

INTERESTING NEWS

How Tofino weaves First Nations culture into tourism
Efforts continue to be"er integrate Nuu-chah-nulth artists into Tofino’s $295-million-a-year tourism industry
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Tofino, BC –There’s a clear effort underway to weave First Nations culture into Tofino’s lucrative tourism economy.
In November 2024, Island Coastal Economic Trust (ICET) announced a $180,000 project investment with IISAAK OLAM Foundation towards building a commercial art space and carving facility at Naa’Waya’Sum Gardens (formerly the Tofino Botanical Gardens).
The project, which also received support from the First Peoples’Cultural Council’s Heritage Infrastructure Program, aims to be complete by July 2025.
TofinoArts Council (TAC) also launched the Makuw’as pop-up market in October 2024 in collaboration with Tourism Tofino and the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce as a way to raise the profile of local Indigenous artists.
“It makes me feel happy. When my dad went to residential school, they weren’t even allowed to speak their language never mind practice their art and culture,” said Nuu-chah-nulth artist Elizabeth George, whose cedar woven hats and jewelry are featured on the Makuw’as pilot e-commerce site and in-store at the Tourism Tofino Cox Bay Visitor Centre.
George says the hardest part about weaving cedar accessories is pulling the actual cedar bark off the tree – a job her husband Matthew Curly has embraced.
“We usually don’t go to the same spot twice because you can’t strip the tree where you have before, so you have to move,” she explained. “They cut down a bunch of trees by Crystal Cove and Ocean Village and they gave Tla-o-quiaht permission to go in there and strip the trees before they cut them. I got a whack of cedar from that and made a bunch of hats.”
George also offers classes on beading, cedar weaving and dream catcher making throughout the year. She says spots for her workshops fill up quick and she feels proud when she sees her students evolve into independent artists.
“That’s my hope, is to teach the children, so it will continue on,” said George. Her booth ‘TumookArts & Crafts’ has been a staple at the Saturday Tofino Markets on the Village Green for over five years, and with native paintings by her momAnnie and beaded jewelry by her sister Michelle on hand, she says everyone in her family has something to do with her craft table.
“She works really hard on her stuff,” saidAnnie, who moved to Tofino in Tlao-qui-aht traditional territory 54 years
$4.7

ago. “When we first moved to Tofino it was just one street.”
For distinguished Tla-o-qui-aht carver Joe Martin, the new carving facility at Naa’Waya’Sum will offer an immediate benefit for the community when it comes to overcoming the issues tied to residential schools.
“I think it’s really good to be able to do things with your hands,” said Martin. “It’s one of those things that this new carving shop can do. If you’re doing something with your hands, you’re using your hands and thinking about what needs to get done. I feel it really helps mental states and how people can live better.”
Martin helped carve a čiinuł (totem pole) for the ancient village site of Opitsaht. The čiinuł was raised on July 1, 2022 and honours Nuu-chah-nulth history while remembering MMIWG and the children who never made it home from residential school.
The other half of the log was carved into a čiinuł that was erected in the middle of the Naa’Waya’Sum Gardens onAug. 1, 2023.
“The pole raised at Naa’Waya’Sum is in honour of the responsibilities to our future generations, and that’s to take care of the land,” said Martin. “Whenever the
next major earthquake happens, it’s not going to be pretty and I think that’s only a matter of time. When that does happen, it’s supposed to be a major quake from northern California all the way to here, and that’s going to leave a lot of infrastructure destroyed.”
“If we don’t take care of the land as we should, we’re going to all starve to death. It’s going to take months or years for them to get here,” he said.
George thinks it’s a sign of support when non-Indigenous people wear her cedar woven hats or native style beaded earrings.
“I think it looks nice on them,” said George.
“As long as it’s not yellow cedar,” her mom adds. “Yellow cedar can only be worn by royalty. It’s way lighter and you have to go up the mountain to find it.”
$14 million spent on shopping in Tofino
A2019 economic impact report prepared for Tourism Tofino shows that in total, visitors to Tofino are estimated to spend $295 million per annum. This figure was based upon an estimated 76,700 individual day visitors and 522,400 individual overnight visitors to Tofino each year.According to the report, visitors also spent an estimated $50 million on food & beverage and $46 million on activities,
excursions and entertainment. Visitors spent nearly $14 million on shopping and $3.2 million on local transport.
“We are building trust within the communities,” said Emily Elston Macnab, TAC’s director of communications and engagement. “(Makuw’as) is a long-term program and that’s really what our goal is, not just to have a website up for a little bit, it’s to make sure that we are having meaningful impact within the community and driving sales from tourism into the pockets of (Indigenous) artists so that they get to benefit those who visit their land.”
Likewise, the future Naa’Waya’Sum facilities will “prioritize Indigenous community members employment and seasonal internships, while increasing Indigenous representation in the vibrant visitor economy across the Tofino and Ucluelet region,” notes a joint media release from ICET and the IISAAK OLAM Foundation.
TAC, a non-profit that supports about 80 west coast artists, offers free membership to Indigenous people, which includes voting privileges, a listing on their website and other benefits. Macnab encouraged Nuu-chah-nulth artists to reach out if they would like assistance in amplifying their online presence.
Nora O’Malley photo
Elizabeth George is one of only a handful of Nuu-chah-nulth artists that can make these little doll earrings.


$4.7 million to prohibit sheltering on Pandora Avenue
Victoria’s added bylaw enforcement would cost millions, as local organizations push for more shelter spaces
By Alexandra Mehl Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor
Victoria, BC – Keeping a homeless encampment off PandoraAvenue appears to be a surprisingly costly burden for the City of Victoria.
In July, when the Victoria Police Department initiated the beginning stages of a strategy to clear out PandoraAvenue’s unhoused population, City Council instructed their staff to report back with a plan detailing the costs to continue the enforcement. This would prohibit daytime sheltering in Victoria’s parks, streets, sidewalks and boulevards.
In early December the City of Victoria released a statement indicating that the proposed enforcement plan would cost $4.7 million, which could see a three per cent addition to the city’s 2025 property tax increase.
To maintain enforcement on Pandora Avenue, the city would have to more than double their frontline bylaw officer staffing and support, reads the statement.
The VicPD Safety Plan was instigated after a paramedic was attacked while responding to an emergency on the 900-block of PandoraAvenue in July. Since the enforcement throughout the summer, those who previously sheltered on Pandora have dispersed to other areas of the city. Currently fences installed by the city line the street to prevent the encampment from returning, but despite these prohibitive actions from the municipality, some tents have been reported in the area this winter.
Frontline workers in the area have reported an increase in fatal overdoses among those who previously resided on Pandora. The overdose deaths are now over a dozen lives lost.
“While enforcement is a necessary part of an overall strategy to end sheltering, and the only role for the city to play, it does not address the underlying causes of homelessness that result in sheltering,” reads a statement from the City of
Victoria.
“Without significant intervention and coordination of the provincial ministries of health, mental health and addictions, housing and poverty reduction, to address addiction, mental health, trauma, systemic racism, and systemic issues in the criminal justice system, the issue of sheltering will not be solved by enforcement alone,” the statement continued.
Ron Rice is the executive director of the Victoria Native Friendship Center (VFNC). He would like to see more collaboration across ministries and agencies, looking at broader solutions that include culture, family reunification, health, and employment moving forward.
“It’s not just a door to lock behind you, you need all of the tools to create a life for yourself,” said Rice.
Though VNFC’s shelter is currently filled with primarily Indigenous and nonIndigenous elders and does not typically service those who resided on Pandora, Rice has noticed those who previously lived on the downtown street are now in parks nearby - areas that are not visible from the road.
“By taking people off of that strip of land, it is not solving the problem, it is just dealing with one of the symptoms,” said Rice. “There needs to be solutions from the ground up.”
“It’s like trying to put out a forest fire and only paying attention to the tops of the trees,” he added. “Telling someone, ‘You can’t be homeless here, go be homeless over there,’is not a solution.”
Victoria’s 2023 point-in-time survey indicates that there are over 1,665 unhoused people in the city. This includes those living unsheltered, in emergency shelters, couch surfing, as well as in transitional homes and in public systems such as hospitals, treatment centers and correctional halfway houses.
At the time of the survey, a total of 524 people were unsheltered or in an emergency shelter.
But according to BC Housing, Victoria

