Ha Shilth Sa Newspaper November 14, 2024

INTERESTING NEWS

Feds cut staff at Vancouver Island lighthouses

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

West Coast Vancouver Island – Manned lighthouses on Vancouver Island are becoming a thing of the past and that is raising alarm among the seafaring people of the remote west coast communities.

The Canadian Coast Guard and the federal government announced in July that lighthouses at Pachena Point and Carmanah Point would no longer have keepers as of Oct. 25 due to seismic concerns.

While the Coast Guard acknowledged the facilities’role in alerting mariners to hazards, the safety of lighthouse personnel “is the highest priority”.

“Ageotechnical investigation and geological hazard assessment found that many of the buildings at both Carmanah Point and Pachena Point light stations are within an area of increased vulnerability,” stated the Coast Guard in a July 31 announcement. “The soil conditions mean that some facilities are no longer safe to use. While the Canadian Coast Guard is working with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to investigate long-term options for the sites, the priority is to ensure the safety of the light keepers, who will be moved out of the buildings before the winter weather creates additional challenges.”

The federal agency went on to say that the winch building and helipad at Carmanah have been condemned.

“The instability of the land under the stations also increases the risk of a slope failure in the event of a large earthquake,” stated the Coast Guard.

NDP Fisheries and Oceans critic Lisa Marie Baron stated that the Liberal government de-staffed the two Vancouver Island lighthouses without consultation.

“This jeopardizes emergency response, search and rescue, navigation and more,” she wrote in a statement released by the NDP on Oct. 24.

There are five lighthouses on the outer coast of Vancouver Island in Nuu-chahnulth territories. They include the Nootka Lighthouse at Yuquot, Lennard Island Lighthouse in Tla-o-qui-aht territory, whileAmphitrite Point is on the rocky shores of Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ territory.

The last two staffed lighthouses in Nuu-chah-nulth territory were the Carmanah Point Light station near Ditidaht’s Clo-oose, and Pachena Point located nearAnacla and Bamfield. Both of these lighthouses are on the lifesaving West Coast Trail.

According to information posted on Lighthouse Friends, construction on the Pachena Point Lighthouse began follow-

ing one of the worst maritime disasters in modern history. On January 22, 1906, dozens of lives were lost with the sinking of the passenger ship Valencia.

The ship, Lighthouse Friends wrote, broke up on the rocks in the early morning hours as passengers in their nightclothes scrambled onto the deck. Of the 160 people aboard the Valencia, 133 lives were lost. No women or children survived.

For more than a century, lighthouse keepers kept watch over the passing mariners, providing aid to those in need. Lighthouse Friends points to veteran lighthouse keeper Jerry Etzkorn, who served for more than 25 years at Carmanah Lighthouse. They said he helped countless adventurers with drinking water, alerts on local hazards, and first aid including broken bones, hypothermia and a cougar-attack. The facility even once assisted a spooked hiker who crawled out of his tent to discover a dead body on the beach.

“Just a part of daily life at Carmanah Point,” according to Lighthouse Friends. There is a stretch of coastline called the Graveyard of the Pacific that spans from Tillamook Bay in Oregon, covering the shores up to Cape Scott on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Storms, fog, shifting sand bars, tidal rips and rocky coastline all contribute to the hazards. Hundreds, if not thousands of lives have been lost over 200 years on this rugged, storm-swept section of shoreline.

The loss of lives along the coast prompted the federal government to build

the West Coast Trail in 1907.According to Parks Canada, the 75-kilometre trail is part of the ancient paths and paddling routes used for trade and travel by First Nations. Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht villages and camps were well established along the route before the foreign sailing ships started to arrive off this coast over 200 years ago.

But the improvements in navigational equipment and communications along the coast made the trail’s purpose obsolete, according to Parks Canada, and in 1970 the trail became a recreational hiking route as part of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Each year, more than 7,500 hikers use the trail and many have relied on the lighthouse keepers for assistance.

Lighthouse keepers along west coast of Vancouver Island provided a human connection and a sense of security for anyone stranded along the way.

In a Google review, Mowachaht/ Muchalaht member Wayne Lavoie wrote of Nootka Lighthouse, “I fish Nootka Lighthouse all year and its crew keeps all of the fishermen safe with its up-to-date weather forecasts.”

His review was written in 2021, when the lighthouse keepers were still there.

“Instead of supporting lightkeepers and the safety of our communities, the Liberals are choosing automated navigation systems. These cannot replace skilled people and don’t hear distress cries,” Baron stated, adding that the move is dangerous and she urged the Liberal government to halt their plan to cut staff. But the plan went forward and staff

from the lighthouse stations at Pachena Point and Carmanah Point began moving equipment out in early November.

MP Gord Johns has been hearing from the locals and is bringing their concerns to Ottawa. Citing the increasing volume of freighter traffic on the coast, with two major spills in recent times and bigger storms on the west coast thanks to climate change, Johns stresses that a human presence along the remote coastline is more important than ever.

“They (Liberal government) claim that automation will work, but we have a huge coastline and lives are at risk – it’s just irresponsible,” said Johns.

Huu-ay-aht First Nations Chief Councillor John Jack is on the board chair of theAlberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD). He is on record expressing his concern to theACRD that the move to de-staff the lighthouse was made without consultation with Huu-ay-aht.

TheACRD is opposed to de-staffing the lighthouses and they are taking their concerns to the DFO and the Canadian Coast Guard.

“The Canadian Coast Guard is working with other departments and stakeholders, who also use the two sites for non-Canadian Coast Guard related purposes, to plan next steps,” noted the Coast Guard.

“Long-term options, which include the cost of stabilizing the two sites or moving the highest risk buildings to safer ground, are being assessed. However, those options are expected to be complex and could be cost-prohibitive.”

The Pachena Point Lighthouse was built in 1907 to help

Differing views for beÅer sea oÅer management

Coastal residents want to bring back hunting, as population growth has corresponded with a drop in shellfish

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Tsaxana, BC -Are they the adorable superheroes of the Pacific, or the “rats of the sea”? It depends on who you talk to, but the continued resurgence of sea otters on British Columbia’s coast has many who live off the ocean calling for an approach to control the population – including some methods that the general public might find hard to stomach.

Since being introduced to the B.C. coast over 50 years ago, the northern sea otter population has grown exponentially. But this has created concerns among Indigenous communities, as the sea otter is a particularly adept hunter with a voracious appetite for shellfish.

For the last decade the Coastal Voices initiative has studied issues affecting Indigenous food sovereignty on the West Coast. Guided by a steering committee of hereditary chiefs from northern coastal nations that include Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/ Che:k’tles7et’h’, as well as advisors from other Nuu-chah-nulth communities, some of Coastal Voices’most recent work includes helping to rebuild traditional clam garden sites in Kyuquot Sound last summer.

Representatives from the initiative gave a presentation on Nov. 5 to the Nuuchah-nulth Council of Ha’wiih Forum on Fisheries, which was hosted by the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation in Tsaxana.

“After a summer of working on a clam garden we realized we had a lot to learn from our colleagues up north inAlaska about the role of other predators of sea otters,” saidAnne Salomon from Coastal Voices during the forum. “Brown bears, orca, wolves and, of course, people as hunters are all predators of sea otters.” With a fur density of up to 1 million hair folicles per square inch, sea otters have the thickest pelt of any marine mammal.

Historically they were hunted by Nuuchah-nulth-aht and other coastal tribes, but this activity intensified after colonial settlement on the North Pacific coast in the 1700s, as the sea otter pelts became a hot commodity on the European and Russian markets.As they were the best hunters, First Nations from Vancouver Island’s coasts were soon engaged to acquire pelts, and by the mid 1800s intensified trading brought the species to serious decline, leading eventually to the last reported sea otter kill on the B.C. coast in 1929. Since 1911 the animal has been protected by an international treaty.

Extinct on the B.C. coast, the mammal was reintroduced from 1969 to 1972, when 89 were incrementally moved fromAlaska to Checlesat Bay in Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’territory. By 1972 sea otters were spotted from Haida Gwaii to Barkley Sound, according to a population report from the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Over the following 50 years the B.C. population has grown to an estimated 8,000, with COSEWIC downgrading the sea otter’s designation from “endangered” to the current “special concern” status. Despite the exponential growth, this status means that the animal has “characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events.”

