Page 10— Ha-Shilth-Sa—July 2, 2021
Tla-o-qui-aht team shapes a new generation of surfers Program helps more young people get access to the activity, while drawing on the cleansing power of water By Melissa Renwick Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Tofino, BC - A group of youth from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation waded into the ocean along the beach in front of Esowista, near Tofino. Clad in wetsuits, some clumsily gripped onto surf boards while others proudly carried boogie boards overhead. The waves were choppy and inconsistent, but the youth seemed completely unfazed as they charged forward. After listening to them express a desire to learn how to surf, Alyssa Fleishman approached the nation’s youth worker, Amy Charlie, to collaborate on creating a Tla-o-qui-aht Surf Team. Fleishman is a child and youth mental health counsellor with the Nuu-chahnulth Tribal Council who recently became interested in surf therapy and the benefits of healing through surf. It spurred her to launch Mułaa Rising Tide, an organization that provides surfing education and therapy to First Nations youth. “This is the surfing capital of Canada and a lot of these youth don’t have anyone to teach them how to surf,” she said. “This is their territory. People come here from all over the world to surf and the [youth] have no access.” Within Nuu-chah-nulth culture, the ocean is connected to many traditional healing practices, like cold-water bathing. “It’s a contemporary way of accessing an older tradition,” said Fleishman. Mułaa means “rising tide” in Nuu-chahnulth, which was translated by Tla-oqui-aht elder Levi Martin, and the logo
Photos by Melissa Renwick
Hannah Frank, 14, walks to the ocean in front of Esowista, near Tofino, on June 14 to join members of the Tla-o-qui-aht Surf Team. was designed by Tla-o-qui-aht artist, Ivy “I’ve always been taught to go in the her feel “happy.” Cargill-Martin. water when you’re sad,” she said. “It “They’re getting out more and not By formalizing the team with culturhelps cleanse your body and it makes you inside playing their games,” she said. ally relevant branded apparel, it gives the happier.” “They’re doing something else that’s betyouth a sense of belonging, said FleishFrank is one of the few youths from her ter and healthier for them.” man. nation that regularly surfs. She attributes The surf enthusiast has been working Hannah Frank said she has been surfing the lack of First Nations youth involved at Live to Surf, a surf shop in Tofino, for most of her life. The 14-year-old was in the sport to a lack of access to people the past year. As she deepens her connecfirst introduced to the sport in elementary willing to teach them. tion to the sport, Frank said she hopes to school and quickly latched on how good But as she looked around at the other continue surfing with the Tla-o-qui-aht it made her feel. youth in the surf team, she said it made team into the future.