has 409 shelter spaces.
“We are continuing to work with local governments to bring additional shelter and housing options to Greater Victoria and will share more details as we can,” reads an email from BC Housing.
Since the spring of 2024, the province funded a total of 132 additional shelter spaces in Victoria, including bringing 72 more beds as the VicPD safety plan was being enforced.
When asked about some of the challenges faced when establishing sheltering options, BC Housing wrote that availability and high cost of land, finding suitable locations, and non-profit operator capacity are all contributing barriers.
“In response to these challenges, BC Housing works in partnership with municipalities, landowners, and non-profits, to identify opportunities and find solutions,” the email reads.
One of the challenges with Pandora, shared Rice, stems from the seasonal shelter process.
“Alot of the seasonal shelters close onApril 1, and then there’s sort of this scatter that happens, and then people start to settle into a bit of a routine, finding a place where they are able to set up camp and a place to come back to at various parts of the day,” he said.
“It [has] taken many, many decades for us to get to this point, and it’s going to take us a long time to solve this problem,” said Rice. “We are going to have to solve it, one person at a time.”
“There’s going to be a different solution for every person who is sleeping on the streets right now, whether that’s the addition of employment, or reconnection with family, or culture, or healthcare, or education,” he said.
Eric Plummer photo
Ayear ago an encampment filled the 900-block of PandoraAvenue (pictured). Police enforcement over the summer cleared out the tents, and the city has since erected prohibitive fences, but in recent weeks some tents have again appeared on the downtown street.
Victoria Police Department photo
In the summer of 2024 Victoria police cleared an encampment from Pandora Avenue.
Reconciliation is moving forward together, says elder
Randy Fred speaks on the meaning of reconciliation at North Island College’s Campbell River campus Jan. 23
By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor
Nanaimo, BC –Achange in Ottawa appears likely this year, leaving some to wonder what place reconciliation will have in Canada’s next government.
With a federal election expected this spring, the Conservative Party of Canada is riding high in the polls, making Pierre Poilievre the most likely candidate to become Prime Minister. Under the leadership of Justin Trudeau, for the last decade the Liberals have tripled spending on Indigenous services compared to 2015 dollars, but the Conservatives have made so such commitment.
“The whole world is moving to the right politically, which to me is scary,” commented Tseshaht elder Randy Fred. “My fear is going backwards. We’ve made so many advancements in reconciliation, but they can all be destroyed quickly.”
“We’ve got to do as much as we can to avoid politics getting us down,” added Fred, whose traditional name is Wickee Cussee.
As the elder in residence at Vancouver Island University, Fred seeks to bring a message of inclusion and optimism to an upcoming talk on Jan. 23 at Campbell River’s North Island College campus.As in all of Fred’s talks in his current role, a foundational message comes from the Nuu-chah-nulth phrase that means ‘everything is connected’.
“That’s what reconciliation has the potential of doing, is making the entire society appreciate Hišuk’ish cawak,” explained Fred. “It means coming to terms with the past and moving forward in a positive way together.”
The Tseshaht elder has found a keen audience for this message among VIU students – particularly those who originate from other countries.
“Alot of them are coming from colonized countries, they know what colonialism is, and they can see it here,” he said.
Fred’s life has brought a great deal to come to terms with. He spent his early childhood at Dodger Cove, by Diana Island in Barkley Sound.
“It was paradise back them,” recalled Fred. “At the sandy beach at the far end there was a bed of little neck clams. I used to eat them raw for a snack, they were really tasty.”
But like so many Indigenous people of his generation, government policy relocated Fred from his family to attend theAlberni Indian Residential School, where he remained for nine years. It was a harsh contrast to living with family by the waters near Bamfield.
“My introduction to non-native people was these horrible sadists, these sick, sick people who were responsible for our lives 24 hours a day,” said Fred of those who worked at the residential school. “It was certainly not healthy. It destroyed our people, destroyed our communities, destroyed our families.”
Despite this hardship, Fred became educated as an accountant, bringing this skill in numbers to the team that returned toAIRS to shut the residential school down in 1973. The West Coast District Council of Indian Chiefs soon took over the facility.
“We gave them 30 days notice…and then we moved in. We took over the buildings to set up our tribal council office,” said Fred. “You live with this inferiority complex from just being in the school.And then to boot these people out…”


Whether he was looking for work or trying to check into a motel, encounters with racism would continue through the years. Fred finds that it’s still present, although society has improved over the last decade.
“I haven’t encountered much racism in a last 10 years,” he said. “True reconciliation will never take place, because we will never get all of our land back. But regardless, we have to move forward in a way that is putting this society on a more positive basis than how it is today.”
Aforemost matter of concern is management of West Coast fisheries and their dwindling salmon stocks – a resource that Fred’s people have subsisted on for countless generations. In Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s current management plan for Pacific salmon, the federal department states a commitment “to the recognition and implementation of Indigenous and treaty rights related to fisheries, oceans, aquatic habitats and marine waterways”. DFO adds that this commitment aligns with Canada’s Constitution Act and the United Nations Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, noting that “reconciliation informs the work of the department”.
But the central issue remains that the DFO will not surrender control of fisheries, says Fred, and recognize that local First Nations were stewards of the resource for centuries before European settlement. He looks south of the border to a decision in Washington State from Judge George Boldt in 1974, which affects treaty nations of the Pacific Northwest. Boldt determined that these tribes have the right to half of the catch, with
the equal responsibility to manage fisheries with the government.
“I’m certain that if the First Nations were to be given management control, that there would be a lot of habitat restoration going on,” said Fred. “Historically, it’s almost like they’ve been our enemy. Reconciliation to DFO needs to be taken really seriously. We’re not the enemy; we own the resource. DFO has to admit that and start acting in a responsible manner and enable First Nations to take an active role in management.”
Fred suffers from reconitis pigmentosa, a hereditary disease that caused him to lose his eyesight as an adult. When working as an accountant was no longer possible he started writing and publishing, founding Theytus Books and the One in Spirit HealingArts Society.
Now 74, Fred learned to find his way around in the dark when he was five years old, paddling his family’s canoe as they travelled at night.
“I always had night blindness,” he said, a condition his parents were aware of.
“They knew I couldn’t see in the dark.A lot of times we would travel at night in the canoe, and they would make me row. I became a really good rower. Having to get around in the dark was a real big bonus for me today.”
Randy Fred speaks as part of North Island College’s Indigenous Speakers Series. His talk is on Jan. 23, 6 - 8 p.m. at NIC’s Qə pix ʔidaʔas Gathering Place at the Campbell River campus, 1685 South Dogwood St. On Jan. 25 Fred joins author Celia Haig-Brown at the Museum at Campbell River from 1 – 3 p.m. for a talk about their work and incorporating First Nations’history and culture into writing.

Mobile Hair Stylist
Eric Plummer photo
Randy Red speaks with other survivors of theAlberni Indian Residential School, on the former site of the institution on Sept. 30, 2024, which was National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Submitted photo
“We’ve got to do as much as we can to avoid politics getting us down,” says Tsesahht elder Wickee Cussee, Randy Fred.
Nuu-chah-nulth leaders react to Trudeau’s resignation
An election is expected in May, opening concerns if a Conservative government would prioritize First Nations
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Grieving the recent loss of his close friend Richard Lucas Jr., elected Tseshaht First Nations chief councillor Wahmeesh (Ken Watts) spoke with a heavy heart. He reflected on Justin Trudeau’s reign as the 23rd prime minister of Canada with compassion.
“The world of politics has changed a lot,” said Wahmeesh, whose late father Wameesh (George Watts) had a prolific career in First Nations politics.
“It’s always been ugly, but right now it’s so personal. I don’t necessarily agree with the things (Trudeau) said or did over the years, but I’m not going to go there and overstep the line. Politics have gone too far,” he continued.
Wahmeesh brought up all the “nasty comments” on social media the exiting prime minister faced, plus the folks yelling at him.
On a skiing vacation in Red Mountain Ski Resort over the Christmas break, a woman was recorded saying, “Mr. Prime Minister, please get the f*ck out of B.C. You suck.”
To which Trudeau responded, “Have a wonderful, ma’am.”
“It’s a sign of the state of the world we live in, and because of the economy. People are just fed up and people are pointing the figure entirely at him. We all need to treat each other better. My late friend R.J. that passed away, he treated everyone so nice. I think we all need to try live in a better world. We need to be respectful of how we treat each other,” Wahmeesh said.
Trudeau announced his resignation as prime minister on Jan. 6, 2024 at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa. The father of three has been the leader of the Liberal Party since 2013 and the prime minister since 2015.
“We are at a critical moment in the world,” Trudeau said in his resignation speech.
“As you all know, I’m a fighter. Every bone in my body has always told me to fight because I care deeply about Canadians. I care deeply about this country, and I will always be motivated by what is in the best interest of Canadians,” he continued. “And the fact is, despite best efforts to work through it, Parliament has been paralyzed for months after what has been the longest session of a minority Parliament in Canadian history.”
Trudeau’s legacy
Spending on Indigenous priorities increased significantly during his tenure, with about $32 billion forecast in the 2024-25 budget compared to the roughly $11 billion that was invested in Indigenous priorities in 2015, according to the Department of Finance Canada.
With the support of his Liberal ministers, the snowboarding, surfing and jetsetting prime minister also launched a national inquiry into missing and murdered

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rides in a Tla-o-qui-aht canoe during a parade in Tofino inAugust 2016. In the following month Tla-o-qui-aht Chief Councilor Elmer Frank said the Prime Minister wasn’t welcome back in the territory until his bureaucrats came to the fisheries negotiations with a mandate and a will to make a deal in good faith. Trudeau returned to Tofino a year later to meet with Nuu-chah-nulth leaders.