“The species occupies 33-50 per cent of its historical range in British Columbia but is not yet clearly secure in Canada,” states the most recent COSEWIC assessment from 2022, noting that the

main threat is oil contamination, which disturbs the otter’s insulating fur. “There are several potential sources of oil but the greatest risk is from shipping, which is expected to continue to increase into the foreseeable future.Amajor oil spill could affect very large portions of the current range, making the species especially vulnerable.”

The sea otter is a particularly adept hunter, using its hands to open shellfish with tools as the pinniped dives up to 30 metres deep.Adult males can grow to 45 kilograms, with a metabolism three times that of land mammals of a similar size. They eat up to one quarter of their body weight in a day.

The sea otters’rapid population growth on the coast has brought concerns from Nuu-chah-nulth communities, as many are seeing a corresponding decline in shellfish.

“In Hesquiaht Harbour, boat basin we’re getting raped. Every night I see sea otters - we’re losing our clam beds,” said Hesquiaht member Preston Campbell during the fisheries forum. “That’s our refrigerator that they’re stealing from.”

Larry Swann noted that sea urchins, abalone and other shellfish once found nearAhousaht’s main reserve are no longer there.

“There used to be about 1,000 traps in front of our reserve - crab traps - you don’t see that anymore,” he said, blaming the sea otter for this generational decline in resources. “We’re talking about the rats of the ocean.”

“These otters are more protected than my boys,” said Campbell. “I pray to our ancestors that they get a chance to eat what I grew up feasting on from my grandmother.”

“Sea otters are not bad, it’s what we allow them to do that’s bad,” said Nuchatlaht CouncillorArchie Little. “Sea otters show the wealth that we have in our H=ahahuu>i. But how do we protect that wealth?”

Swann noted that part of the issue is the popularity of sea otters with tourists that venture to coastal areas to get a glimpse of the cuddly marine mammals.

“They pay a lot of money to go see those things, but they don’t see what we see. They’re taking our resources,” he

said.

Meanwhile, an altogether different view of the sea otter is being promoted by the VancouverAquarium. Otters have helped bring a more balanced amount of kelp forests that many aquatic species rely on, according to the aquarium.

“More than just cute and fluffy – they’re also superheroes of the sea!” states the aquarium’s website in its section on sea otters. “Sea urchins are a favourite snack for otters, but without enough otters around, the urchin population can explode and devastate the kelp forests. Thankfully, since the reintroduction of these lovable animals to B.C.’s outer coast, urchin populations have balanced out, allowing the kelp forests to make a triumphant comeback.”

Coastal Voices has looked to tribes in Alaska, who, unlike Indigenous communities in B.C., can hunt sea otters for cultural purposes. In British Columbia, Coastal Voices is pursuing experiments in scaring sea otters away from certain areas that people rely on for shellfish. Tactics being explored include using the recorded vocal sounds of predators, scarecrows and hunting, but the research project has not been able to get permits from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to undertake these activities.

“Any kind of hazing experiment or fear experiment has to be tied to direct mortality or death. There has to be a true fear with repercussions,” said Salomon.

“We’d still love to do those experiments, we just haven’t gotten all of the paperwork.”

These scare tactics are not new, as Nuuchah-nulth oral history recounts the method of killing a few otters so they can be anchored near areas where people didn’t want them to hunt shellfish.

Kii’iljuus, Barbara Wilson, is a Haida cultural advisor for Coastal Voices. She says a better management of the animals is possible by employing the effects of intergenerational trauma.

“The trauma will provide a lesson really fast,” she said during the recent fisheries forum. “The kind of things that we have to imprint on the sea otter has to be profound and it will last a long time.”

As Coastal Voices and coastal nations await any response on the possibility of selective hunting, Wilson advises that any decisions on how to better manage sea otters needs to come from hereditary chiefs, rather than waiting for a blessing from fisheries officials.

“Your ancient laws are the best tool because they helped the ancestors live for thousands of years, using your own laws,” she said of past Ha’wiih. “They took their responsibility very seriously, and they kept some areas just for the sea otter and there were areas just for people to eat. We need to remember that when we think about balance and what has to happen.”

iStock photo

Sea otters have returned from extinction on the B.C. coast since groups were brought in fromAlaska over 50 years ago.

Kevin Head photo

Sea otters gather and sleep floating over kelp beds in Kyuquot Sound.

Liquor purchase limits to curb Ahousaht bootlegging

Tofino customers can now buy no more than four plastic liquor boÅles at a time from the government-run store

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor

Ahousaht, BC - Regulators have responded to calls for cracking down on bootlegging that continues to flood Ahousaht with hard liquor by placing purchase limits on Tofino’s governmentowned liquor store.

On Nov. 5 at the start of a Council of Ha’wiih Forum on Fisheries meeting, Hasheukumiss,Ahousaht Tyee Ha’wilth Richard George, announced new limits to Tofino’s busy BC Liquor store. Through a video link fed to the gathering, which was hosted by the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation in Tsaxana, Hasheukumiss noted that the limits resulted from meetings the hereditary chief and some elders held withAttorney General Mike Farnworth inApril, followed by recent discussion with Deputy Solicitor General Doug Scott.

“And he’s saying that now that they’ve changed the law with the liquor stores, with the sales of spirits, they’re going after the privately run stores now too as well,” said Hasheukumiss. “They know the detrimental effects that this alcohol is causing remote communities, Indigenous and non-Indigenous.”

In an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General stated that, as of Nov. 5, customers at the BC Liquor store in Tofino can only buy up to four bottles of hard liquor at a time if the alcohol is sold in plastic containers.

“It has come to our attention that there has been an increase in alcohol misuse and illegal resale leading to associated crime and public harm with spirits packaged in plastic bottles that are available

for sale at the BCLIQUOR (BCL) store in Tofino,” stated the ministry. “This limit is only for product purchased off BCL store shelves. It does not extend to hospitality orders submitted for LDB wholesale distributed products. It also does not extend to Special Event Permit (SEP) orders.”

“In addition to actively promoting responsible consumption, we are taking steps in the Tofino BCL to increase education to customers about the harms associated with the illegal resale of alcohol,” added the ministry.

Sometimes locally known as ‘Red Cap’, the limit is the latest effort to slow the flood of vodka intoAhousaht. Often sold at a large mark up, the hard liquor has long been the trade of choice for bootleggers operating in theAhousaht village of Maaqtusiis on Flores Island, north of Tofino.

“We have bootlegging going on in my nation and there’s cases by cases every Friday coming in, sometimes three or four from certain individuals,” said Hasheukumiss when announcing the new purchase limit. “This is a major win for us. It’s not going to solve our situation at home, but it’s going to definitely slow it down to be more manageable.”

It remains to be seen how much the limit will affect what many in the community see as an epidemic of alcoholism and binge-drinking, an issue that is often focused among a small handful of houses in the village of approximately 1,000 residents.

“We’ve lost young people,” said Wickaninnish, CliffAtleo, anAhousaht member who serves as chair of the Council of Ha’wiih. “We have a cemetery in Ahousaht that’s almost full, mostly young people.”

The Labour Day weekend was particu-

larly traumatic for the community, when two sudden losses occurred within hours. Among the tragedies was the fatal stabbing of 20-year-old Lennox Williams. The incident resulted in a second-degree murder charge, although a publication ban remains in place for the identity of the accused.

Ahousaht declared a state of emergency after the tragic weekend, with a 9 p.m. curfew as well as counselling and cultural supports coming into Maaqtusiis in the days that followed.

InApril Tom Paul’s niece was severely beaten and “left for dead” on the streets of Maaqtusiis. He believes that this incident should have been a warning that prevented the death of Lennox Williams onAug. 31.

“We’re concerned about the well being of our community, the safety of our community, the addictions, the beatings, the violence, the rapes,” said Paul in an interview with Ha-Shilth-Sa in September.

“It’s going to lead up to death and now it’s happened.”

Over 20 years ago a bylaw was passed prohibiting alcohol being brought onto the reserve community, but enforcement proved to be a challenge, and binge drinking persisted. Most recently a prohibition was enacted during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and security could be found atAhousaht’s main dock confiscating liquor. However, some smuggling continued, as vessels brought alcohol to other locations near Maaqtusiis.

