period.

“We usually invite guests,” she told HaShilth-Sa.

This year neighbors from Pacheedaht honoured the invitation as well as guests from across the strait in the USA, the Makah. The three nations are closely related, speaking the same dialect of the Nuu-chah-nulth language.

The day got off to an early start, in keeping with teachings of the canoe. Organizers wanted to keep the children safe, allowing them to race before the wind blows through later in the morning.

Ditidaht folks treated their guests to a welcome song as young ladies from the school danced with their red and white flags. The day started with a prayer before racers were reminded that they must wear their life vests. They were encouraged to mingle, make friends, and most of all have fun.

The youngsters lined up on the boat launch wearing vests and holding paddles, waiting for their turn to board one of the six canoes that were on site. The first races were 100 meters in distance. While there was some competitiveness, the day seemed more about fun as kids seemed to have the most enjoyment capsizing their canoes.

One of the visiting teachers said her students asked if they could swim during the canoe races. When told no, the students said they’ll be swimming if they tip over.

Hazel Greene, a language and cultural teacher at Neah Bay Secondary School, said 17 students and four adults made the trip across the Juan de Fuca Strait in two power boats the day before. The normally 75-minute trip took more than two hours, she said, with the rough weather.

It was their first time as a school group coming to Ditidaht territory.

“We wanted to honour their invitation,”

said Greene.

More importantly, the two nations want to re-establish the relationships that existed prior to the creation of what Greene called “the imaginary border”.

“There is no one in Washington that speaks our language,” Greene told HaShilth-Sa.

These kinds of events create connections that provide opportunities to revitalize their Nuu-chah-nulth language.

Following the canoe races, the wind began picking up, so everyone went back to the school for lunch. Ditidaht planned cultural events and awards ceremonies for canoe teams in the afternoon and evening.

“We are really excited to come, and we are hopeful that we can come every year,” said Greene.

She said there were more Neah Bay Secondary School students that wanted to come but there just wasn’t enough room in the boats. They hope to bring more next time.

Guests slept over in classrooms at the school while Ditidaht community served them meals.

“We are thankful for the hospitality and we’re looking forward to cultural performances,” said Greene.

Denise Titian photos

The Ditidaht Community School hosted its Paddle Days on June 4 and 5, where locals and visitors took part in canoe races on Nitinaht Lake.

Designer unveils work at Indigenous Fashion Week in New Mexico

With designs inspired by her Nuu-chah-nulth and Heiltsuk ancestry, Vina Brown is seeing fashion opportunities amid internationa

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

Bellingham, Wash. - When she is not teaching at the college, she’s primarily a jewelry creator. But when Vina Brown was given a golden opportunity to make a collection for a prestigious fashion show, she became a fashion designer.

Brown, 38, lives and works in Bellingham, Washington is Heiltsuk on her father’s side and Nuu-chah-nulth on her mother’s side. She was raised on the teachings of both cultures and proudly integrated their designs into her clothing and jewelry collection, which was recently shown at the second annual SWAIA(Southwestern Association for IndianArts) Native Fashion Week.

The SWAIANative Fashion Week (SNFW) brings together leading Native designers, artists, and industry professionals, according to its website. The event took place May 7–11 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, featuring runway shows, panel discussions, industry networking events, pop-up shops and activation spaces.

“This event is a platform for Native designers to shape the future of the industry while honoring their culture and community,” said organizers on the SNFW website. The event brought together more than 50 Indigenous designers and was covered in the famousAmerican-based fashion magazine Vogue, which was founded in 1892. Brown told Ha-Shilth-Sa that the invitation came at an opportune point in her life. Still grieving over the sudden loss of two precious family members in an accident, Brown was searching for a wholesome way to let herself out of a cloud of sadness.

Jolene Mitton, a friend of Brown’s, works as a producer for fashion shows like the Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week, which, according to Brown, was sold out for all of its nights. Mitton was hired as the producer for the SNFW event in New Mexico this year and invited Brown to participate.

“I was deep in grief, I was feeling overwhelmed, and I knew I needed to find joy,” she told Ha-Shilth-Sa.

To make things more exciting, Brown had five short weeks to create 14 runway looks.

Vina Brown created her recent collection (pictured above and right) with a focus on gentle, feminine energy, inspired by dance regalia of the northwest She uses thrifted clothing mixed with some newly sewn designs adorned with traditional materials like cedar bark and shells, but also includes laser She wanted to go to fashion design school but went another route.

“I was still working up to an hour before show,” she laughed. Brown made her collection through upcycling thrifted items with pieces from her Copper Canoe Woman jewelry collection and other newly created pieces. Other works were created from sketches which were sent to her friend Mary Meka, whose career is in dress making and design. Meka helped create Brown’s salmon dress, mussel dress and the salmon ghost dress.

“We found a $4,000 designer dress for about $20 at SalvationArmy and sewed on thousands of acrylic pieces,” said Brown. She noted that the round Indigenized shapes added to the dress represented divine feminine energy.