Indigenous women and girls, passed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous PeoplesAct and created a new national day to honour the children who never returned home and the survivors of Indian Residential Schools.
But the hypocrisy of the Liberal leader who legalized cannabis was in plain sight after he skipped the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, 2021, and took his family on vacation in Tofino, B.C.
Along the same vein, Trudeau’s Liberals pledged to end long-term drinking water advisories on reserves, but when
Shamattawa First Nation launched a national class-action lawsuit to address the long-standing lack of clean drinking water, Justice Canada lawyers argued the contrary in Federal Court, saying that “the government has no legal obligation to ensure First Nations have access to clean drinking water.”
Cloy-e-iis (Judith Sayers), the president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC), thinks the Liberal Party was due for a new leader.
“The question is, can they gain enough popularity before the next election because the Nuu-chah-nulth will really suffer under Pierre Poilievre, I’m sure,” said Cloy-e-iis.
In a written statement, BCAssembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee thanked the outgoing prime minister for his leadership and service and called upon the Liberal Party of Canada to elect a “strong, principled leader who will recommit the party to progressive values, bring Canadians together, and take the necessary steps to honour, recognize and implement the internationally recognized human rights of First Nations peoples throughout this country.”
“What we really need this Liberal government to do is to implement changes, not just talk about them, but to actually implement them and do what is necessary as the First Nations require it, especially for natural resources,” Cloy-e-iis adds.
“I don’t think First Nations are a priority with the Conservatives. Definitely not. I’m sure that they’ll probably cut back on some of the services that were increased,” she said.
Wahmeesh said the collective shift in the polls from supporting a Liberal left to the Conservatives is because people are frustrated at the state of the country.
In late December 2024, the non-profit Angus Reid Institute showed voter support for the Liberal Party at just 16 per cent – possibly the lowest voter intention
the Liberals have ever received in the modern era, according toAngus Reid.
“Whatever it is we are doing right now is not really working. The system is not working. People are still dying,” said Wahmeesh, referring to the opioid crisis in Canada.
The Government of Canada reported a total of 49,105 apparent opioid toxicity deaths between January 2016 and June 2024. The latest B.C. provincial reports show the number of unregulated drug deaths in October 2024 equals about five deaths per day.
In September 2024, all 14 Nuu-chahnulth Nations declared a State of Emergency due to the mental health and opioid crisis that disproportionately affects the First Nations communities at six times the rate of other B.C. residents, reports the First Nations HealthAuthority.
“The cost of living is at the heart of all,” said Wahmeesh. “The new government needs to find a way to reduce the price of fuel and (Trudeau’s) replacement needs to find a way to make life more affordable. Whether they are First Nations or not, everybody is feeling the crunch.”
Cloy-e-iis stressed that regardless of who comes into power, there are some really critical issues on the horizon that will require teamwork.
“We’re going to need to work all together to face some of these threats that are coming from the south,” she said.
“We’ve always known our water was at risk. That’s why we always try to negotiate at the treaty tables that water was ours and we would share.”
Parliament is prorogued, or suspended until March 24, effectively preventing a non-confidence vote in the House that could have spurred an election. The Liberals will elect a new leader over the next two months, and most pundits are currently predicting a national vote in May 2025.
Deborah Steel photo
Ken Watts
Ha-Shilth-Sa newspaper is published by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council for distribution to the members of the contributing First Nations, as well as other interested groups and individuals.
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New health services for Clayoquot Sound
†%uuk#inkpanac^ promises to deliver primary health care services and cultural healing
By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter
Planning is still in the works but there has been a soft launch of a model of health care services that will make its rounds to the central region communities ofAhousaht, Hot Springs Cove, Opitsaht, Ty-Histanis, Esowista, Hitatcu and Macoah.
It’s called ʔuukʷinkpanač and it means ‘walking in togetherness’. Who is walking in togetherness? It’s two separate societies representing modern western medicine and ancient Nuu-chah-nulth healers. Launched by the Vancouver Island West Coast Primary Care Initiative Health Care Society, ʔuukʷinkpanač promises to deliver primary health care services that include traditional healing and wellness options for the First Nations peoples of the Clayoquot Sound region.
The Vancouver Island West Coast PCI Health Society launched its new logo, website and traditional name in December 2024.According to their news release dated Dec. 16, 2024, ʔuukʷinkpanač, funded by the B.C. Ministry of Health and the First Nations HealthAuthority (FNHA), is a non-profit organization made up of health care providers including physicians, registered nurses, mental health assistance and traditional wellness supports.
The new society’s mandate is to collaborate with all the service providers available to meet the needs of the people, “including all First Nation, Métis and Inuit peoples residing in (or who are able to access) the First Nations communities.”
According to the First Nations Health Authority, The FNPCI (First Nations Primary Care Initiative) is nation-driven and community-led.
“In order to meet the health and wellness needs of First Nations people, it is important that primary care is culturally safe and trauma-informed, and where Indigenous ways of knowing and being are woven into health care services,” stated the FNHA.
Suzanne Williams is the director of operation for the new initiative, and she is working with health care professionals and Uu Ustukyuu, a society that offers cultural wellness services. The plan is to build teams through the two groups to

“We
that we need
provide culturally safe service and healing for our people,”
serve the health care needs of the central region Nuu-chah-nulth nations in their communities, in an effort to fill existing gaps that exist there.
The West Coast Primary Care Initiative will see different types of traditional and Western care providers working together in a team-based approach in the same space to meet the health care needs of First Nations peoples.
“Elders, sacred knowledge keepers and traditional wellness practitioners will be key members of the primary health care team and work in close collaboration with Western medicine practitioners,” states the FNHAwebsite.
The West Coast PCI has been named ʔuukʷinkpanač and is now serving Hitatcu and the nearby Tla-o-qui-aht communities. They are planning to expand so that two complete health care teams can alternate and make regularly scheduled trips to clinics in the communities. But first they need to grow their teams.
Each community has a clinic where doctors and nurses come to deliver health care services. ʔuukʷinkpanač health care workers will be there to provide support, to help the people access both models of health care.
Elder Dave Frank offers cultural wellness services through Uu Ustukyuu Society.
“We recognize that we need Western healing ways. We work alongside them to provide culturally safe service and heal-