The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General has responded to calls for cracking down on bootlegging that continues to floodAhousaht with hard liquor by placing purchase limits on Tofino’s government-owned liquor store.

Offender applies to live on Huu-ay-aht treaty land

Under treaty stipulations, public hearing held to determine if David Bird can live with family south of Alberni

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter

PortAlberni, BC –APortAlberni man sentenced in 2018 to four years in prison for a violent assault on another man has applied to Huu-ay-aht First Nations to live on their treaty lands.

David Bird, 45, now on probation after serving his sentence, was convicted of attacking a man with a hammer. Bird was automatically excluded from Huu-ayaht’s treaty settlement lands in accordance with their Community SafetyAct, enshrined in the Maa-nulth treaty.

The Maa-nulth treaty went into effect on April 1, 2011.According to Huu-ay-aht Chief John Jack, the nation only recently implemented their Community Safety Act, which, as it is written today, automatically excludes individuals from their treaty settlement lands upon conviction of a violent crime due to “a risk to public safety”.

David Bird, while not a Huu-ay-aht citizen, has family connections in the community and has been in the village in the past. He is banned by court order from PortAlberni and Huu-ay-aht treaty lands.

His long criminal record, which includes acts of violence, has raised safety concerns among community members.

In the past 25 years, Bird has been in and out of court for breaches, trafficking in controlled substances, unlawful imprisonment, and assault with a weapon, including a 2014 attack where Bird shot a man in the leg with a shotgun. Bird pled guilty to the charge and the man was forced to have his wounded leg amputated.

In 2023 police were on the hunt for Bird, who was wanted for robbery, forcible confinement, break and enter and assault with a weapon.

“Police say Bird should be considered armed and dangerous – do not approach,” was the warning issued to the public by RCMP.

InApril 2023, the PortAlberni RCMP closed off a section of Redford Street as a large police presence surrounded the Tyee Motel and escorted Bird out of one of the rooms.

Bird says he is now living homeless in Victoria. He has applied to the Huu-ayaht government to vary their exclusion order, in effect allowing him to enter treaty lands. He has family living on treaty lands and hopes to move in with them.

The First Nation held a public hearing on the matter on Nov. 7. The hearing was chaired by Huu-ay-aht Ha’wilth Tommy Happynook, who was joined by Sherri Cook and Theresa Nookemus, fellow members of the Ha’wiih Council. Happynook told the group that they were there to hear about the exclusion order against David Bird and to have the opportunity to ask questions. The hearing allows panelists to hear from not only the applicant, but also the victims of the crime and other concerned community members, whether they are Huu-ay-aht First Nation citizens or not.

Over the phone, Bird told the group that he was born in Tofino and was in and out of custody for most of his life, starting with petty crimes. More serious crimes came later, he said, but he didn’t elaborate.

He praised his mother and stated that he’s never been a bully.

“I always protected my younger siblings,” he said.

David Bird, 45, now on probation after serving his sentence, was convicted of attacking a man with a hammer. Bird was automatically excluded from Huu-ay-aht’s treaty settlement lands in accordance with their Community SafetyAct, enshrined in the Maa-nulth treaty.

“He

has an extensive

criminal

background,

and I appreciate that David Bird is trying to turn things around, but we take these things seriously”

~ Sherri Cook

Bird said it was two years ago when he decided to change his life, and he became more involved with cultural activities.

One of his favorite pastimes, he says, is beadwork.

He said he is proud that he did his time with zero incidences of institutional violence.

“I feel like I have made those changes. I never committed violence against innocents,” he said, before explaining that he didn’t initiate violence and only responded when attacked.

Since his release from prison, Bird says he’s living homeless in Victoria and is in touch with probation officers. He will be reporting to them for two more years.

Other provisions of his probation order include counselling. Bird says he intends to follow through with that.

Bird says he collects disability and is not working. He meets weekly with a community transition team. Bird says he wants to help his family members with a new food truck business venture because “he owes it to them”.

When asked about criminal activity and breaches since his release, Bird admitted he got caught in a “red zone”. Bird is ordered not to be in PortAlberni or Bamfield. In November 2023 Bird was charged with breach and other crimes following an incident in PortAlberni.

At that time, a violent assault occurred in a downtown apartment building.

Bird explained that Halloween had just passed so he happened to have a few masks in his possession when he saw a couple of women attacking another woman in an apartment. He said he ran into the apartment donning a mask to rescue the woman being attacked. He was arrested for wearing the mask during the commission of a crime and unlawful enter of a home. He claims charges against

him were eventually dropped.

When participants were allowed to ask questions during the hearing, one told the panel that Bird is also banned from Tseshaht reserves. The man wondered who would be held responsible if something bad happened, should he come to the Port Alberni area after being allowed on Huuay-aht Treaty Lands.

Happynook assured that provincial court orders will remain in effect and that HFN’s process does not supersede existing court orders.

“If he breaches in PortAlberni, it will be an RCMP matter,” said Happynook. Bird acknowledged the court order preventing him from entering PortAlberni and said, if allowed to come to HFN treaty lands, he would have to take a back route on logging roads to avoid Port Alberni.

But that raised concerns about isolation and access to weapons. The home that Bird wants to go to has hunting rifles, he admitted, but he vowed that he wouldn’t touch them. Help from the RCMP would be more than an hour away, if needed.

When the hearing finished, Happynook thanked the participants and told Bird that he would be hearing from the panel soon.

“There are three possible outcomes from this hearing,” said Happynook. One would be the removal of the exclu-

sion order, which would mean Bird can come to live on Huu-ay-aht Treaty Lands. The second could be a modified exclusion order that would outline terms and conditions should Bird enter HFN treaty lands. The third possible outcome is to leave the exclusion order in place.

The Panel has 60 days to render a decision. Happynook said the Panel will deliberate and move quickly to send bird a written answer with reasons.

Sherri Cook informed HFN citizens and the public that they are welcome to write letters of concern to the panel any time and that any future public hearings would be posted.

“He has an extensive criminal background, and I appreciate that David Bird is trying to turn things around, but we take these things seriously,” she said.

Chief Jack says exclusion orders can remain in place for five years and that they are enforceable by the RCMP.

“We haven’t had to have the RCMP attend so far,” said Jack, noting that Huuay-aht laws are as applicable as provincial laws.

He said that work on his nation’s Community SafetyAct continues, as his people work on developing proposed laws around things like illicit drugs on treaty settlement lands.Aspecial assembly will be held in spring 2025 on the subject.

RCMP photo

Ministry extends completion date of Highway 4 road

Ucluelet Chamber pushes for cellular service after marathon runners stuck 7.5 hours during October closure

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Kennedy Lake, BC – The original October 18 completion date has come and gone, and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) has extended the finish date on Highway 4 road repairs by about a month.

“The previous atmospheric river event resulted in additional work to ensure the safety of the public through the side,” the ministry said in an email statement to the Ha-shilth-sa. “As a result, the project has been extended to accommodate for that work with a new anticipated completion date of Nov. 15, pending any unforeseen challenges.”

On the evening of Friday Oct. 18, Highway 4 closed in both directions for several hours due to “water and rocks on the road,” according to DriveBC. The following day, on Oct. 19, an atmospheric river event hit Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland hard, causing flooding,

power outages and mudslides.

The atmospheric river also affected Ucluelet’s Edge to Edge Half Marathon and 10km, leading to some cancellations and leaving many attendees stuck on the highway Friday evening for up to 7.5 hours without any updates, according to Josh Jenkins, executive director for the Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce.

Because there is no cell service for most of the section of Highway 4, visitors and residents are unable to communicate with loved ones, accommodation providers and/or support services if they get stranded in a road closure.

“This is deeply concerning,” said Jenkins. “Amajor problem remains the absence of mobile service along Highway 4. We’ve advocated for years to have mobile services installed, and the events at Kennedy Hill highlighted the critical need.”

Jenkins said visitor numbers on the coast have declined, though he was uncertain as to whether that was solely due

to the roadwork. Ucluelet saw a slower than usual start to the off season, which Jenkins says likely reflects “broader recession and affordability concerns”.