“Even when we lose matriarchs, we re-

place them,” she explained in a nod to her loved ones lost in the accident.

Lessons from weaving swamp grass

Brown draws inspiration from her teachings, “pulling from things I have rights to through lineage on both parents’sides,” she explained.

The memories made her think of her granny Elsie Robinson fromAhousaht.

“I remember her weaving swamp grass, prepping materials and I never realized how much she was teaching me,” Brown said.

Brown teaches at the Lummi Tribe’s Northwest Indian College at Bellingham, Washington. She notes that since colonization the work of female Indigenous artists has been oppressed, not valued as that of their male counterparts. She said male artists were uplifted, paid more for their work while women were relegated to crafts.

Elsie Robinson spent her final years living in Nanaimo, B.C., where she made and sold cedar and swamp grass baskets. Brown recalled a time when her grandmother set a table set up in Woodgrove Mall to sell baskets.Awoman came along, admired the work and selected several pieces to buy.

But when she realized she was mistaken about the price, she put the pieces back, saying they were not worth it.

“Granny told me people don’t know how much work goes into these (woven baskets),” said Brown.

Acouple of decades later, Brown is showing her art to an international audience and was even covered by Vogue, as the magazine quotes Brown in a story.

“I feel like I redeem my granny a bit,” said Brown about being at the event in New Mexico. “SWAIAgives us platforms where people can buy our art and they are willing to pay thousands of dollars.”

An artist and entrepreneur at heart, Brown has created beaded jewelry since childhood.

“I always beaded and sold at flea markets at the United Church in Bella Bella and I have always been interested in fashion,” said Brown.

Taking beading and Indigenous arts classes reinvigorated her in adulthood.At one point, her family began preparing for a potlatch, so she got to work beading 200 pairs of earrings to give away.

“I started Instagram page to show my earrings,” said Brown, who was working on her master’s degree in Native Law at the time. “I would bead during lectures, it helped me retain information.”

The interest generated from her social media page inspired Brown to launch her business, Copper Canoe Woman, creating unique, Indigenous-themed jewelry.

After her introduction to laser cut jewelry, Brown’s business blossomed, as did demand for the pieces.

“I was a one-woman assembly line and had to hire people to help,” she shared.

Teaming up with other artists and friends, Copper Canoe Woman makes and sells jewelry that represents a sizable portion of Indigenous communities across the continent.

“At Copper Canoe Woman, we do not just create jewelry for the sake of creating it. We create pieces deeply interconnected with our respective cultures. It is important to us that we create pieces from stories and teachings that we have the inherent right to,” states Brown on her Copper Canoe Woman website.

Because of the oppression of Indigenous female artistry, Brown infused her new fashion collection with the most gentle, tender feminine energy, inspired by northwest coast dance regalia.

“What doesn’t change is love of family and working together, supporting family,” said Brown, acknowledging those who supported her in the creation of the collection at the recent show.

“It makes me so happy to bring art to world, it’s just joyful to share that with people that want to see it,” said Brown.

While in Santa Fe, Brown and other artists there sold pieces from their collections. Brown explained that a fashion show is more like a trade show and less like a

Vina Brown with husband Michael Schjang Jr. and their son.

eek in New Mexico

opportunities amid international exposure

Submitted photos inspired by dance regalia of the northwest coast First Nations. bark and shells, but also includes laser-cut acrylic pieces. fashion design school

Indigenous arts in adulthood.At began preparing for work beading 200 page to show my who was working Native Law at during lectures, it from her social Brown to launch her Woman, creatIndigenous-themed jewelry.

laser cut jewelry, blossomed, as did deassembly line and help,” she shared. artists and friends, makes and sells sizable portion of across the contiWoman, we do not the sake of creating deeply interconnected cultures. It is important pieces from stories and the inherent right Copper Canoe oppression of Indigenous infused her new the most gentle, inspired by northis love of family supporting family,” acknowledging those who supof the collection

to get invited to other shows, opening her business up to more exposure.

And the next opportunity is already on the horizon. Brown says she is going to Toronto in September to show her collection at the Runway of Reziliance show.

Brown is proud of the attention Indigenous designers are getting at these fashion shows. In couture, she said the materials may change but designs come from ancestry and inherent rights.

“Our art is not frozen in time, and showing it uplifts our culture,” she said.

It’s been an amazing journey for the designer, whose husband, Michael Schajang Jr., is Hopi and takes care of the laser side of the business.

And Brown relies on others for her success.

“We’re community made. We did the collection in five weeks, and I didn’t do it alone,” said Brown.

Her cousin, Natalee Dennis, came from Tofino all the way to Sante Fe to drum and chant during the fashion show.

“Other people came to support me,” she said. “You are responsible for other people, you’re connected to them and when they need help, you help them.”

Opportunities like Indigenous fashion shows is about changing narratives, says Brown, adding that the portrayal of Indigenous people hasn’t been good.