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!
ing for our people,” he said.
When asked how this new model of health care would work, Erin Ryding, Uu Ustukyuu Society co-lead, said if a patient receives a diabetes diagnosis, for example, they would be at the clinic to talk to their doctor. They would need to speak to others about lifestyle changes moving forward.
“They may want to talk to a mental health care provider, or maybe they want some cultural support or medicine. They would need to make a plan moving forward and this is where they can get help across both models of health care,” said Ryding, adding that at the ʔuukʷinkpanač they have access to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual support.
According to Williams, ʔuukʷinkpanač is in the recruitment phase and asks people to check their website for employment listings. They are looking for registered nurses, mental health clinicians and people with Indigenous healing/medicine knowledge.
Examples of some of the services that the centres may offer includes: traditional healing and wellness, mental health counseling, nursing services, family practice physicians, harm reduction support, social work, elder support.
Services will be expanded toAhousaht, Hesquiaht and Toquaht once staffing and other logistics are in place.
“We’re going at the pace of the nation (to get services launched),” said Williams
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Eric Plummer photo
recognize
Western healing ways. We work alongside them to
saysAhousaht elder Dave Frank, who works with the Uu Ustukyuu Society.
Province adds 26 new treatment beds, but none in PA
Health minister meets with NTC leadership in late January to discuss state of emergency due to fatal overdoses
By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor
Vancouver, BC - The Ministry of Health has announced 26 new substance-use treatment beds, additional capacity that is expected to help 250 people over the next two years recover from addiction.
But none of these beds will be in western Vancouver Island - despite the fact that in September the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council declared a state of emergency due to overdose and mental health crises. The new spaces that have become available since last summer include six in Kelowna, two in Prince Rupert, 12 at the SalvationArmy’s Harbour Light Centre in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and another six at Nanaimo’s Island Crisis Care facility. These add to B.C.’s supply of over 3,700 publicly funded substanceuse beds.
When the new beds were announced on Jan. 20, Minister of Health Josie Osborne acknowledged the toll that the opioid crisis has made on Nuu-chah-nulth communities, noting that she plans to meet with NTC President Judith Sayers this week to discuss the issue.
“Many people are trapped in a cycle of addiction and they feel that there is no way out,” said Osborne, who is also the NDP MLAfor Mid Island-Pacific Rim.
“For those who need help, it’s often even harder because of the barriers that stand in the way of them getting the treatment that they need.”
During the NTC’sAnnual General Meeting in November it was noted that a consultant has been hired to better determine the specific needs of the tribal council’s 14 nations, while obtaining more precise numbers of how many have been lost from each community. The NTC’s state of emergency came after the Ehattesaht First Nation made its own such declaration in February 2023 due to the high number of young members lost over the previous year due to drug overdose. Across the province, Indigenous people have been hit with a fatality rate six times that of the rest of B.C., according to the First Nations HealthAuthority. Since the provincial government first made the opioid crisis a public health emergency in 2016, death due to illicit drug use has

In September the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council declared a state of emergency for the toxic drug crisis and mental health issues.
is Tseshaht Chief Councillor Ken Watts speaking, next to NTC Vice-president Les Doiron and NTC President

risen to surpass homicide, suicide and car crashes combined. Fentanyl is detected in over 80 per cent of fatalities.
An average of five people die due to illicit drug use each day, according to the most recent data from the BC Coroners Service. But this is the lowest toll since the early days of the COVID 19 pandemic, which brought a surge in overdoses
Basket Weaving Workshops and Demonstrations
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as public health measures encouraged people to stay home and socially distance from each other. Over the first 10 months of last year 1,925 fatalities have been attributed to overdose – showing a nine per cent decrease from the same period in 2023.
According to the most recent coroner’s data from last year, Vancouver CentreNorth - a local health area that covers the Downtown Eastside - continues to have by far the highest rate of fatality with 409.7 deaths per 100,000 people. Terrace is second with a rate of 150.4, followed by Campbell River with 127.7 deaths per 100,000.
This data was tracked untilAugust of later year, a period showing a significant decline in the fatality rate forAlberniClayoquot, a local health area containing a high proportion of Nuu-chah-nulth people. Last yearAlberni-Clayoquot was the third highest in B.C., behind the Downtown Eastside and Hope, but so far numbers from last year show a rate dropping from 105.9 in 2023 to 77.8 per 100,000 people in 2024.
Some may take encouragement from these numbers, as B.C. enters the final year of a three-year decriminalization pilot project that began in late January 2023. Health Canada has granted B.C. an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and SubstancesAct, freeing users from facing charges if found in possession of up to 2.5 grams of the most common illicit substances, including Fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.
Decriminalization was introduced to free users from the societal stigma they face, thereby enabling them to more easily seek help. But after a year this approach faced a growing amount of criticism amid reports of public drug use
– particularly in hospitals.
“We refuse to accept addiction as a lifestyle choice,” said Conservative Party of BC Leader John Rustad, who called decriminalization “a failed experiment”, as an election approached last fall.
In a move to scale back policies, in May 2024 the government again prohibited illicit drug use in public spaces.
With the new government that formed after the October 2024 election, the former Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions has been absorbed into the larger Ministry of Health.
At the Jan. 20 press conference Osborne assured the public that the overdose crisis remains one of the top concerns for the province.
“Substance use is a health issue, and it needs to be treated as such,” she said.
“Having the mental health and addictions ministry move back into the health ministry ensures that we are able to be as efficient as possible with a really fantastic team who are devoted to tackling this crisis.”
In an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa, the Ministry of Health stated that future treatment of the opioid crisis will be guided byA Pathway to Hope, a long-term plan for the province first introduced in 2019.
This 10-year vision for addictions treatment stresses the need to improve access to mental health supports, with the expansion ofAboriginal-run treatment centres and better access to counselling.
“This crisis remains one of the top priorities that our government is committed to tackling,” said Osborne. “Beyond that, it’s about the early intervention and prevention, working with youth that have mental health issues, to avoid these problems in the first place.”

Eric Plummer photo
Pictured
Judith Sayers.
Josie Osborne
Island teams shine at Totem 69 basketball tournament in Port
Edward Milne boys and Pacific Christian girls win Totem championship, as the local Alberni girls and boys place second and fourth
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
PortAlberni, BC – The Sooke Edward Milne Wolverines senior boys basketball team stung Victoria’s Stelly’s on Saturday, Jan. 11 at theAlberni District Secondary School (ADSS) gymnasium with an outstanding 63-62 comeback win, soaring to Totem 69 glory and a championship banner.
Coached by Trevor Bligh, the Wolverines are currently ranked first in the Vancouver Island Triple-Asouth division.
“It was exciting. Eleven times we’ve come to Totem. Last year we were in the finals and lost, so that was definitely a short-term goal,” said coach Bligh. “Just the power of believing. The kids were down and just to believe they could make it back was a strength that we will take all the way to the end of the year.”
Bligh praised the Totem 69 tournament committee.
“All of the effort and preparation that this town, school, the community put together, really makes this a prized event and a prize to win. It really feels like we’ve won the provincials even though we have a ways to go,” he said.
Wolverines players Malakai Hills won Totem MVP and Odis Simpson earned an All-Star while Stelly’s Liam Tudway-Cains andArjan Sraw tookAll-Stars.
The home teamAlberni Storm senior girls took a 51-43 win over the Belmont Bulldogs to earn a spot in the championship final against Pacific Christian School (PCS), but ultimately suffered a heartbreaking 53-41 loss to the defending tournament champions.
Tseshaht First Nations players Jaidin Knighton was awarded tournamentAll-Star alongside teammate Hayleigh Watts.
“That’s our first ‘L’of the season,” said Knighton. “They are a really good team and we put all our effort into it. We kind of expected it, so we put everything on the court and that’s ok.”
“It was really close. Last year, we played them in the final and lost by 30, so this year it’s actually a great learning experience for us. It was way closer,” she added.
Kiki Tupas-Singh of PCS nabbed the tournament MVP trophy while Hana Nazawa from Belmont and Charlie Slater from Wellington also went home withAll-Star medals.
Belmont Bulldogs girls coach Brad Lidstone spoke highly of Totem 69. His team went on to win third place in a 55-49 nail

biter against Wellington.
“I think this is the ninth year my team has come to Totem. We love coming up here because it’s unlike any high school environment you’ll get at any tournament. It’s second to none,” said Lidstone.
“The tournament is run exceptionally. The positivity towards school spirit, towards school athletics is unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else, and we have no plans to go anywhere else on this weekend for the foreseeable future. We build our year around coming here,” continued the coach.
“It’s a vibe that’s really hard to explain to kids until they see it. When I say to the kids, ‘oh it’s kind of a big deal’, they understand that it really is.”
Alberni Storm senior boys lost an interesting game for third place against Carihi from Campbell River – with only 20 seconds left on the clock, the game was put on pause when a fan needed medical
assistance.
The gym was cleared out to make room for paramedics and Totem tournament organizers opted to call the game 73-58.
“PortAlberni played tough. We played tough. It’s unfortunate the way it ended in the last seconds there, but it also puts things into perspective. Even though we can experience the kids’basketball lives, it was a good experience for them to see the bigger picture of things,” said Carihi coach Donnie Fitzpatrick.
“We always appreciate coming to Totem,” he continued. “The great thing about every time you come here is the unbelievable energy and the fans are great, the student body is great, the community is great.”
ADSS player Coen Erickson and Carter Reynolds from Carihi won tournament All-Stars.
PortAlberni City Councillor Charles Mealey was announcing games once again,

a volunteer duty he took on from when he was a student in 1995.
“That’s where it all started for me. Because of Totem tournament I’ve done national broadcasts, I’ve done Bulldogs, Bandits, all these years,” said Mealey. Totem is the longest running high school basketball tournament in B.C. and thanks to all the fan support and the

Alberni’s boys face Campbell River’s Carihi Secondary on Jan. 11 in a battle for third place. Carihi won that game 73-58. Earlier in the day theAlberni in the Totem tournament after facing Pacific Christian School in the finals.
Alexandra Mehl photo
Jaidin Knighton ofADSS runs through defenders from Dover Bay on Jan. 9 during the Totem tournament’s opening night action. TheAlberni Cheer team impresses the Totem crowd with their
tournament in Port Alberni
boys place second and fourth respectively

O’Malley
game 73-58. Earlier in the day theAlberni girls came second
amount of respect they show each team, Mealey says Totem is truly a premier basketball event.
“It’s been like this since the old high school. We had the old dog pound and a cavernous gymnasium, and it was amazing in there. It’s nice to see here that we still have the crowd up there,” he said.