“We’ve also noticed a shift in the types of visitors; there are fewer families and people from Southwest B.C. and more from Europe and the U.S. While the peak season was good for most, the shoulder and off seasons have been weaker than usual,” he continued.

MOTI’s latest roadwork on Highway 4 includes base repair and drainage improvement for a job that started on Sept. 9.

Drivers are required to queue in singlelane alternating traffic about two kilometres east of Kennedy Hill. The site is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week and drivers should expect and plan for delays of as much as 20 minutes in both directions until the project is complete.

“Once the base repair is complete, crews will time the asphalt resurfacing work

with the weather as needed to finish up the project,” according to the ministry.

The Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce feels that the reputation of the Pacific Rim as a destination has been impacted by repeated closures over the past years.

“Many people may simply prefer not to risk the perceived high likelihood of travel issues to and from the coast. Restoring lost confidence in this destination will require time and proactive efforts, along with measures to prevent future disruptions that could further damage our reputation,” said Jenkins.

MOTI has communicated with the regional district, municipalities, First Nations communities and other key stakeholders regarding the project and the new date – a move Jenkins says they greatly appreciate.

“It reflects a shift toward more inclusive policies that consider affected communities, which has been extremely beneficial,” Jenkins said.

BC Gov Flickr.com photo

Road work on Highway 4 near Kennedy Hill has been extended until Nov. 15. On Oct. 18 the highway shut down for several hours due to water and fallen rocks.

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LETTERS and KLECOS

Ha-Shilth-Sa will include letters received from its readers. Letters MUST be signed by the writer and have the writer’s full name, address and phone number on them. Names can be withheld by request.Anonymous submissions will not be accepted. We reserve the right to edit submitted material for clarity, brevity, grammar and good taste. We will definitely not publish letters dealing with tribal or personal disputes or issues that are critical of Nuu-chah-nulth individuals or groups. All opinions expressed in letters to the editor are purely those of the writer and will not necessarily coincide with the views or policies of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council or its member First Nations. Ha-Shilth-Sa includes paid advertising, but this does not imply Ha-Shilth-Sa or Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council recommends or endorses the content of the ads.

Judge Murray Sinclair remembered Anishinaabe judge and senator was known for advancing Indigenous reconciliation

Owen Fullerton Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Former CanadianAnishinaabe judge and senator Murray Sinclair died early in the morning of Nov. 4 in Winnipeg at the age of 73.

Sinclair is remembered most for chairing Canada’s National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, being an instrumental part of bringing to light the residential school experiences of Indigenous people in Canada and bringing forth a number of reports outlining the role of different Canadian institutions in the suffering of Indigenous people, and recommendations for how to work towards reconciliation.

In a statement, Murray Sinclair’s family said that he died “peacefully and surrounded by love”, and spoke of the lasting impact he leaves behind.

“Mazina Giizhik (Sinclair’sAnishinaabe name - the One Who Speaks of Pictures in the Sky) committed his life in service to the people: creating change, revealing truth, and leading with fairness throughout his career,” the statement read.

“The impact of our dad’s work reached far across the country and the world.

From residential school survivors to law students to those who sat across from him in a courtroom, he was always known as an exceptional listener who treated everyone with dignity and respect.”

“The world is a better place today thanks to Murray Sinclair,” said Chief Councillor Ken Watts in a statement from the Tseshaht First Nation. “Survivors of theAlberni Indian Residential School, those who passed away as students and those impacted by the intergenerational trauma of residential schools now have a voice and solid concrete actions that can be taken through the TRC’s 94 Calls toAction. He worked with other TRC commissioners to call upon governments, industry and Canadians to take action on this dark chapter in Canadian history.”

Sinclair also has a close connection to Kingston, having served as the 15th Chancellor of Queen’s University after being appointed in 2021.

He was the first Indigenous person to ever serve in the role, and Queen’s says he helped to implement critical advances

on reviewing university practices, policies, and procedures.

In a statement from the University, Principal Patrick Deane said it was an honour for the university to have Sinclair occupy the role of Chancellor.

“Queen’s was uniquely honoured when Chancellor Sinclair agreed to take on the position, and we have benefited enormously from his wisdom and commitment. He understood the key role institutions like ours can and must play in the process of reconciliation,” Deane said.

“We will miss him for that, as well as for his wonderful personal warmth and good humour. He was a great man, fiercely principled yet profoundly humane.”

Sinclair chose not to seek reappointment for the role in 2024, but remained as a SpecialAdvisor to Principal Deane on issues surrounding Reconciliation.

Dignitaries throughout the country paid

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 50th year of serving the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations. We look forward to your continued input and support. Kleco! Kleco!

tribute to Sinclair on Monday, including Governor General Mary Simon and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said in his own statement that Canada lost a “giant” on Monday, and commended him on his efforts to confront the dark sides of Canadian history.

“He listened to residential school survivors, and he made sure Canada heard their stories,” Trudeau said.

“He advocated for the right of Indigenous students to go to school in their language and culture.And he was kind, patient, and understanding to people like me, who had a lot to learn. ‘Education got us into this mess,’he said. ‘Education will get us out.’”

In lieu of flowers, Sinclair’s family is asking those who are able to donate to The Murray Sinclair Memorial Fund at The Winnipeg Foundation.

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Submitted photo

Murray Sinclair is remembered most for chairing Canada’s National Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

School Meal Program for Port Alberni and Ucluelet

SD70 partners with Nourish Cowichan to provide daily free hot lunches for students with an ‘open door policy’

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

PortAlberni and Ucluelet parents struggling with lofty grocery bills can access free, nutritious lunches and snacks for their kids thanks to a recent partnership between Pacific Rim School District (SD70) and B.C. food charity Nourish Cowichan.

The School Meal Program, co-funded by the Ministry of Education and Child Care’s Feeding Futures funding, is available at all six elementary schools in PortAlberni,Alberni District Secondary School, EighthAvenue Learning Centre, Ucluelet Elementary School and Ucluelet Secondary School for the 2024-2025 scholastic year.

To access the program, all parents need to do is get in touch with their school. The program also embraces an “open door policy” at every school, meaning if a child is hungry, they never get turned away.

“We are feeding the children with all the kindness and dignity we can,” said Fatima Da Silva, executive director and executive chef of Nourish Cowichan.

From soup and chili to wraps and casseroles, the partnership between SD70 and Nourish Cowichan aims to offer students the very best – at a time when food insecurity is on the rise. In comparison to last year, SD70 recorded a 30 per cent increase in the number of students accessing food programs in PortAlberni and Ucluelet.

“This is a game changer for us,” said Nick Seredick, principal of PortAlberni’s EighthAvenue Learning Centre, a school of 140 students from kindergarten to Grade 12, plus adult learners.

“To have hot lunches every day of the week just enhances that opportunity for staff and students to connect with each other and build stronger bonds,” Seredick continued.

Founded in 2016 with a single school breakfast program, Nourish Cowichan now boasts a team of about 90 volunteers dedicated to providing nourishing meals to 1,800 children across 23 schools in the Cowichan Valley School District (SD79), all at no cost to the schools of SD79.

PortAlberni and Ucluelet’s new School Meal Program marks the first-time Nour-

ish Cowichan is stepping out of their district boundaries to help another. SD70 serves about 4,000 students from across PortAlberni, Tofino, Ucluelet, Bamfield and other remote communities.

“This is the community speaking. This is the community coming together and supporting their kids without question,” said RodAllen, Nourish Cowichan’s board president. “I think that’s why Nourish does so well in Cowichan Valley and why I believe in my heart of hearts it’s going to do great here because it’s the community speaking.”

“It’s truly an honour to be chosen as part of your journey,” Da Silva adds. “We just have to put the dream out there and people will do it. They come and do the work.”

SD70’s Healthy Schools Manager Kirsten Nesbitt says the partnership with Nourish Cowichan, together with the

Remembering those who served

longstanding partnerships with providers in Bamfield and the Wickaninnish Community School in Tofino, ensures that every child can learn and thrive with equitable access to nutritious meals.

“Initiatives like these greatly enhance our ability to provide consistent healthy meals to all students, easing the burdens that many families face. However, the increasing need is urgent and the current funding available for food programs does not fully meet this demand,” said Nesbitt. She extended an invitation to local businesses to help sustain and grow the School Meal Program, whether it be with a donation or volunteering.