“Our culture has been appropriated and misinterpreted,” said Brown, before quoting Louie Gong, a Nooksack artist. “’Buy from inspired natives, not native inspired’.”

to bring art to share that with it,” said Brown. Brown and other from their collecthat a fashion show and less like a competition.

“Everything shown was available for purchase, bringing more economic opportunity to designers,” said Brown. “We sold all our purses, some jewelry, and we were being uplifted by media outlets and Vogue!”

From this experience, Brown hopes

Vina’s Copper Canoe Woman will have a pop-up shop for six months at Bentall Centre in downtown Vancouver.As a resident of Bellingham Washington, she has anAmerican website for her business at Coppercanoewoman.com

With the uncertainty of the looming tariffs from the Trump administration, plans are in the works to launch a Canadian website. Brown said her merchandise will ship from Vancouver, B.C. to avoid tariff troubles.

Vina Brown wearing one of her own designs

Signs on Wild Pacific Trail honour Bob & Vi Mundy

One of the oldest trees on the Ucluelet Peninsula now has a new deck featuring interpretive cultural signage

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ucluelet, B.C. – Anew series of interpretive signs along theAncient Cedars section of the Wild Pacific Trail pays tribute to the legacy Bob and Vi Mundy, the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ couple who shared priceless traditional knowledge with the west coast.

Bob passed away on May 5, 2024. Vi passed shortly after on July 31, 2024.

“We couldn’t imagine in our family Bob without Vi or Vi without Bob. They came as a unit, and they were really beautiful to watch. They were a testament to not giving up on each other,” said Jeneva Touchie during a June 7 ribbon cutting ceremony.

“Bob would open the door for her, even in the rain, until the day he passed,” said Melody Mundy.

The newAncient Cedars signage features an audio box framed with a carving by Kevin Touchie and six interpretive panels sharing Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ teachings, developed by Carey Cunneyworth and Jeneva Touchie.

Wild Pacific Trail President Barbara Schramm says the audio box, which records Jeneva’s voice, brings local voices to the Old Growth Forest.

“We didn’t want to repeat the same old, same old. We wanted this done so people could learn in the right way,” said Schramm.

One of the oldest trees on the Ucluelet Peninsula is now showcased with a new deck featuring interpretive signage explaining sustainable plank harvesting practices – it’s also where hikers can find the memorial plaque dedicated to Bob and Vi Mundy.

Cunneyworth is an archeologist and the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government’s director of culture, language and heritage. He said the special old growth stand is culturally modified tree (CMT) and protected archeological site.

“Bob and Vi taught us how to be with the land, be with family and to take care of your community. We see a lot of that in this tree. It’s quite a special tree,” said Cunneyworth.

He shared that at one point, 100 years ago, Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ ancestors would take

big strips off the tree to use for houses, carving or boxes. There is also a large hollowing in the tree that he says was a cache ancestors used for storage - and it may have been a bear den at some point.

“It’s such a powerful testament to the forest and really giving back,” said Cunneyworth. “It’s something we can all learn from, and I know Bob and Vi really talked about that; being intimately connected to the forest and how to take care of it. I really think this whole trail with the CMT here and the knowledge they put into the signage really represents how much love they had for the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ community and the Ucluelet community.”

Ucluelet Mayor Marilyn McEwen says the new signage “provides a legacy of culture learning for residents and visitors, alike.”

“This meaningful initiative honours Indigenous knowledge, language and the enduring relationship between people and

forest ecosystems that has shaped this region for millennia,” said McEwen.

Vi was a board member of the Wild Pacific Trail Society and had a “quiet, patient way” of sharing traditional knowledge for signs throughout all Ucluelet and the region.

“Her impact ripples to this day through all the societies on the west coast,” said Schramm.

“I’m really grateful for everything they were willing to share with us,” Jeneva adds. “They taught us to share what we know. It’s really hard to imagine sometimes how to carry language without Bob around. But we are doing the best we can.”

The Mundy family plans to scatter the ashes of Bob and Vi Mundy in the sea near Black Rock Resort, Vi’s favourite place to eat.

Three years in the making, the audio box, signage and CMT deck project was

Phrase†of†the†week:†Nuu†n’ul†niis%a+†%uuw’ih=†na%aaq’uu†nanaaniqsu†@aq†kin

Pronounced ‘New nook nish alth ooh win hr nah aa koo na nah nick ugk sue’, it means ‘We can sing for ourAncestors!’Supplied by ciisma.

made possible through the leadership of the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government with support from the Province of BC Resort Municipality Initiative, Clayoquot Biosphere Trust, Black Rock Resort, the Wild Pacific Trail Society and the District of Ucluelet.

Nora O’Malley photos

Carey Cunneyworth (below right), Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government director of culture, language and heritage, talks about the special Culturally Modified Tree located at the start of theAncient Cedars trail in Ucluelet (pictured above).

Huu-ay-aht helps Bamfield during tap water advisory

A pipe leak makes Bamfield’s taps unsafe for over a week, Huu-ay-aht provide clean water at its Anacla office

By Sam Laskaris Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor

Bamfield, BC – Representatives from a Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation were able to lend a helping hand to their neighbours who dealt with a recent crisis.