Basketball is a family affair for great athlete Tom Wa"s and his
grandkids
Wa!s is the first Nuu-chah-nulth member to be inducted into Alberni District Secondary’s Hall of Fame, high school days that were followed by a national championship
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
PortAlberni, BC - Navigating a sea of red Totem 69 fans, an unassuming Tom Watts slipped into theAlberni District Secondary School (ADSS) gymnasium and posted up in the ‘Lifetime members’seating area to watch the finals of B.C.’s longest running high school basketball tournament.
The whiff of fresh popcorn and Taylor Swift’s ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’filled the air as theAlberni Storm senior girls team ran onto the court, sinking warm-up shots before a closely fought championship game against Pacific Christian School.
Watts pointed out his granddaughter, number 15 Jaidin Knighton, and says he showed her how to play.
“I love seeing her play. She’s a really good player,” said Watts, who celebrates his 90th birthday on Feb. 2.
In his heyday, Watts was an all-round athlete, excelling at basketball, softball, soccer and track and field.
“My name would be in the papers just about every week,” he recalls from his home along Highway 4 on the outskirts of PortAlberni, flipping through a stack of old clippings with dozens of headlines like ‘Strike out record, 13 batters’and ‘Shut out’chronicling his phenomenal athletic career.
The Tseshaht elder was the lone Indigenous player on the eight-manAlberniAthletic SeniorAbasketball team that won the Canadian Men’s Championships in 1965. He is anADSSAthletics and Nuu-chahnulth Sports Hall of Fame inductee, and in 1962 Watts was awarded the Tom Longboat Award, an annual accolade that recognizes Indigenous athletes for their contributions to sport in Canada.
“He’s my biggest inspiration,” said Knighton, who nabbed a TotemAll-Star medal for her efforts over the Jan. 9-11 tournament.
“Ever since I was little, I would go into his room and there would be trophies everywhere. That really motivated me,” she said.
Knighton’s older cousin Dakota Rayner remembers her grandpa, or ‘hubba’, the made-up word the family calls him, driving from PortAlberni to Parksville to watch all her games when she played in middle school.
“Everything that I’ve learned in life is from him. He raised incredible women. He taught us to be tough, intelligent and always to keep one foot in front of the other and to just stay ahead of the game,” said Rayner, who celebrates her 26th birthday a day after her grandpa’s 90th
“We are closer than close,” she said. “I can’t believe he’s turning 90. Not even 15 years ago, he was still walking on his hands. He’s so fit and he’s very ‘there’.”
When Rayner first started playing basketball, Watts made a deal to pay her $5 per basket during games.
“That whole $5 thing went down to $1 really quickly because we were easily getting 50 points a game,” she recalls with a laugh.
“He paid me out in cash and I had my own bank account. I had to get a letter from grandpa explaining why I have so much money because as a child, you’re not supposed to be putting that much into an account. To prove to the bank that I was not laundering money, I had to get letters constantly,” she said.
Then and now
Watts, who worked as a longshoreman, fisherman and plumber during his athletic days, thinks the kids coming up now are better at dribbling and shooting, but says the games are more disorganized.
“Right now, everyone is running everywhere. For me, it was always three passes. No dribbling. We always scored over 100 points every game,” he said. “When we were playing, we had a pattern. We knew
where the ball was going every time. I remember all the games.”
“I could play the game before the game,” he continues. “It’s like dancing. I like dancing. I did a lot of dancing. I had thousands of tapes on dancing. When I go to sleep, I would think about what I had to do. It’s the same with basketball. You’re thinking about, ‘oh, I need to fake to right and go the left, every time.’And when I look at the floor, I know where the hoop is.”
Watts attended theAlberni Indian Residential School (AIRS) until he was in Grade 7.
“They didn’t teach us hardly anything when I went to residential school. We all taught ourselves by playing,” said Watts. He continued his schooling atADSS and played for the senior boys basketball team, who were called the Chieftains at the time.
He says he was always the only Indigenous person on the team and sometimes games would get put on pause because “Natives weren’t allowed in the park.”
“The referee or umpire would stop the game and say, ‘you’re not allowed in here’,” Watts recounts, adding that when the non-Indigenous teams needed a pitcher, they’d always come pick him up from the reserve.
He never went for beers after the game, partly because he says some of his teammates were “kind of racist people”, but also because he never partied.
“I was running a mile every morning and a mile at night,” Watts said. “That’s the secret to great basketball. Just like in other sports like hockey, the winners are always the fastest.”
Still fit at 90, Watts stresses the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.
“After the games, you can’t go party. You can’t drink, you can’t smoke. You need to train all the time. You need to rest before the games. Eat healthy foods too. Drink water,” he encouraged.
Nora
photo
Nora O’Malley photo
Tom Watts says the game of basketball has changed a lot since his heyday. On Jan. 11 he cheered on his granddaughter during the senior girls championship game of Totem 69 at theAlberni District Secondary School.
Nora O’Malley photo
esses the Totem crowd with their acrobatics.

are going for gold this year after
Hesquiaht the lone Island team heading to All Native
Ahousaht’s Anna Atleo to be inducted into the tournament’s Hall of
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Vancouver Island, BC –After an impressive top-two finish at the 2024All Native Basketball Tournament (ANBT), the Hesquiaht Descendants women’s squad are going for gold this year.
Captained by Mariah Charleson, the team of 10 Hesquiaht players are also the only Vancouver Island team that will make the journey to Prince Rupert, B.C. for the 65th annualANBT on Feb. 8 to Feb. 15.
“There is no reason why we shouldn’t make another appearance in the finals,” said Charleson, who is also Hesquiaht’s elected chief.
“It’s a very similar group from last year,” she continued. “We have a strong core. Of course, last year, we had quite a tough draw despite coming out in the top two. This year, we have a bye because we have the second seed, which will make things a little bit easier.”
The Hesquiaht Descendants are out a couple players due to injury, but Charleson said the ladies who were absent last year are coming this time, so she’s not worried.
“Everybody is just training. Everybody is excited,” she said. “We’re excited to play like I call it: Hesquiaht-Nuu-chahnulth basketball. It’s the way that we play on the west coast. We don’t always have the height and size of other teams, but we have a lot of hustle. We don’t give up,
and that’s really the heart of our team is the hustle and not giving up.”
“Big Klecko Klecko to all the people that have supported us throughout the years,” added Charleson. “We’re excited to represent our home Nation of Hesquiaht. We all look forward to doing our supporters proud.”
AnnaAtleo to be inducted into the ANBT 2025 Hall of Fame
AnnaAtleo fromAhousaht will become the first Nuu-chah-nulth player, man or woman, to be inducted into theANBT Hall of Fame.
“I lived and breathed this tournament for many years of my life. It’s an honour to be recognized in this way,” saidAtleo. Her contributions to the Haisla Nation team helped them win a championship title in 2000, and in 2012 and 2013 she ran with Nanaimo’s Snuneymuxw team on their way toANBT victory. She was also named tournamentAllstar in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
“Anna was a well-rounded player who encouraged and helped teammates be better every game. She was a respected player who played hard with grace and much respect towards her opposition,” said theANBT committee in a written statement.
Atleo, a mother of two young women, remembers the good old days of basketball when games were recorded on VHS or DVD. Her firstANBT was in 1999.
“Back then they had a ‘ringer rule’
Fame - a first for Nuu-chah-nulth players

where each village team was allowed to do a pick-up. They had a pick-up rule, so you were allowed a plus one. I engaged with my girlfriend Fiona Edgar from Bella Coola and I was able to play for Nuxalk Nation my first year. We won one and lost two,”Atleo recalls.
Her eldest daughter Janessa, 26, was two whenAtleo won her first MVP and ANBT Championship.
“The one thing that I love about this tournament is making friends and friends that become family over the years. The atmosphere of that basketball tournament is amazing,” she said.
Atleo will travel to Prince Rupert and the traditional territory of the Coast Ts’msyen People to accept the Hall of Fame honour in person. She is not allowed to play with the Hesquiaht Descendants due to current tournament regulations.
With 63 teams entered over five divisions, theAll Native Basketball Tournament is one the largest basketball tournaments in B.C. Hesquiaht’s first game is on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m.
Phrase†of†the†week:†H=ayumh=ii†niš††qwaamit%ii†tuukuk†hii†yum%us†taaš†ii†@aqakin†
Pronounced ‘Hah yum hir nish qwa mit ii too kook haa um us ooh sook tak mit ish Wa waa alt it ish alth’, it means ‘Sure is a puzzle, how a big seal was found on the highway! Heard it had suffered a head injury.’Supplied by ciisma.