“Every contribution of $1,000 feeds a student for an entire school year, ensuring that they have the nourishment they need to succeed,” Nesbitt continued.

While the central kitchen and hub for the School Meal Program at E.J. Dunn Elementary School in PortAlberni is under renovation until around the end of November, the team has found ways to start serving lunches to schools from mid-September.

“Sandwiches and salads were available right away. Slowly as the kitchen gets running more hot meals can be done.

Chef Ryan Pike is pushing the boundaries. He is ready to cook hot meals,” said Da Silva, who was born and raised in Mozambique,Africa and has been living

on Vancouver Island for the past 24 years.

Pam Craig, chair of SD70’s Board of Education, acknowledged that they work alongside all the Nuu-chahnulth Nations as well as the Métis Nation of B.C. to serve the youth of theAlberniClayoquot region.

“The support we

receive daily from our Indigenous partners is something we can never take for granted. This district strives to increase awareness, understanding and integration of Nuu-chah-nulth culture, history and language in all Pacific Rim Schools as part of our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation,” said Craig.

“Our vision is to provide equitable, healthy and nutritional meals to every student, regardless of family income.And we know that access to balanced meals should be not a privilege but rather a necessity,” she said.

While independent from the SD70, Maaqtusiis Secondary School in Ahousaht on Flores Island - a 40-minute boat ride from Tofino - also has a breakfast and snack program for their students.

InApril 2024, the federal government pledged $1 billion over five years to implement a National School Food Program in collaboration with provinces and territories and Indigenous communities.

“We see promising discussions at the federal level with the announcement of the National School Food Program and believe this has the potential to be a great complement to the Feeding Futures School Meal Program,” said Nesbitt.

Information about volunteering or how to donate to PortAlberni and Ucluelet’s new School Meal Program is available at https://nourishcowichan.ca/

Nora O’Malley photos

From left: Health Schools Manager Kirsten Nesbitt, SD70 Chair Pam Craig, EighthAvenue Learning principal Nick Seredick, Nourish Cowichan ED Fatima Da Silva and Nourish Cowichan board president RodAllen gather to celebrate the launch of the School Meal Program on Oct. 31.

EighthAvenue Learning principal Nick Seredick serves a hot pasta lunch.

Hesquiaht members recall shelling of Estevan Point during

Accounts from Hesquiaht residents recall whistling shells, panic that sent some to the woods, while others took to canoes durin

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Hesquiaht, BC - It was late in the evening on June 20, 1942, when the Japanese submarine I-26 shelled the Estevan Point Lighthouse and the Dominion government’s radio telegraph station. The incident occurred on the Hesquiaht First Nation’s former main village on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Nobody was hurt and no damage was done to the lighthouse, but the incident marked the first time enemy militants attacked Canadian soil since the War of 1812, according to official reports.

Yvonne Lucas recounts the story her late husband Harry Lucas, who was a newborn at the time, heard from his mother:

“The whole reserve was so panicky and scared. They all ran into the bushes. Harry said his mom ran in there with him upside down, she was holding him. They were so scared,” Lucas shared, adding that Harry was born onApril 8, 1942.

“Nothing was damaged. They were just scaring them. Nobody got hurt. I think it was just a warning from the Japanese,” Lucas added. “The whole tribe ran into the forest because they didn’t know what was going on.”

Hesquiaht elder Dolores Bayne (Muuhaykwilth) says her grandmother Susan Francis Paul, who was born in the late 1800’s, told her stories about the night the Japanese attacked Hesquiaht shores.

“She was the one that raised us kids. When the loud noise started, they all ran out. They got really scared. Somebody said, ‘They are shooting at us!’Not realizing that it might be bombs. They all scrambled for their canoes, taking some provisions as fast as they could,” said Bayne.

“Kind of a funny story in there too,” she continued. “My grandfather and his wife they were all yelling, and taking kids, scrambling, and my grandfather was hollering for his wife, and she dropped her tobacco can, and it was floating here and there, and she was trying to go after it.”

Bayne was born at the Kakawis Indian Residential School on Meares Island.

“They had what they call a visitor room and I was born there in 1939. They were on their way to Hesquiaht,” said Bayne.

She told the Ha-shilth-sa that her grandmother also used to talk about planes going over Hesquiaht.

“They got scared of that too, I don’t know

Today Estevan Point is remote and sparsely populated, with only a few housholds nearby. But in 1942 the area served as the

were shocked with a surprise wartime attack late one summer evening. why there were so many flying over, they were investigating the submarine that was doing the bombing,” said Bayne.

Hesquiaht Chief Councillor Mariah Charleson remembers hearing her dad Stephen Charleson talk about the shelling of Estevan Lighthouse with her grandma Jean Charleson.

“I think the scary thing for me is the whistling sound; she remembers the loud sounds and seeing the shells above the village. I feel like that would be absolutely frightening,” said Charleson.

“Grandma Jean told my dad that they went to the canoes and then into the fishing boats and they all tied up in the boat basin

until they figured it was safe to go back home. When they returned home, they checked on everything to make sure that it was fine, and then I guess the next day then went toAhousaht where they figured it would be safer,” she said.

Charleson wasn’t sure how many Hesquiaht members ran into the woods or how many went to the water that night, but either way, she says “they had to be quick acting”.

Hesquiaht’s former village site is relatively close to the Estevan Lighthouse, which is why they could hear the whistling of the bullets.

“When you look south you can see the

light from the lighthouse,” Charleson said.

Twenty-four hours after the attack on Estevan Point, it was reported by the British United Press (BUP) on June 22, 1942, that “an unidentified craft, probably a Japanese submarine, hurled shells onto the shore of northern Oregon.”

“Between six and nine shots were fired by last night’s submarine at the coast in the vicinity of Seaside, Ore., at 11:30 p.m., the army communique said. The shelling continued for 15 minutes,” the BUP article reads. “The army said no damage or casualties resulted.”

The pair of Japanese naval attacks on

main home for

Pictured in October 1941, a Japanese IJN Submarine “I-26” on sea trails at Hiroshima Bay.AJapanese submarine was reported to have attacked the west coast of Vancouver Island the following

Point during dark days of WWII

others took to canoes during a surprise a ack from a Japanese submarine

Eric Plummer photo

served as the main home for the Hesquiaht people, who

the Pacific Coast came six months after Japan’s aerial assault of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec.7, 1941. The surprise air attack onAmerica’s eastern Pacific naval base killed more than 2,400 souls and the United States, a previously reluctant nation, declared war on Japan and entered the Second World War.

Following Pearl Harbor, the United States and Canada forcibly relocated people of Japanese descent to internment camps, without any charge or due process. Japanese Canadians were required to turn in their fishing boats, their homes and their businesses, which were later sold by authorities.

“In war, truth is the first casualty,” said the ancient Greek philosopherAeschylus. Generations after the attack on Estevan Point, speculation surfaced that the Japanese might not have been responsible. In 1995, The Fifth Estate, CBC’s investigative documentary program, aired a story that questioned the official story. Eyewitnesses interviewed suggested the shelling was a government conspiracy by the Canadian andAmericans to drum up support for conscription.

Official Naval Historians Michael Whitby and Bill Rawling, with Canada’s Department of National Defence, said in a 2004 article from the Ottawa Citizen that any suggestions that Canada andAmerica staged the attacks are “unfounded and flies in the face of rigorous historical research.”

“Two Japanese submarines (I-25 and I-26) were sent to the Pacific coast of North America in June 1942 to reconnoitre the main United States base at Seattle and to

give warning ifAmerican warships sailed against the attacks on Midway and the Aleutian Islands,” said the Naval Historians Whitby and Rawling. “Japanese naval doctrine at the time decreed that its submarines leave a calling card by shelling shore facilities upon departing their patrol areas, presumably in an attempt to stir up the local populace.”

InAugust 1945,America dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, instantly killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. Japan surrendered and the Second World War came to an end on Sept. 2, 1945.

Bayne, who is the last living sibling amongst her four sisters and two brothers, says they always “hope that the time won’t come that another bomb goes off.”

“In seconds, we’ll be gone. The world will be starting over. When we think about it, we do a lot of praying,” said the Hesquiaht matriarch.