Officials from the remote British Columbia community of Bamfield discovered they had a leak within their water distribution system back on the evening of May 23. The leak was fixed about 36 hours later.

But a boil water advisory remained in effect until June 2. That would be 11 days after the issue first arose.

Arelease from the Bamfield Water System on June 2 confirmed the water from taps was once again safe to use.

“Bacteria sampling of the water system indicates that it is no longer necessary to boil water prior to consumption,” the release said. “You may notice elevated levels of chlorine (smell and taste) for a short period.”

Bamfield, which has about 200 residents, is located a few kilometres from the Huu-ay-aht First Nations village of Anacla.

During the advisory the First Nation opened up its government office inAnacla each day so that Bamfield residents could use the washrooms or get water if needed.

“We’re very close-knit communities,” said Huu-ay-aht Councillor Stella Peters. “So, we work really well together.”

Peters said the boil water advisory for Bamfield did not affect any of the buildings inAnacla.

“We’re on a different water system than they are,” she said.

Peters added it was a simple gesture of

For 11 days Bamfield residents had to boil water from their taps for it to be safe for consumption. This started on May 23 when an underground water line broke.

goodwill to open up the First Nations office to Bamfield residents.

“They just offered them the water so they could at least be able to do some cooking or have their coffee or tea, especially in the morning,” she said.

Once the water leak was repaired in Bamfield, there was still about a 10-day period when residents had to boil their water for safety reasons.

“If you’ve got a leak you’ve got to worry about whether something is getting into the water,” Peters said.

And while the advisory remained in place, Bamfield residents had the opportunity to travel to the nearbyAnacla to get water.

“Our staff worked it out with them, just to help them out,” Peters said. “For us, it’s part of our emergency services, to help them out.”

TheAlberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD) is responsible for supplying water to Bamfield.ACRD Operations Manager Eddie Kunderman said the leak was discovered between the community’s water treatment plant and its water reservoirs.

“It necessitated that we turn off all the water to the distribution system,” Kunderman said. “We turned the entire system off.”

Bamfield’s water supply has had numerous leaks in the past. Last September it was announced that three levels of government had contributed funds for a $1.2 million submarine watermain project that would take place this year.

The federal government, the B.C. government and theACRD provided funding for this project, which is expected to start soon and be completed by September.

Kunderman said last month’s leak was not related to the piping upgrade.

“It was just a T valve that blew,” he said. “And it had to be repaired.”

Kunderman added this particular issue has not happened in Bamfield in the past.

“It was a one-off,” he said.

Kunderman also said it is impossible to

predict if another similar leak will occur.

“It’s a water system,” he said. “I think any time you have public infrastructure like a water system, things happen. But there shouldn’t be any adverse effects from this.”

Though Bamfield residents were inconvenienced during the boil water advisory, Kunderman said he believes the real story is how the community as well as those from the neighbouring First Nations joined forces.

“They were working together, really showing you the residents pulling together for one another and coming together when you have things like this take place,” he said. “I think that’s a feelgood angle.”

Kunderman was also pleased with how quickly the water leak was repaired.

“I would say it was a bit quicker than expected when we first looked at it Friday night and when we first opened the ground Saturday morning,” he said. “Bamfield is a remote community. It is an hour and a half drive from PortAlberni.”

TheACRD offices are located in Port Alberni.

“We had a member of our water team here in PortAlberni co-ordinate with the city of PortAlberni,” Kunderman added.

ACRD officials, who run the Beaver Creek Water System in PortAlberni, co-ordinated with city officials to get the proper parts to repair the Bamfield leak. An operator with the Beaver Creek system assisted with the repair.

Adventure Camp I

Ages 9-11 July 1 - 5

Adventure Camp II

Ages 12-14 July 8 - 12

Adventure Camp III

Ages 15-18 July 15 - 19

Space is limited!

Eric Plummer photo

‘Unsustainable’: Tofino’s short-term rental

Town backs off on short-term rental restrictions, after council gets heavy resistance from property owners

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tofino, BC – Indigenous business owner

Brian Quick points to a For Sale sign across the street from his barbershop on Tofino’s Campbell Street.

The 12,389 square-foot property with a mix of commercial space below and residential units above is listed at roughly $2.4 million.

Quick sighs.

“That’s the kind of property only people with generational wealth can afford. It’s hard busting into their world,” he says. He wants to see more Nuu-chah-nulth people own businesses in town, but as Ahousaht Tyee Ha’wilth Maquinna (Lewis George) says, “everybody has missed the boat now on purchasing property in Tofino”.

Maquinna is one of the only Nuu-chahnulth members in Tofino who owns a short-term rental. In 1994 he opened the House of Himwitsa Lodge, Native Art Gallery and Fish Store with his wife Cathy. They live on the same property as their short-term suites.

“We got a good deal on the property,” said Maquinna, who bought the building from the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. They sold it to us at cost,” he said.