Illustration by Koyah Morgan-Banke
Submitted photo
The Hesquiaht Descendants
finishing second at the 2024All Native Basketball Tournament, which was held in Prince Rupert.
Submitted photo
This FebruaryAnnaAtleo will be inducted into theANBT Hall of Fame.
Hot tub soak turns scary as cougar peeps from bushes
By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter
Tofino, BC –AFriday night soak in an outdoor hot tub sent chills through the spines of a father and daughter as they spotted a cougar peering at them through the bush about a foot away.
Natalee Dennis was visiting her parents at their Tofino home on Friday, January 10th. It was about eight or 9 p.m. when Natalee joined her father Stephen in the hot tub.
“Dad had already been in there for awhile,” she said.
But when Natalee got in the water with her dad, they noticed their pet cat was acting strange.
“My dad was sitting in the corner seat (closest to the bushes) and our cat sat on the side of the hot tub, which it never does,” she recalled.
The cat, she said, kept pushing Stephen’s head.
“It was so weird,” said Natalee.
When her father splashed himself, they heard rocks behind him move.
“It freaked dad out because a cougar once took his dog up a tree and killed it,” Dennis shared. “But he said it must be a racoon.”
Recent cougar sightings in Tofino area, including at Wickaninnish school, prompt warning from Tla-o-qui-aht cougar,” Stephen shared.
The father and daughter struggled to get the flashlights going on their phones, and Natalee managed to turn on her video and shone the flashlight into the bushes, just inches from the edge of the hot tub they were in.
“We were leaning over the edge of the hot tub, flashing the phone light, looking for the racoon,” she recalled.
In the video you can hear father and daughter teasing each other about a cougar being nearby.
Then you hear Natalee yell, “Oh, it is a cougar, dad!” and the camera pans over to the face of a mountain lion just a few feet away, it’s eyes glowing bright. They backed away from the edge of the hot tub before the video cuts off.
“It was BIG!” said Natalee. “Afullblown adult, about 200 pounds of cougar just sitting there looking at us.”
Stephen didn’t believe Natalee at first, but when he saw the cougar, he pushes away from the edge of the hot tub, saying, “Holy sh*t! Yes indeed!”
“We just backed out of the hot tub, nice and calm,” Natalee laughed. “The last of the video just shows us running backwards into the house about 15 feet away, and lots of swearing.”
Father and daughter did exactly what is recommended when one encounters a

Acougar watches Natalee and Stephen Dennis as they unknowingly soak in their
cougar – stay calm, back away slowly, never turning your back on the animal.
For Stephen, this is not his first experience with the wild cats. He grew up on the beaches near Catface Mountain in Ahousaht territory, locally known as ‘Hippy Point’. Stephen’s family lived in the wilderness in a neighborhood of simple cabins, accessible only by boat.
Now in his 60s, Stephen was only 11 years old when he watched a cougar take his dog near their home at Catface.
“Yes, it was a cougar that ate my dog in front of me when I was 11; there was another one that tried to kill another dog shortly thereafter,” he shared, adding that they were pretty traumatic experiences.
“But you do take away from those experiences that cougars are at the top of the food chain and we’re well underneath it.”
Years later, long after Stephen moved away from Catface, a tragedy struck the family. It was May 16, 1988 when a cougar took another life at Catface, this time, it was Stephen’s nine-year-old stepbrother.
“I think he was running along a log, and they think possibly just surprised the


Jesse Sky Bergman was visiting family at the Catface community when he was stalked and killed by a four-year-old male cougar.According to Dennis, he recalls that the cougar was hunted down and shot three days later.
The tragedies raised awareness for the Dennis family about how to stay safe in cougar country. Once father and daughter were safely inside their home, Natalee said she yelled to her mother, Cindy, that there was a cougar by the hot tub.
“We watched it for about 20 minutes,” said Natalee.
It just sat still, watching back before it finally disappeared deeper into bushes. It appeared there were two cougars, maybe a mother with her nearly full-grown cub, Natalee speculates.
The cougars have been spotted in several locations around other residences and at Wickaninnish Elementary School field since the weekend. Tla-o-qui-aht has also issued warnings after cougars were spotted near their Esowista and Ty-histanis communities on Long Beach.
Wildsafe BC offers this advice for keeping safe in cougar country:
Reducing Conflict:
• Keep pets indoors, especially at night.
• Keep dogs on leash.
• Secure chickens using an electric fence.
• Cougar Encounters:
• Stop, stay calm, do not turn your back and do not run.Avoid bending down.
• Pick up small children and pets.
• Look as large as possible.
• Maintain eye contact. Speak firmly. Prepare bear spray.
• Back away slowly and seek shelter.
• In the rare event of an attack, fight back and aim for the eyes and face. Discharge bear spray if you have it. Never play dead.
Please report sightings to the 24/7 RAPP line at 1 (877) 952-7277.
Natalee says since the encounter with the cougar, her family now only uses the hot tub during daylight hours. She says her grandfather passed away last September, and his brother assured her that this was a message or visit from her grandparents.
“They are together and are okay,” said Natalee.

Natelee Dennis video still
hot tub on Jan. 10 in Tofino.
Hello everyone. Hope your holidays were good ones with family and friends. Sending out heartfelt sympathies for losses in our communities.
With Winter Solstice, the start of our new year and the start of the new calendar year 2025, we have much to look forward to and accomplish in our communities. Another year to face challenges and making positive changes for all our members. The world is fast changing and we need to do everything we can to protect our lands, waters, resources and rights for future generations.
Throughout December, NTC hosted urban gatherings in Campbell River, Nanaimo, Vancouver, Seattle, Victoria and PortAlberni.All were well attended and it was great to connect with our members living away from home. Songs and meals were shared. Information about NTC services was available and brushings were offered as well as cedar bark weaving and henna tatoos and a photo booth. It was fun times for all who attended. We thank those who took the time to come to the gatherings.
I continue to work on the NTC State of Emergency and trying to prevent more deaths from toxic drugs and the mental health crisis. We have hired Nene Kraneveldt to do some baseline data and she will be interviewing each Nation to ask some questions. We know we have a lot more work to do and are pursuing funds from the B.C. government to do more community engagegment to find solutions and to implement priority recommendations. Keep your eyes out for these interviews and engagement sessions. We need everyone’s input to prevent more deaths in our communities.
This week in Vancouver there was a leadership gathering where chiefs and leaders met with the provincial government ministers. Over 1,300 meetings took place with ministers, deputy minister and First Nations. Meetings are only 15 minutes so you have to be concise and to the point of your ask and give time for answers. NTC set meetings with the Health, Energy, Education, Children and Families, Forests, as well as the Lands, Waters and Stewardship ministries. You can open doors for follow up meetings. It will be good to meet with Minister Osborne on the NTC health emergency and get her commitment for resources.
I have worked with the B.C. First Nations Justice Council to get money so that NTC can do a justice plan for up to 12 of our Nations. Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht have chosen to do their own plan. We could hire a full-time justice worker to put in place a plan with input from each of the Nations. This will be considered at the directors meeting at the end of the month.
On January 23rd the BC First Nations ReconciliationAwards will occur. Our own Usma will receive a reconciliation award for the partnerships they put together to do the paddling together curriculum for our children in care and others. Acomprehensive canoe program was put in place and two canoes acquired to do the actual training on the water. This is to empower our students and train them in canoeing. The partnerships have contributed a lot to bridging understanding between Nuu-chah-nulth, education and non-Nuu-chah-nulth organizations. This is a big thing as there were over 150 applications and only six were chosen for the awards. My hands are up to all those who contributed to this award-winning program. I will be there to witness this along with our Vice-President Les Doiron