Editor’s note: Yvonne Lucas passed away on November 9, 2024, after this article was written. Ha-Shilth-Sa will always remember her strong sense of history and how she enriched the cultural understanding of those she connected with.

Tim Paul Sr. served in World War II, an international conflict that directly involved his First Nation when Estevan Point was fired at on June 20, 1942.

coast of Vancouver Island the following year.

Library and Archives Canada photo

This photo from Dec. 22, 1942 was taken on Estevan Point, the year that the lighthouse was shelled by a Japanese Submarine.

Library and Archives Canada photo

Canada’s chief of Naval staff inspects a Japanese shell from Estevan Point on July 9, 1942, a few weeks after the attack.

AJapanese shell found at Estevan Point

Culture as inspiration: Designer eagerly awaits VIFW

Ahousaht’s Alicia Stephens uses Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week to showcase how her craft is progressing

By Holly Stocking Ha-Shilth-Sa EditorialAssistant

Vancouver, BC – The Vancouver Indigenous Fashion week showcases culture by bringing over 30 designers together from across the country for four nights of art and fashion, Nov. 20 to 23 at the Queen Elizabeth Theater.

This is the eighth year for VIFW. “At VIFW, we highlight how fashion can build connections with Indigenous values, wisdom, and history, becoming a powerful tool for the cultivation of strength and resiliency in Indigenous communities, as well as a vehicle for understanding and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples,” reads a VIFW statement.

Things kick off with the Red Dress Event, in which organizers ask attendees to dress in red to remember and celebrate Indigenous resilience and strength, honoring missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit people.

Ahousaht memberAlicia Stephens has 15 of her hand-painted pieces walking the runway on the Indigenous Features night, Nov 22.

This is Stephens’fourth time participating in VIFW. The Burnaby-based artist tells Ha-Shilth-Sa that the 2018 New York Fashion week introduced her to the fashion world with her collection called “Resilience”. This collection was dedicated to survivors and non-survivors of the residential school system, but VIFW helped her push forward to be a designer.

“I usually collect things throughout the year, things like beads, chains, different colors, yarn, just different things. I had this idea of what I wanted to do for a while so, it just all came together,” said Stephens, adding that she really surprised herself this year. “I had all this already ready because I had been collecting over the year.”

Along with her hand-painted boots and purses, Stephens has created a couple of street wear looks. This year elegance is more of a theme.

After the VIFW is over Stephens has some big goals for her companyAlicia’s

Designs.

She has been hand painting pieces for the past 13 years.

“I started out with a sharpie and a pair of old boots from my closet, it grew from there,” she said.

Soon sunglasses and handbags were added to her collection.

Over the past eight years, Stephens became a full-time artist and has sold over

1,500 of her pieces and has shipped all over NorthAmerica. Her pieces include boots, high heels, running shoes, purses, wallets, belts, jackets and earrings.

Stephens will continue with this process for personalized items but wants to create an area with a production side with “a couture line with dresses, bags and jewelry.”

“I really want to get into the produc-

tion side of things, producing dresses and stuff that I can sew,” she added. “It’s definitely been a crazy journey, but I am so grateful that I was given this opportunity.”

Tickets for Vancouver Indigenous Fashion week are on sale now and can be bought online at www.vifw.ca

Phrase†of†the†week:†%umukwa>th†hina+†qwaamitik†wik†muu@aqkstu>†c’aaqstut†muu%ic^tup†c’ic’wii

Pronounced ‘Ooh muck walth eek hii nulth cluth saw ee wik mulk cue st wee muu gee tup alt’, it means ‘Hope you

can find a way to keep dry in this rainy season and not get soaked through your clothes ’Supplied by ciisma.

Illustration by Christina Sparks

Submitted photo

Ahousaht designerAlicia Stephens with a model wearing one of her hand painted creationss at a previous year’s event.

Ride-hailing service expands to Port Alberni

Originating in the Sunshine Coast, Coastal Rides runs like Uber & Lyft, but rides must be arranged in advance

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

PortAlberni, BC – Sunshine Coastbased ride-hailing company Coastal Rides is now servicing theAlberni Valley and the traditional territories of Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations.

Residents and visitors to the region can pre-book rides through the Coastal Rides app, available on both iOS andAndroid, in just a few taps.

“If you need reliable transportation that is scheduled in advance, then we’ll be there,” said Coastal Rides founder Ryan Staley.

“It will be safe, it will be friendly; the people that are working with us they love what they do, and they love helping people, I mean that’s what it’s about, right?” he said.

Ian Lee joined Coastal Rides as a fulltime driver in October 2024.

“I come from a long line of London taxi drivers,” said Lee, who managed a fleet of taxis in Edmonton before moving to PortAlberni in 2013. “When I was training the drivers, I always used to say, ‘Don’t worry about the trip that you are missing out on. Worry about the trip that you are on right now. They are the most important people’.”

Staley, who has an academic background in transportation planning, started the ridesharing service because of the “gaps in the transportation system” he experienced as a resident of Sechelt on the lower Sunshine Coast of B.C.

“I’m living in a semi-rural community where traditional transit doesn’t exist. If you’re trying to make a connection, you rely on other people to drive you. But having that flexibility and freedom… For me, it’s about bringing that freedom of mobility that you find if you’re in a walkable city,” said Staley.

Coastal Rides also operates in Tofino, Comox, Campbell River, and the Sunshine Coast under the same Passenger Transportation Licence and contactless payment system as major rideshare companies Lyft and Uber.

But unlike Lyft and Uber, Staley says Coastal Rides differs in the sense that a lot of their trips are scheduled in advance – and by how they work with their drivers.

“Drivers get 73 per cent of the fare. We’re very transparent with the drivers. The drivers really have ownership in what they are doing and the service they are delivering in the community,” he said. Like manyAlberni Valley businesses, Coastal Rides is hiring.

Rides is now offering transportation

“We are looking for drivers,” said Lee.

“You’ve got to be able to chat with the customer. I believe in chatting with the customer. You can’t be a wet rag and just drive. You’ve got to make them feel comfortable in the car.”

Other requirements include a Class 1, 2 or 4 drivers’licence, a vehicle that is less than 10 years old, a clean driving record and all the drivers must undergo a criminal record check.

Lee points out that Coastal Rides drivers can receive tips from riders.

“We’re not here to take anything away from the taxi industry. We’re here to service the customers in PortAlberni.

They just want to get home, let’s get them home,” said Lee.

“Having a reliable service has been super important to me,” Staley echoes.

“I’m excited to get things going in Port Alberni and bring the service to the com-

munities.”

Coastal Rides is also exploring the opportunity of offering a ‘shared ride’ option, in addition to a private ride, to reduce emissions and the cost of fares.

“It will probably be more for spring and summer, to try to reduce the cost of those long, cross-Island trips. It’s sort of a delicate balance for those. We want to make them less expensive for customers, but at

the same time, if it’s less expensive for the customers, we need to make sure the drivers feel compensated,” said Staley. To celebrate their PortAlberni launch, Coastal Rides is offering $5 off for firsttime riders, using promo code ‘PORT’. Anyone interested in learning more is encouraged to download the app or visit the website coastalrides.ca.

Coastal Rides photo

Coastal

to folks in theAlberni Valley, giving an alternative to taxis and buses.

(Be The Good Story)

Usma’s support services continue to expand as the program responds to needs of Nuu-chah-nulth families. Our cultural coordinators, connection workers, chaputs coordinator, family wellness workers, care support team, and youth services team all work to fill gaps within the Child and Family Services system so that children, youth, caregivers, and parents can feel uplifted, empowered, and supported as they engage with Usma’s programs.

Usma’s youth services team consists of youth navigators, youth outreach workers, and youth harm reduction outreach workers who provide an extra layer of support for Usma youth, from the ages 12 to 27, upholding the unique needs, wants, and goals of each Nuu-chah-nulth youth who are involved withthe youth services program.

“There are a lot of services available that youth might not be aware of,” said Illiana Simpson, Youth Navigator of the youth services team. “If they are not eligible for Usma youth services, we can refer them to other services.”

“If a youth comes to a youth navigator, and asks questions, we are always going to answer them,” said Simpson. “We are always going to be able to give them a direction in which to go.”