House of Himwitsa was listed for sale five months ago for a cool $9.9 million, according to Maquinna.Almost 73, he’s ready to retire with his wife and travel. He wants to take her to the mountains and go skiing – or practice doing nothing.

“Lock, stock and barrel,” he says of the sale of his mixed-used property overlooking the Tofino Inlet. “There is a possibility the hereditary could buy the building, but that all depends on the protocol with Cermaq. It would be nice to see a First Nations company take ownership.”

Fish farm company Cermaq Canada operates fish farms in Clayoquot Sound and Ahousaht First Nations traditional territory. In the spring of 2022 they signed a five-year, multi-million-dollar protocol agreement with theAhousaht Ha’wiih (Hereditary Chiefs), as represented by the Maaqtusiis Hahoulthee Stewardship Society (MHSS).

Mayor Dan Law bought his Tofino home 24 years ago. He does not oper-

ate a short-term rental and has rented his suite to a long-term tenant for the past 22 years.

“The median value home two years ago was listed at $1.6 million. The people or corporations that can afford those homes generally have to have considerable means to do so. There are just not that many people in Tofino with that kind of annual income,” said Mayor Law.

“In order to afford a mortgage on a $1.6 million home, you have to have an annual income of $350,000, plus 20 per cent cash down. It’s a very small number of locals who have that ability,” he continued.

Back in March 2024, Tofino mayor and council attempted to target people’s investment options on second or third homes by voting 5-2 in favour of Bill 35: STRAccommodationAct. This legislation seeks to regulate short-term rentals throughout the province by restricting services likeAirbnbs to the host’s principal residence, plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the property.

This original decision was supported by Tla-o-qui-aht’s Chief Councillor Elmer Frank.

“It is impossible for 90 per cent of Tofino households to own a home here. It is completely unsustainable. The town

At a Special Council Meeting on March 27, council voted 4-3 to carry a motion that would put Tofino back on the province’s exempt list.

That same day on March 27, district staff sent a formal request to the Minister of HousingAffairs to opt out of the principal residence requirement, which was acknowledged but will not immediately take effect.

“Hosts in Tofino operating this summer will need to register with the province in compliance with the principal residence requirement. Pending Cabinet approval, after November 1, 2025, this component of the registration process will no longer apply to short-term rental hosts in Tofino, though they will still be required to register with the provincial Short-Term Rental Registry,” states anApril 30, 2025 letter from Ravi Kahlon, minister of Housing and MunicipalAffairs.

When asked if Tofino’sAirbnb owners would comply with the province’s principal residence requirement this summer, Maquinna says, “That’s a hard one.”

will fail if this carries on. The town will not be able to function,” said Law during a Feb. 25 regular council meeting where a motion to bring clarity on the principal residence requirement under Bill 35 was unanimously carried.

There are roughly 3,000 residents living in Tofino and the surrounding Tla-o-quiaht communities of Ty-Histanis, Esowista and Opitsaht, according to Tourism Tofino (TT).

A2024 TT economic impact report shows Tofino had 300 accommodation providers,1,890 rental units and 2,500 beds/sites. Tofino had 711,200 total visitors last year, with 632,400 of those being overnight guests.

Despite Law’s claim that the resort town has become unsustainable, many of these property owners seem to have an issue with changing the status quo. On March 11, Tofino mayor and council received a petition with 368 signatures asking council to opt-out of the principal residence requirement of Bill 35. None of those signatures appeared to be from a Tla-oqui-aht member. Council also received over 50 letters from Tofino residents urging council to “opt out”.

“When there is big money around, people don’t seem to address the regulations. They’ll turn a blind to it and the council will turn a blind eye to a lot of it,” said theAhousaht hereditary Chief.

Both Maquinna and Mayor Law spoke about the increased water shortage Tofino has faced over the past few years.

Tofino’s water source is supplied by five creeks located on Meares Island on unceded Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation territory. After suffering an unprecedented drought in 2023, District of Tofino staff created a Water Master Plan and Conservation Plan, which ultimately led to the creation of a Limits to Growth Policy that tackles the issues outlined in the Water Master Plan.

“We won’t be able to build anymore until we get a new water source,” said Mayor Law.

Maquinna and Cathy have removed all the hot tubs from their five suites.

“We were worried about it to begin with, but people aren’t coming just to sit in a hot tub. They are coming for the beauty… there are so many whales that have been going by,” said Maquinna.

Eric Plummer photo

The District of Tofino has 2,767 residents, according to an estimate from the municipality in 2024. That same year saw 711,200 total visitors, with 632,400 of those being overnight guests.

Pacific Rim park cautions the public about wolves

‘If you encounter a wolf, back up. Give them the right of way. Don’t be wolf paparazzi’: Tribal Parks guardian

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Long Beach, BC – Recent reports of a pack of sea wolves in the Pacific Rim corridor acting habituated towards humans has prompted Parks Canada to issue a public reminder about how to stay safe and respect these animals.