and Executive Director Florence Wylie. Outside of NTC there are many things that will affect our work with the federal government. Justin Trudeau resigned as Prime Minister and parliament was suspended till March 23rd to give the Liberals time to elect a new leader. This will be critical to the next election, which is expected to be as early as spring of this year. I dread the possibility of Pierre Poilievre, whose Conservative views on First Nations people may put us back at least 10 years.Anew Prime Minister may mean new ministers who are unfamiliar with the work that we are doing. South of the border we have had assertions from President Elect Trump. He has said he was going to take our water, make us the 51st state and impose up to 25 per cent tariffs on any of our product going to the US, making it economically impossible to sell things to them. Trump has not given thought to the fact that the title to the lands and waters in Canada lies with First Nations and we have the rights to them. He will have a very large battle if he tries to do anything like he has threatened.
It is scary to watch the fires in LAevery day in the middle of winter, where there has been years of no rainfall. Hundreds of thousands have been evacuated and thousands of homes burned to the ground. No wonder Trump is eyeing Canada for a water source. Such devastation fueled by climate change. Experts say that B.C. is close behind and that all that fuels the fire is at least 25 per cent caused by climate change. With our worsening fire seasons, LAcould happen here in Vancouver or other cities. Jasper is a prime example of town burning down and Lilloet a smaller one. We must do what we can to mitigate climate change and continue to fight against oil and gas and other industries that emit greenhouse gases. Our future depends on it.
Biden, as one of his final acts as President, commuted the life sentence of Leonard Peltier, a well-known activist who was found guilty of killing two FBI agents on Pine Ridge reservation during Wounded Knee. He is 80 years old and has served almost 50 years in prison. He has had ties to Canada and in fact had hidden out on one of the reserves in Alberta. There are many issues and meetings coming up and I look forward to reporting out to you in the coming year.
Respectfully,
Judith Sayers, Cloy-e-iis

Parenting 101
Jan. 20 toApr. 11
Various Locations
Tla-o-qui-aht - Jan 20 to 24. UclueletFeb 3 to 7. PortAlberni - Feb 24 to 28.
Tseshaht - Mar 10 to 14. UchucklesahtMar 24 to 28. PortAlberni -Apr 7 to 11. For more information call 250.724.3232 or 1.877.722.3232
Hoobiyee
February 28 and March 1
PNE Forum, 2901 East Hastings St., Vancouver
The Hoobiyee Ts’amiks Edition is a cultural celebration marking the Nisga’a new year. Volunteers are needed, and online application open Jan. 10, 2025.


President’s Message &Community Beyond

Official invitations were sent out to dance groups inAugust 2024. Community meetings for the feast will be announced in January.
All up-to-date information and forms can be found at https://tsamiks.com/hoobiyee
Eating in Balance
Wednesdays
PortAlberni Friendship Center
Participants will receive a $10.00 grocery coupon that can be used at Quality Foods and Buy Low Foods. Open to all families with children 0-6.
To register please contactAmber at 250723-8281 ext. 233
In memory
In Loving memory of Nessie
A very special person, a very special face
Someone we all loved, and can’t replace Never was she selfish, she was always kind These are the memories, you left behind Your family always remembers.
Lovingly remembered by, All her children


CHOO-Fm,Aradio station broadcasting out of Tofino in 2000-2001, provided listeners with a variety of music genres, Nuu-chah-nulth language, stories and Indigenous music as well as some French-language programming. The popular “drive time” slot was given to disc jockey Tom Curley of Tla-o-qui-aht. Tom had only a month of training for the job, but his quick wit
and enthusiasm helped him learn fast. Tom often played country, and old-time rock and roll, hosted interviews, shared the news and even read portions of the Ha-Shilth-Sa on air. When juggling the switchboard, if a call was dropped or a mistake made, Tom was always ready with a joke. Unfortunately, the station had to switch gears in 2001 and then later closed in 2002 due to lack of advertising revenue.
Original story by Denise Titian
Introducing NCN Disc Jockey, Tom Curley!
(Mama) Watts

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





‘Value over volume’ as BC Timber Sales under review
Forestry is in a state of transition, says minister, as the San Group marks latest mill closure to hit Port Alberni
By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor
With the annual harvest a fraction of what it once was and a declining workforce, British Columbia’s forestry minister admits that the industry is in a state of transition – but needed changes won’t happen without participation of First Nations.
On Jan. 15 the Ministry of Forests announced a review of B.C. Timber Sales, the provincial agency that handles the sale of wood from Crown land.As BCTS manages 20 per cent of the province’s timber supply, the review seeks to find the potential for growth and diversification in an industry that has seen harvests shrink in recent years.
B.C.’annual cut steadily increased over most of the 20th century until it peaked at almost 90 million cubic metres in 1987. This volume fluctuated over the following decades – but in recent years the annual harvest has dropped to as low as approximately 35 cubic metres in 2023.
In a mandate letter from Premier David Eby given on Jan. 16, Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar received a directive to “enable harvest of 45,000,000 cubic metres per year, while fulfilling our commitment to protect old growth.”
The review of BCTS hopes to find ways to diversify the manufacturing of valueadded lumber, such as plywood, veneer and builder’s joinery.
“I think that we need to look at value over volume,” said Parmar in an interview on Dec. 18. “That’s going to be a big priority for me and a big priority for the forest services.”
In the past BC Timber Sales has at times been at odds with First Nations in whose territory the Crown timber is for sale. In 2014 a dispute over how the agency was managing cedar in the Nahmint Valley led the Tseshaht to blockade access to logging roads into the region south of Sproat Lake, and then more disagreements followed when BCTS sold timber from the valley without the First Nation’s consent. This long-standing dispute led to a $16.45-million settlement with the province that began last year, with incremental payments to the First Nation stretching into 2027.
Lennard Joe, CEO of the BC First Nations Forestry Council, is on an expert team assembled to help with the BCTS review.
“It is my hope that the outcome of the review leads to a stable and inclusive BCTS program that supports healthy ecosystems, a strong economy and vibrant communities, while fully respecting First Nations values and rights,” stated Joe.
“There is no future for forestry if there isn’t a role for First Nations,” said Parmar, who noted that Indigenous communities must be “at the table” and “strategic partners” for the industry to find opportunities.
B.C. forestry has seen a declining workforce, with jobs tied to the industry – including logging, manufacturing and supportive activities - falling from 56,085 in 2013 to 49,230 in 2023.
Meanwhile, many First Nations have claimed a larger stake in the sector, often taking the place previously held by longstanding logging companies. Last year the Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations finalised the $10-million purchase of a tenure in its territory from Interfor. The acquisition added 104,000 cubic metres to Tii^ma†Forestry’s annual allowable cut, multiplying the First Na-


tion’s capacity to harvest in its ancestral lands.
Further south on Vancouver Island’s west coast, the Huu-ay-aht have grown its interests to make forestry account for most of the annual revenue generated by the First Nation’s group of businesses. HFN Forestry LP now manages four tenures, private lands, a woodlot licence, a community forest agreement, treaty settlement lands and a log sorting yard. Also notable is Cawak ʔqin Forestry - a partnership between a Huu-ay-aht company and Western Forests Products - that manages TFL 44, a vast section of Crown land south of PortAlberni and Great Central Lake.
Much of the timber from this area was processed in PortAlberni, but what was once known as a mill town has been hit

by a succession of facility closures over the past decade. Western Forest Products shut down its Somass sawmill in 2017, then the sprawlingAlberni Pacific Division facility in 2022 – mills that specialized in cutting old growth that has become increasingly scarce.
Last October PortAlberni’s forestry suffered another blow when the San Group closed its facilities in the coastal city as it filed for creditor protection, putting over 100 people out of work. Based in Langley, B.C., the company arrived in PortAlberni in 2016 with a promise to do things differently by getting more value out of wood processed. San bought the