With a scope of knowledge that consists of a large landscape of services available throughout Vancouver Island, the team provide referrals and supports youth through application processes to ensure they receive the services they want and need.

Usma’s youth harm reduction outreach workers focus on supporting youth, ages 12 to 27, who are at risk of or are using substances. They help youth with their day-to-day activities, provide connections to mental health, substance use, harm reduction, prevention, and cultural services, while supporting them to develop coping mechanisms and life skills.

Youth outreach workers support youth, ages 12 to 19,who may be at risk of or are involved in high-risk behaviours. They establish and maintain safe relationships with youth, creating safety nets, offering crisis support, helping with riskreduction plans, connecting youth with culture, community and resources.

In both a group-setting and one-on-one, youth navigators focus on supporting youth, ages 12 to 27, in the development

Usma News &Community Beyond

Netp Bladerunners office administration essentials

November 4-22

9:00 am – 3:00 pm Tyhistanis – Tofino

2 weeks in person, 1 week online hybrid training model. BladeRunners eligible clients: 15-30 years of age unemployed or underemployed, must have a SIN, not currently attending school, and have not participated in the program in the last 4 years. To register contact Gregory. thoma@nuuchahnulth.org

Pacific Rim StrongStart FreshAir Fridays

November 15 & 22

PortAlberni

November 15th: Gyro Park, 3245 7th Ave. November 22nd: Williamson Park, 5081 BishopAve. 9:00 am – 11:00 am Rain or Shine, come dressed for the weather. Snack provided, please pack a water bottle.

NTC Drop-in Cultural Brushings

exciting weekend of Junior Basketball. Contact Ed Nasimius Ross 250-735-2854

Nuu-chah-nulth Baby Group

Every Monday

CYS - 4841 Redford Street, Port Alberni

10am-12pm. We offer Prenatal and infant development information, special guests, snacks provide and $20.00 food voucher per family. 250-724-3939. Enter from 4th avenue side, building with orange stripe.

Girls Group

Every Tuesday

Usma culture space, PortAlberni

5:00pm-7:00pm Girls ages 13-18. Need a safe space? Want to express yourself? Looking to learn to bake and cook? Do you enjoy doing crafts? Come join us for fun activities with food and refreshments every Tuesday!

Eating in Balance

Wednesdays

of life skills, uplifting cultural connections, and building a strong sense of identity and independence as they transition into adulthood.

Youth navigators listen to each youth’s unique needs, wants, and goals, and responds by providing group events that build community, one-on-one activities, referrals to services, bridging connections to Nuu-chah-nulth communities and culture, and support with navigating systems such as mental health services, housing services, funding opportunities, socialemotional supports, academic services and supports, and certificate training, to name only a few.

“You name it, we do it,” said Simpson. “Every youth’s need is so unique.”

Youth services will meet youth where they’re at, share with them what is available to support them, and ensure that they are informed so that they can make decisions that works best for them.

“Any youth that wants to go to school, can; any youth that wants to access medical health or mental health services, can,” said Simpson.

For youth navigators, a critical part of their role is to facilitate and co-create a transitional plan with youth who are about to turn 19 so that as they age out of care, they can continue to receive any supports they may need until they are 27 years old.

Youth navigators are available to connect Usma youth, aged 19 to 27, with the newly available SAJE (Strengthening Abilities and Journey’s of Empowerment) program, which includes expanded eligibility and improved access to income and housing supports, mental health and wellness benefits, and opportunities for life skills, training, and cultural programming.

“New income supports and expanding eligibility means even more young people will have access to continuous support as they begin their journey into adulthood,” said Grace Lore, Minister of Children and Family Development, in a statement.

To inquire about eligibility and program improvements with SAJE funding and services, contact Usma at 1-877-7223232 and ask for a youth navigator, or reach out directly to your youth navigator. Until next month!

November 25

4841 Redford Street, 5th avenue entrance

9:00am – 11:00am NTC Health department drop-in cultural brushings and support with Lee Lucas. For more information contact 250-724-3939

Tseshaht Lightning Junior Basketball Tournament

November 29-December 1

Maht Mahs

Divisions U13-U17. Join us for an

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 250-723-8281 ext. 233

Cultural Brushings with Quu asa

Every Friday

RedfordAdministration Building, Port Alberni

9:00am-12:00pm Cultural Brushings in support of the Tseshaht Community. Please call 250-724-1225

Ha-Shilth-Sa reported on the opening of the Pachena Fish Weir, a project completed by the Huu-ay-aht Fisheries Department. The weir was built alongside the bridge between the Huu-ay-aht community ofAnacla and the town of Bamfield.An important tool for collection of data, the weir also provided broodstock to the Pacheena River Hatchery. Huu-ay-aht Nation’s goal was to begin to rebuild the river their

depended upon, starting with the capture of 50 coho for the hatchery and releasing 50,000 fry into the Pacheena watershed.At this time there were no coho present in the watershed, due to the devastating logging practices in the area. The weir was constructed with a total cost of $23,000 for materials and monitoring, funded by the DFO, M&B, RAMS and the Huu-ay-aht First Nations.

Original caption: Pachena Fish Weir Project Manager Clifford Nookemis (left) examines the structure with N.T.C. Southern Region Biologist Jim Lane ancestors

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

Employment and Training

It’s time to look closer at ‘Indian Act economics’

Hesquiaht’s Carole Anne Hilton shares details of upcoming book during keynote address at Toronto conference

By Sam Laskaris Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor

Toronto, On – Canadian commerce is in a paradoxical state with two economies existing; the mainstream while another operates according to the IndianAct.

This is part of what’s put forth in Carol Anne Hilton’s next book, which will not be publicly available untilApril of 2025. But Hilton, a member of Hesquiaht First Nation, has provided plenty of glimpses of material that will be included in her second book.

Details of Hilton’s upcoming book were discussed while she delivered a keynote address at the Indigenomics Bay Street conference, which concluded on Oct. 18 in Toronto. Hilton’s address was titled Beyond IndianAct Economics - Framing The Rise of Indigenous Economic Power.

The first book Hilton wrote, published in 2021, became a bestseller and was called Indigenomics: Taking a Seat at the Economic Table. That book focused on how the economy is seen and understood from an Indigenous worldview.

Hilton’s upcoming book goes in another direction.

“I assert it is time to start talking about IndianAct economics,” she said. “It is time to bring into focus this story of the rise of Indigenous economic power. The story of this moment brings into focus who we are as Indigenous people, what our collective response is to the experience of the development of Canada itself.”

During her keynote, Hilton referenced words by Duncan Campbell Scott, who back in 1913 was appointed the first superintendent of the IndianAffairs department.

“He talks about the happiest future, where the Indian race is the absorption into the general population,” Hilton said. “And this is the object of a policy of our government.”

Hilton obviously has a different view.

“I would like to assert the happiest future of our people is to be able to operate from within our worldview,” she said.

“The happiest future for our people is to be able to operate within our stewardship, our responsibilities, our teachings. I think we’re successful.”

Hilton also said it is time to start having conversations about IndianAct economics.

“What is it?” she said. “How do we see it? How do we experience it? How does it feel? When we see it, how do we talk about it? It is time to start talking about IndianAct economics.”

Hilton added there are two kinds of the economy functioning right now within the country.

“The first is the economy as we understand it and we get neat, tidy reports and a matrix generated and they tell us a story about this time,” she said. “The second is IndianAct economics.”

She also said Canadian officials have Indigenous people believing that reserve

land is their territory.

“Reserve land is not our territory,” she said. “It is land that is set aside for us by the federal government. Indigenous Nations have entire territories and we are the original rightsholders. If there are economic projects happening off the reserve but in the territory, the denial of our economic participation in that development, that is IndianAct economics.”

This issue needs to be more openly discussed, Hilton said.

“We need to be talking about this in the boardrooms, in our offices,” she said. “We need to be comfortable asking questions what does this mean. We need to start being uncomfortable in what it is that we don’t understand and what it is that we need to collectively understand.”

Hilton also said the IndianAct essentially facilitates an inadequate investment meant for Indigenous Nations, by creating a perception of risk for financial institutions - essentially creating a higher cost of money.