Francis Bruhwiler is a specialist in human-wildlife co-existence in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (PRNPR). He says the pack is likely the same two or three coastal wolves acting “very indifferent” when they see people.

“If you want to break that down, it’s a loss of the natural human fear we would like them to have,” said Bruhwiler. “That behaviour is concerning because of that loss of that wariness towards humans. It seems like it’s faded a little bit.”

“Habituated wolves have been happening for at least 30 years,” he continued.

“We’ve had way worse. In 2017, they were in parking lots. It’s not there, we’re not there, but we don’t want to get to that place. If everyone can take this seriously, we feel like that wariness of humans that they need can be maintained.”

The human-wolf interactions started back inApril when a pair of wolves showed up in downtown Tofino, according to Bruhwiler.

“There’s a lot of food in those communities.And I’m not talking human food, I’m talking about dogs, cats, racoons, deer… There’s a lot of prey right where we live and I think that’s what people have to remember,” he said.

Sea wolves primarily eat a marine-based diet; they are known to feed on otters, salmon, harbour seals, herring eggs, clams, mussels and whale or sea lion carcasses. They also go for racoons, small deer and injured black bears or cubs.

AnotherApril dispatch to Parks Canada involved a wolf walking by a visitor in the PRNPR without any fear.

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation also posted

a bulletin on their community board on May 2 asking residents of Esowista and Ty-Histanis to walk in groups or pairs while being careful and diligent, particularly at sunset and night.Apair of wolves were regularly sighted in the communities, which are located just north of Long Beach.

How to reduce human-wolf conflicts

“Put your dog on-leash. That’s a big one.Adog on-leash is way safer,” says Bruhwiler. “I’ve seen big dogs killed here by wolf. I’ve seen dead dogs. We don’t want to go back there. This is what we are trying to avoid.”

Managing all attractants like putting food away before going out for a surf and not going up to the animal to take photos

will also help keep the “wild in wildlife”, notes Bruhwiler.

“Let’s say a wolf is on the beach and around, the best thing we can do is make it obvious that we don’t want it nearby. Make noise, group together. Exactly like seeing a black bear. If the wolf is there and doesn’t want to leave then we leave,” he said.

Parks Canada works in collaboration with Tla-o-qui-aht and Ucluelet First Nation to monitor the wolf activity in the region.

Wolf in Nuu-chah-nulth language is qʷayaciik (pronounced qwa-ya-tseek).

“We have a lot of strong teachings from wolves in Nuu-chah-nulth cultures across many nations and families,” said Tlao-qui-aht Tribal Parks Guardian Gisele Martin. “Alot of teachings have to do with respecting natural law, with upholding traditional ecological roles or about doing the things that need to be done to make things right in this world, is associated with wolves.”

She explained that it is against Nuuchah-nulth traditional law to harm or disturb wolves.

“It’s also part of our culture to give wolves right of way because they are so integral in maintaining the balance of life in nature. They have the same role in ocean as orca whales,” said Martin. “If you encounter a wolf, back up. Give them the right of way. Don’t be wolf paparazzi.”

Martin shared that the “qʷa” in the Nuuchah-nulth word qʷayaciik (wolf) is seen in other words or phrases that translate to “be good like that”, “things that we need to do to make things right in the world” and “bow of the canoe”.

“The bow of the canoe, that’s what gives us direction and is shaped like the head of a wolf,” said Martin.

In June 2024, the ʔapsčiik tašii Trail (pronounced ups-cheek ta-shee) multiuse pathway that connects Ucluelet to Tofino was officially opened, creating an influx of cyclists through the Pacific Rim corridor. The paved pathway is roughly 40-kilometres long and weaves through the traditional territories of the Tla-o-quiaht and Yuułuʔiłʔat as well as the shoreline in the Long Beach Unit of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.

“The trail definitely has an impact on the land and the place,” said Martin. “The Banana slugs who cross it, they have important duties to do in the forest. It’s just not the wolves; it’s everybody that lives there. It’s something to be mindful of.”

On May 7, a deceased juvenile gray whale washed up on Long Beach and is still on the landscape, but the carcass is not “readily available to wolves”, according to Bruhwiler.

“With the whale that washed in, we did not have any wolf interactions at that time. They are their own little minds and maybe they had other things on the go,” he said, adding that sea wolves are incredible swimmers and could travel from Long Beach to the Broken Group Islands in days.

Martin encouraged people to familiarize themselves with the ʔiisaak (ii-saak) Pledge, which outlines respectful behaviours and practices that can be used as guidance on how to relate to wolves and wolf habitat.

“Every plant and animal, living being, every insect, has something important that they contribute to the community of life. Wolves are really integral to that whole process,” Martin said.

If you see or encounter a wolf in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, report it Parks Canada dispatch at: 1-877-8523100.

Parks Canada photo

Aremote Parks Canada wildlife camera captured this image of a wolf or qʷayaciik (pronounced qwa-ya-tseek) near Long Beach, B.C. on Vancouver Island in 2020.