Coulsen mill south of PortAlberni, built a remanufacturing plant next to the Paper Excellence mill, and took over a whole berth at the city’s dockyards to ship oversees, riding on its accolade of being named B.C. Exporter of the Year in 2018.
But as of last year $22 million in stumpage fees were owed to the province, plus another $14 million to a long list of other creditors. San has blamed falling lumber prices, the lack of viable timber, the Highway 4 closure in the summer of 2023 and a province-wide port strike last July for its situation.
With Donald Trump set to take office this month, the province in bracing for the potential impacts of 25-per cent tariffs threatened by the United States’president elect. Eby’s recent mandate letter to the forestry minister stressed how this could affect the industry.
“It’s a declaration of economic war, in my opinion,” said Eby during a Jan. 16 press conference. “This is a direct economic threat to B.C. families.”
At that media event Minster of Finance
Brenda Bailey forecasted that B.C. would lose 124,000 jobs by 2028 if the 25 per cent US tax on imports from Canada take effect, with resource industries like forestry being primarily impacted. Currently 65 per cent of B.C.’s softwood lumber is exported to the United States, with another 20 per cent going to China, Japan,
and India.
Eric Plummer photo
On Jan. 15 the province announced a review of BC Timber Sales, the agency that manages the sale of timber from Crown land. Pictured is Crown land in the Nahmint Valley, south of Sproat Lake.
Denise Titian photo
Logs are sorted by theAlberni Inlet at the San Group mill in 2021. The sawmill south of PortAlberni ceased operations in October as the San Group filed for creditor protection.
former
South Korea
David Eby
Province of B.C. photo
In January Forestry Minister Ravi Parmar announced a review of BC Timber Sales, as the province stresses the need to look at “value over volume” of timber.
Inlet still closed to clam harvesting as spill dissipates
‘Incalculably small volume of sheen’ observed at fish farm spill site on Jan. 8, three weeks after diesel reported
By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporrter
Nootka Sound, BC –Adiesel spill in an inlet near Tahsis last December is slowly clearing up - but not before closing down commercial clam harvesting just ahead of the holiday season.
According to a notice from Ehattesaht First Nation, Zeballos Inlet was closed to clam harvesting a day after the Dec. 14 diesel spill. On Dec. 20, Fisheries and Oceans Canada also issued an emergency closure of shellfish harvesting in Esperanza Inlet due to the spill.
It was on Dec. 14 that the Environmental Emergency Branch (EEB) received a report that approximately 7,500 litres of diesel was spilled into the ocean at a salmon farm operated by Greig Seafood.
AGreig Seafood employee was transferring fuel at a floating platform when the accident happened.
The company immediately made efforts to mitigate damages by contracting a qualified environmental professional and putting down oil absorbing booms at the site of the spill, Lutes Creek.
The province, Canadian Coast Guard, local First Nations (Ehattesaht, Nuchatlaht and Mowachaht/Muchalaht), as well as the villages of Tahsis and Zeballos were all notified of the incident and included in strategic planning for clean-up and observation of the area.
On December 16 and Incident Command Post was established in the Ehattesaht administration office at Zeballos. Multiple parties and agencies are working together under the concept of Unified

Command to assess the waterways in search of recoverable fuel. Oil boom pads would be placed if recoverable oil was observed.
By Dec. 22, Unified Command, represented by federal agencies, provincial agencies, Greig Seafood, Ehattesaht First Nation, Nuchatlaht First Nation and Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, reported that no more spilled diesel could be detected and no oiled animals were seen.
On Dec. 24, Unified Command reported, “based on modeling, it is estimated that most of the spilled diesel has partially evaporated or naturally degraded and the rest dispersed throughout the area.” They also reported that diesel sheen was
observed at Nuchatlitz Park and along the shoreline.
By January 8, 2025, a waste and wildlife management plans were finalized, following a flyover by the NationalAerial Surveillance Program, which conducted a survey on Jan. 6. They they observed ‘0.03 L of weathered sheen entrained in tide lines of Esperanza Inlet and an incalculably small volume of sheen in proximity to the fish farm (Lutes Creek)”. Greig Seafood, as the agency responsible for the spill, is legally required to clean up or manage the clean up of fuel spills.
As a result of the diesel spill the Pacific Region Interdepartmental Shellfish Committee (PRISC) had reason to believe the
quality of bivalve shellfish in Subarea 25-9 and a portion of Subarea 25-13 may be compromised and closed the areas to harvesting on Dec. 20.
According to the DFO Shellfish Contamination Map, portions of Esperanza Inlet, Espinosa Inlet and Ceepeecee remain closed to shellfish harvesting as of January 16, 2025.
Local clam digger, Kyle Harry, shared that he’s received word from both Ehattesaht First Nation and DFO that he could harvest clams for the Dec. 16 clam tides.
“Just Little Zeballos to Tahsis Inlet is closed,” he told Ha-Shilth-Sa.
There is no indication of when those areas located within Esperanza Inlet will re-open to shellfish harvesting.
Study shows how sea sponge reacts to changing ocean
By Karly Blats Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor
Barkley Sound, BC -Astudy conducted in Barkley Sound highlights a resilient sea sponge’s response to its changing environment.
The rare footage was captured by Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) seafloor cameras for more than four years, marking the longest continuous recording of these animals in the wild.
The baseball-sized sponge, nicknamed Belinda by the researchers, was recorded by an eight-camera array and scientific instruments deployed at Folger Pinnacle, a site within ONC’s NEPTUNE (NorthEast Pacific Time-series Undersea Networked Experiments) subsea observatory
off the British Columbia coast.
“To understand sponge behaviour it’s important to understand other animal behaviour. It helps me know how similar they are and how different they are,” said Sally Leys, principal investigator of the project and a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University ofAlberta.
Researchers at the University ofAlberta, University of Victoria (UVic), and ONC observed Belinda’s daily, yearly, and seasonal changes in size, shape and colour.
The cameras were rolling for the sponge’s sometimes daily “sneeze-like” contractions as it shrank prior to the winter hibernation, as well as during the marine heatwave (aka the Blob) in the Pacific Ocean off NorthAmerica between 2013 to 2016.
Leys said a main take-away from the research project was how active sponges actually are.
“Sponges are really active, with no

of Victoria photo
Asea sponge in Barkley Sound, nicknamed ‘Belinda’by researchers, was photographed over a period of four years.Analysis shows that the animals are surprisingly responsive to changes in the ocean. them if they’re in good food conditions and a lot of flow,” Leys said.
muscle or nerve, and I know a lot of the sponge biologists have gone, ‘Wow, I didn’t even know that’,” Leys said. “In the winter the sponge is very quiet. They basically stop filtering, stop being active and wait out the winter season of storms and low food because there’s not much food when there’s no sunlight. This kind of an animal has annual cycles that are really effected by global cycles.”
Leys said sea sponges can range in size. Some are large enough for divers to actually fit inside them and some are small enough for hermit crabs to live in. Sea sponges can have life spans of a minimum 12- 15 years but some have been recorded as old as 400.
“There’s nothing that should really stop
Leys added that most sea sponges are protected from warmer ocean waters on the coast of Vancouver Island and continue to thrive deeper down.
“We’re fortunate in the North Pacific that the animals in deeper water are still sort of protected from [warming ocean waters] because the surface warm water doesn’t usually reach down as far,” Leys said. “In the inter-tidal areas, in shallow areas, the water can get very warm and the sponges will just die.”
The purpose of a sea sponge is to filter out tiny particles, mostly bacteria, from the ocean water, digest that and poop it out onto the ocean floor for other sea
animals to eat.
“They filter the water so they obviously take a lot out, but they provide food in a format to other animals, so other animals can eat the bigger poop waste,” Leys said. “The sponges are eaten by sea stars and sea slugs.”
According to a news release from ONC, long-term monitoring of sedentary animals like sponges is rare and the study provides insight into the impact of environmental conditions such as water quality and temperature, both of which are affected by climate, according to the research team.
“Sponges provide a vital service for marine ecosystems by filtering the water and recycling nutrients – yet this is the first-ever long-term monitoring dataset,” said Dominica Harrison, lead author of the publication and a UVic graduate student in the release. “Our study reveals how responsive and dynamic sponges are in their natural habitats but beyond that, these data are helping us explore how environmental changes tied to climate change might impact the vital ecosystem functions that sponges provide.”
Although the camera array was removed in 2015 with the conclusion of the project, divers have confirmed as recently as late 2024 that Belinda remains at Folger Pinnacle.
Ongoing monitoring could reveal more about how sea sponges like Belinda respond to changing ocean conditions.
“Eyes in the water tell you a lot. Longterm monitoring is essential to document both the warming changes and how they affect the seafloor, but also, how animals are resilient to change and may come back if they can adjust,” said Leys.
University
Nuchatlaht First Nation photo
An oily sheen was observed at Steamer Point on the northern edge of Nootka Island in the weeks following a diesel spill from a fish farming operation in region.