“It’s the absence of legal frameworks,” she added. “It’s the absence of Indigenous-led economic institutions. It’s the location of the reserves. It’s the population, of where we live, the externalization of decision making.All of that is Indian Act economics.”

Canada’s parliament first passed the IndianAct in 1876. Though amended over the years, it is still in effect today.

“The IndianAct is purposely designed to assimilate Indigenous people,” Hilton said. “It is meant to sever the generations. IndianAct economics is the denial of dignity of Indigenous people. It’s the foundation for the formation of the Indigenous socio-economic gap today. This

Indigenous socio-economic gap in itself is an expression of the outcomes of the imposed systems of dependency through the IndianAct.”

Hilton also questioned whether the IndianAct is ethical.

“To be able to have the conversation, to bring leadership to that perspective, to be uncomfortable to have in the space that identifies what is our response if it is, if it isn’t,” she said. “This is about the response to the rise of Indigenous economic power. Canada exists in a paradox today. It is in the interplay between the release of power and control and adapting and adjusting and advancing Indigenous legal and economic environment.”

Hilton said that her upcoming book also provides details, through interviews she conducted, that Canadians are absolutely

affected by the IndianAct.

“It’s just that they don’t know it, that they’re affected by it,” she said. “If the IndianAct is preventing the full participation of First Nations in the Canadian economy and if the IndianAct is limiting in any way that participation and a wealth creation and a wellbeing of Indigenous communities by virtue of these barriers, that puts to that participation Canadians are absolutely affected by it but possibly just not aware of it.”

The three-day Indigenous Bay Street conference included various other sessions. The goal of the event was to showcase the strength of the Indigenous economy and to build bridges towards economic reconciliation.

Sam Laskaris photo

Hesquiaht First Nation member CaroleAnne Hilton delivered a keynote address at the Indigenomics Bay Street conference in Toronto.

Entangled Roosevelt elk rescued by female hiker

A Ucluelet-based hiker spent 25 minutes cu ing the animal free, which was tangled in a parachute in the forest

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Vancouver Island, BC –Ayoung Roosevelt elk is free roaming again after a female hiker tactfully disentangled an old parachute from around its neck and antlers.

The lucky bull Rosie elk was likely entwined in the strings and material from the parachute for a couple days, according to his rescuer who wishes to go unnamed.

“It’s about the animals and nature and human waste,” said the 39-year-old hiker.

“People should just pack their things out of nature. If it was a cutaway parachute, the person who cut their chute should have a GPS tracker and go retrieve it if it landed in nature because it causes stuff like this,” she continued.

Based out of Ucluelet, the hiker set out on Nov. 3 for a day in theAlberni Valley backcountry with her hound dog by her side.Atrip plan was sent to a friend and she had her 10 hiking essentials on her back, including the GAIAGPS app for navigation as there is no cellphone reception in the area.

As someone who has hiked the southern half of theAppalachian Trail in the eastern U.S. and the entire Colorado Trail, plus 112 peaks on Vancouver Island, her 4.7-kilometre trek of choice was meant to be a relatively easy Sunday… until it wasn’t.

On the way up the mountain, she saw a group of trees violently shaking.

“I was very nervous. We tried to scoot far around whatever animal was there. We made some noise. We made sure whatever was there knew we were there and kept moving far around,” she said. On the way back down about an hour later, she noticed the same group of trees still shaking.

“Normally animals don’t like to be around humans, and they will vacate when they hear a human in the area. They will never stick around, so I thought it was really odd that a large animal in the exact location was still making a ruckus.”

While still skirting around the shaking trees, she managed to get a glimpse of the animal and saw that it was an elk – not a bear.

“Thank God. But it’s a bull elk in rutting season, which is also incredibly dangerous. Coming fromAlberta, that’s something that is drilled into your head as kid that elk are dangerous, stay away especially in the fall.”

With bear tracks circling the area, the hiker was curious to see why the elk was not able to move, so she latched her dog to a tree a safe distance away and crept in for a closer look.

“The cordage was wrapped around the antlers, around the neck, around the face and then around the trees. This elk had been jumping from side to side trying to shake lose, getting worse entangled. Underneath was a pure mud pit from it stomping and trying to move the whole time,” she said. “It was bad, my choices

were walk away and leave the animal die, or attempt to free it…”

She took out her Leatherman multi-tool and started cutting wire cable that was on the trees far enough away from the elk and started talking to the elk saying, “Hey buddy, I’m just here to help you Mr. Elk.”

She put her hand out so the elk could smell her and made sure that the elk could see her.

“The elk actually kneeled down on all four, directly in front of me.At this point, I figured it was calm and allowing me to do this.”

It took her about 25 minutes to saw enough cord and material to set the elk free.

“At the end, I looked at the elk and said,

‘Pull.’He just stood up and looked up at me for a second and then turned around and walked into the forest.”

She called her mom as soon as she got back into cell reception and reported the incident to B.C. Conservation and Search and Rescue the following day.

“I could have died. I know that. I knew it was dangerous. It let me help it. It must have been absolutely exhausted from struggling for days,” said the Uclueletbased hiker while drinking a can of Lucky beer with a taco lunch at West Coast Shapes.

Named for Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States (19011909), the Roosevelt elk, or ƛ̓uunim in Nuu-chah-nulth language, is Vancouver Island’s largest land animal, weighing over 1,000 pounds.

Roosevelt elk are a traditional food source for coastal First Nations. During pre-European contact, elk provided food, clothing as well as weapons and tools fashioned from elk antlers. Today, First Nations on Vancouver Island harvest elk on their traditional territories for meat and ceremonial purposes.

The Roosevelt elk is considered a species of special concern and remains on the Provincial Blue List after being on the brink of extinction due to over hunting and the expansion of human settlements during the gold rush of the mid-1800s.

Nowadays, B.C. elk herds are experiencing an overall population increase in B.C., according to a 2015 B.C. government report, largely due to successful management practices that involved capturing elk and transporting them to priority sites.

In 1986, the estimated population of the Roosevelt elk in B.C. was 2,550. By 2014, the elk population in the province had increased to 6,900, according to the report.

“The increase is most evident in the South Coast Region where translocated populations are increasing rapidly,” states the elk management report.

Demand for hunting Roosevelt elk is high – about 15,000 B.C. hunters applied to hunt the majestic creature and about 300 Limited Entry Hunting permits were granted via the lottery system, notes the report.

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ucluelet, BC - Ucluelet’s beloved Cedar House Gallery has been converted into a discount toy store for the holiday season.

Tla-o-qui-aht artist and gallery owner Hjalmer Wenstob spent the past weekend in the shop making space for all the toys and Christmas decorations.

“It’s been a tight few years for everyone and so we thought if we could offer toys and Christmas decorations that are inexpensive then it would be fun for the communities,” said Wenstob.

Since Vancouver Island’s west coast doesn’t really have a toy store, Wenstob’s mom Jessie Masso came up with the idea to bring a pop-up toy store to the communities by purchasing five pallets of toys and holiday goods from the wholesale liquidation retailer Restock Canada.

“The pallets were in my brother Timmy’s living room for a month,” Wenstob laughed. “And since we got everything at a reduced price, we are selling it at a

reduced price.All the Christmas stuff is half off and about 80 per cent of the toys are half off. Some things are even cheaper than that.”

Nuu-chah-nulth art and jewellery are still in the back of the store, but the front has been taken over by one-off action figures, board games, stuffed animals and all sorts of Christmas glitter.

“It was also just an excuse to have the family come down and hang out. With the new baby we thought it would be fun to come hang out with the communities down here and the kids,” said Wenstob, adding that his new baby boy’s name is Tsaahtis, which means ‘where the river or creek flows across the beach’in Nuuchah-nulth.

The Cedar House Gallery pop-up toy store (1645 Cedar Road across from the UclueletAquarium) is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Christmas.After that, Wenstob says they plan to donate the remaining toys.

Nora O’Malley photo

Nuu-chah-nulth artist Hjalmer Wenstob cradles his new baby boy Tsaahtis next to his wifeAnnika with daughter Huumiis and son Cinkwa holding Christmas trinkets from their pop-up toy store at the Cedar House Gallery.

Submitted photo

AVancouver Island Roosevelt elk finds himself entangled in an old parachute.