This month both C.J. George and his mother Sheila Mickey celebrate completing Grade 12 studies. CJ is graduating from the WSÁNEĆ Leadership Secondary School in the Brentwood Bay area of Victoria, while Sheila gained herAdult Dogwood diploma from WSÁNEĆ College. The mother and son pair joined 75 other Nuu-chah-nulth graduates for an event hosted by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council on June 7 at theAlberni District Secondary School. Complete coverage of this graduation gathering will be included in Ha-Shilth-Sa’s education issue later this month.

Damon Rampanen, a cultural support worker atAlberni District Secondary, and students perform the Equality Song to begin proceedings at the high school on June 6. The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council hosted a scholarship celebration for students on June 6, followed by a graduation event the following day. Extensive coverage of these events is coming in Ha-Shilth-Sa’s June 26 issue.

Nurturing our roots

Every Wednesday

4841 Redford Street

Every Wednesday 1:30pm – 3:00pm Drop-In.Asafe space for parents and their young children to learn Nuu-chahnulth culture and language through storytelling, songs, and connection. Join our supportive group in a relaxed environment where you can connect with others without any pressure. Share

&Community Beyond

your experiences and make new friends while we create a space of acceptance and understanding. For more information contact Fanifau @ 250-724-3939

Annual Yuquot Camp-Out

July 27th toAugust 10th

Dates are set; I am taking names for U-chuck, friendly reminder MMFN members are top priority on the list. Email names to recreation@yuquot.ca

25 Years Ago in Ha-Shilth-Sa

Neah Bay High School Reconstructing History

Alarge Grey whale had washed up just outside of Neah bay when an idea of reconstruction began, but before the process could start, the whale was washed away.

The idea was brought forward by Pat Garrett of the National Marine Fisheries to Bill Monette, the shop instructor at Neah Bay High school. It was intended to be a lesson in mathematics, organization and teamwork, but turned out to be so much more.

Luckily for both the Makah peoples and Monette’s project, the Makah whalers harpooned a whale only a short time after. The Tribal Council approached Monette and Pat Garrett to use the whale from the hunt to reconstruct and be placed in the Makah Cultural and Research Center once completed. Within the first 24 hours after the whale was killed, the recovery team had the carcass off the beach in three large sec-

tions.

After the Makah feasted the carcass was left in a fenced off area for the summer, where the remains decomposed naturally.After many unpleasantly aromatic field trips Mr. Monette and students finished tagging and cleaning, and the bones were ready to go.

With lots of help and information from the National Marine Fisheries, the whale bones were laid out over the woodshop area where students took on the huge task of reconstructing a piece of Makah history. It was quite an accomplishment for the community to band together and retrace the footsteps of a tradition that had been paused for such a long period of time.

With the reclaiming of traditions, the reconstruction of the whale preserved that moment in the Makah history for future generations.

Eric Plummer photo

Employment and Training

Port Alberni

Friendship Centre

Volunteers Needed

Need work experience? The Port Alberni Friendship Centre is looking for interested applicants for various positions. Call 250-723-8281

and kitchen space – and that’s just phase one.

Tla-o-qui-aht gets over $1 million to boost tourism

Tin Wis plans to be ‘cultural hub’, with new totem poles, a carving shed and renovations to the conference hall

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Reporter

Tofino, BC – Tin Wis Resort, a Tla-oqui-aht owned and operated business, is getting a $1.149-million cultural makeover.

Apermanent carving shed has been built on the property, new totem poles will be erected and the Wickaninnish Conference Hall is getting primed for a new roof and kitchen space – and that’s just phase one.

“It’s just really going to make Tin Wis Resort this fully immersive Tla-o-quiaht experience. I’m super excited. It’s all the team that’s been doing all the work.

I’m happy to just be here to be along for the ride,” said CEO of Tla-o-qui-aht Development Corporation (TDC) Nik Vischschraper, who hit-the-ground-running with the nation six months ago.

He said the long-term vision for the unique project is to turn Tin Wis into a “cultural hub” and “learning campus” for the community and visitors.

TDC stacked together $932,170 from the Province of BC’s Rural Economic Diversification & Infrastructure Program, $179, 875 from PacifiCan’s Tourism Growth Fund, $10,000 from the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC’s Outdoor Recreation Fund and $27,000 from Creative BC Society’s Live Music Presentation Fund to bring the project to life.

Phase two involves mentoring and training young Tla-o-qui-aht members to launch their own small business.

“Many Tla-o-qui-aht members have these great ideas, but they just don’t know how to bring it to life. Or they don’t have an idea and they want to run their own business. Tin Wis will be a hub

to provide this development and training,” said Vischschraper.

Tla-o-qui-aht has set the goal of gaining 10 per cent of Tofino’s annual economic output in the next 10 years.

“We are calling it 10 in 10. We want Tla-o-qui-aht-based businesses getting more of their lion’s share,” he said.

In 2024, visitor activities in the region contributed to an estimated $657 million in total economic output to the provincial economy, according to a recently released Economic Impact of Tourism in Tofino study.

“Why have six whale watching tour (companies) and not a single one is owned by Tla-o-qui-aht?” Vischschraper continued.

In the summer of 2023, Tla-o-qui-aht opened Tsawaak RV Resort and Campground adjacent to Tin Wis Resort.

Tsawaak has since won an Indigenous TourismAward for Leading the Way in Business Development.

“We are definitely willing to partner. Maybe there will be businesses that become part of Tin Wis or become part Tsawaak. You know, you come for a camping weekend at Tsawaak and that’s where your tour starts, and it’s a guided interpretive tour at Tin Wis beach,” said Vischschraper.

TDC is also working at extending the pedestrian pathway by Tin Wis all the way down to the highway with lighting, reflectors and interpretive signage.

“This will create the connection for not just Tla-o-qui-aht, but for the entire community, that Tin Wis Road is an access to Tin Wis beach and the Tin Wis Resort area where we have a bunch of amazing businesses,” he said.

Tin Wis Resort photo

Apermanent carving shed has been built on the Tin Wis Resort property, new totem poles will be erected and the Wickaninnish Conference Hall is getting primed for a new roof

Nuu-chah-nulth masks back home after over a century

Possibly taken by Spanish and English explorers, the pieces are planned for display in Hitacu and Port Alberni

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

PortAlberni, BC –Apair of carved wooden masks that have been sitting in storage at a California university have finally returned home.Asmall delegation from Yuułuʔitʔatḥ (Ucluelet First Nation) arrived at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) on May 20 to pick up the precious cargo.

It was inApril 2024 when Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper shared the story of the masks and UCSF’s desire to return the items, amongst others, to original owners where they can be identified.

AUnited States law called the NativeAmerican Graves Protection and RepatriationAct requires sacred items of Indigenous origin that are held or controlled by federal agencies or museums to be “returned to lineal descendants,Aboriginal tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.”

Polina Ilieva of UCSF reached out to the Nuu-chahnulth Tribal Council in early 2024 stating that there was limited information about the masks, but the university believed them to be of Nuu-chah-nulth origin.

“We believe they came from the land referred to today as Vancouver Island,” she wrote in an email to the NTC.

The masks were given to the UCSF in 2015 by Philip R. Lee, a former faculty member. Lee purchased them in 2003 from a gallery in New York calledAlaska on Madison.

Some believe that the first mask was taken from a burial site on Nuu-chah-nulth land – possibly hundreds of years ago. There is little information available about the second mask, but it has writing on the back, indicating that it is a depiction of a wild man with the word ‘sasquatch’in parentheses.

According to Carey Cunneyworth, director of Culture, Language & Heritage for Yuułuʔitʔatḥ, elders from their nation recognized some of the designs on the first mask and it is believed to belong to their nation. The mask is described as being made of red cedar with eye holes and a wooden stick nailed in for the wearer to bite on to hold

the mask in place. It depicts a human face painted with red ochre, grey, blue and black paint.

The second mask is made of red cedar wood, bark and is painted with nails and a white feather attached. It is believed to be either a Nuu-chah-nulth or Kwakwakawakw rendering of a sasquatch and was created around ̣1900.

Notes included with the masks say that they are ‘Nootka’carvings and were taken by Spanish and English explorers as early as the 18th century.

Cunneyworth told Ha-Shilth-Sa that YFN welcomed the return of the burial mask with a community celebration. The mask will be on display in the community’s culture and heritage building in Hitacu.

Cunneyworth said their historians have not been able to confirm whether the first mask was taken from a Yuułuʔitʔatḥ grave, but they brought it home based on information from an elder who recognized the designs. He said YFN will hold the piece on behalf of all Nuu-chah-nulth-aht, and they welcome any additional information about it.

The second mask was delivered to the NTC main office in PortAlberni on May 29 by Cunneyworth, who said it was an honour to steward the masks back home.

NTC President Cloy-e-iss, Judith Sayers, and NTC Executive Director Florence Wylie were on hand to accept the mask from Cunneyworth, while Quuʔasa Wellness Worker Howard Morris performed a prayer chant.

Thanking him and YFN for taking on the responsibility of flying to San Francisco to pick up the masks, Cloy-e-iss said the masks are recognized as being the works of Nuu-chah-nulth artists and she hopes someday, with new information, that the pieces will be returned to their home communities.

Both YFN and the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council have stated that they will put the masks on display. Florence Wylie said that a new display case will have to be made before the second mask can be put on display at the NTC.

Submitted photos Amask that is believed to be from Yuułuʔitʔatḥ is described as being made of red cedar with eye holes and a wooden stick nailed in for the wearer to bite on to hold the mask in place. It depicts a human face painted with red ochre, grey, blue and black paint.

The second mask is made of red cedar wood, bark and is painted with nails and a white feather attached. It is believed to be either a Nuu-chah-nulth or Kwakwakawakw rendering of a sasquatch and was created around ̣1900