Ha Shilth Sa Newspaper September 21, 2023

INTERESTING NEWS Canada’s Oldest First Nations Newspaper - Serving Nuu-chah-nulth-aht since 1974 Canadian Publications Mail Product Vol. 50 - No. 18—September 21, 2023 haas^i>sa Sales Agreement No. 40047776

Taking reins on education: 50 years since AIRS closes Residential school shut down after National Indian Brotherhood called for ‘Indian Control of Indian Education’

By Alexandra Mehl Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Port Alberni, BC - It was on Aug. 31, 1973 when the Alberni Indian Residential School (AIRS), on Tseshaht’s main reserve, closed its doors for good.

Charlie Thompson, a survivor of AIRS, recalls when the West Coast District Council of Indian Chiefs began to discuss the closure of the school in 1972. Thompson was working as a band manager for Ditidaht and attended meetings with his father, Webster Thompson, who was the First Nation’s elected chief councillor at that time.

“The discussions around shutting it down was music to my ears,” said Thompson, who had two children who were getting to the age when they would have gone to the school.

Taking the reins on education Thompson said that the publication of a paper by the National Indian Brotherhood, now known as the Assembly of First Nations, called, “Indian Control of Indian Education”, was what started the conversation of the AIRS closure.

Because of this paper, said Thompson, chiefs across Canada began to talk about how to take on the responsibility of educating their children.

According to a report by the Canadian Senate in 2011, the publication was to counter the White Paper, also known as the Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy of 1969. The White Paper proposed that the education of First Nations children be the responsibility of the provincial government.

“The chiefs of the West Coast District Council got together and they started talking about what that’s going to look like, [and] what we could do as leaders of our communities to take over the education of our children,” said Thompson. “The obvious blockage was Indian residential schools.”

Thompson said that throughout discussions of the West Coast District Council there was no doubt in their minds that they had to take on the responsibility of their children’s education.

He also noted that briefly, the West Coast District Council discussed taking over the running of the school, which was ultimately rejected.

The historic meeting that closed AIRS George Watts, Simon Lucas, and Nelson Keitlah were tasked with negotiating with the Department of Indian Affairs in Vancouver, said Thompson.

According to a press release from

Alexandra Mehl Photo

On Sept. 30 the legacy of residential schools will be recognized across Canada with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Pictured are Tseshaht members holding an event in 2022 at the former Alberni Indian Residential School site.

Tseshaht First Nation, a letter was sent from the West Coast District Council to the Department of Indian Affairs on July 3, 1973 which proposed the closure of the school. This letter, signed by George Watts, led to a meeting in Vancouver.

Ken Watts, current elected chief councilor of Tseshaht, sees this meeting as one of the “historic” events that the West Coast District Council did in their early years.

Watts, son of late-George Watts, shared that when they went to Vancouver, the regional director said, “What do you want George? What can I do for you?”.

“My dad said, ‘We want the residential school closed’, and my dad said, ‘Tomorrow’,” shared Watts.

“It’s one of those things that ended something; ended something pretty substantial, and it should never be forgotten,” said Watts.

“They came back to the tribal council meeting and said, ‘Okay, we’re on course to shut this place down, it’s going to shut down, we’ve got the big shot in Vancouver on [our] side,” said Thompson.

According to The Children Remembered, until 1920 the school’s main attendance were children of Tseshaht and Hupačasath. By the 1940s enrollment

Inside this issue...

Calls for new approach to climate crisis.........................Page 3 Policy bans drug use from playgrounds.........................Page 5 Nuu-chah-nulth artist symposium..........................Pages 8 & 9 Vessel fined after illegally fishing.................................Page 11 Huu-ay-aht eyes Trans Canada Trail............................Page 15

grew from the Vancouver Island region to students from First Nations throughout the province.

Lucas and Keitlah were then tasked, by the chiefs, to go to each home village of the students in attendance at the school to inform their parents of the plans for the coming year, said Thompson.

they built a small school on their home reserve for children up to Grade 6, said Thompson. The older children were then bussed each day to Port Alberni; the band soon took over transportation from the school district after buying a school bus.

“Other people started doing the same thing,” said Thompson.

Opposition and moving forward

Former school buildings, reclaiming a place to heal

Thompson shared that when the chiefs brought up the closure of AIRS and Christie Residential School from the West Coast District Council to their communities, they were met with some opposition, though the majority agreed.

Thompson believes that people thought, “Our kids are going to get educated, it’s a good thing to know the white man’s ways”.

“But in the end, that really didn’t happen,” he said. “Some went as far as to graduate, but that was rare. Most of us never finished school.”

Thompson also said that families faced the threats of fines and imprisonment.

“Our grandparents were scared,” said Thompson. “I think they gave into the government by sending their kids to the schools.”

For Ditidaht, when the school closed,

Over the decades since AIRS closed some of the former buildings had been demolished, though two of those structures remain; one is utilized by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, formerly known as Caldwell Hall, and the other is Maht Mah’s gymnasium where community events and meetings are held.

In 2007, over thirty years after the closure of AIRS, Tseshaht’s administration office moved from Peake Hall, a former AIRS dormitory, to their new building located along the Somass River, according to a Ha-Shilth-Sa article.

Later, a ceremonial demolition of Peake Hall was held for survivors as the building was torn down, with smudging and blanketing done in Tseshaht’s longhouse.

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

Continued on page 3.

Page 2— Ha-Shilth-Sa—September 21, 2023

Bamfield Main chip sealing nears completion Upgrade nearly complete to 77-kilometre industrial road, the final kilometres are sealed south of Port Alberni

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter Bamfield, BC – As cool fall temperatures set in, residents of Anacla and Bamfield are seeing their notoriously dusty, bumpy, and dangerous access road improve as crews near the end of the final segment of chip sealing just outside of Port Alberni.

Bamfield Main is a 77-kilometre industrial road, mostly located on the traditional territory of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, that acts as a link between the communities of Anacla, Bamfield, and Port Alberni.

The rough, gravel road has claimed many lives over the years, including Huu-ayaht’s Tyee Ha’wilth Art Peters several years ago. But it was an accident involving a bus carrying university students, where two of them tragically died, that drew the province to Huu-ay-aht leadership to work on solutions.

In September 2020 Huu-ay-aht First Nations and the Province of B.C. announced they would work together to make significant safety improvements to the 76-kilometre logging road. The province committed $25.7 million and Huu-ayaht First Nation contributed $5 million to improve the road. Cost have since exceeded this, with Huu-ay-aht covering the excess, according to their agreement with the province.

The road is managed by two logging companies. Western Forest Products oversees about 60 kilometres while Mosaic operates about 18 kilometres.

Over several months this year the road was prepared to be resurfaced by chip seal, which is not as durable but is far less expensive than asphalt paving.

Eric Plummer photo

By Sept. 11 half of Bamfield Main was chip sealed, although traffic was stopped at certain sections to allow work to continue. when driving on the new chip seal.

Chip sealing involves layering hot, liquid single-lane alternating traffic involving pilot trucks at active construction zones.

“The road surface will be dusty and slipasphalt with a fine layer of aggregate. It By late September, Bamfield locals pery if sweeping is underway or has not is suitable for low traffic roadways while posted on social media that most of the been completed. Please avoid slow, sharp asphalt is better suited to high traffic chip seal is complete with just a few turns on the seal coat while it continues to areas. The lifespan for chip seal is about kilometers…some say about 15 and some set up,” warns Huu-ay-aht First Nation. seven years compared to about 20 for say less than five kilometres, to reach the “Please use four-wheel drive, as well, esasphalt. The cost of chip seal resurfacing paved road in Port Alberni. pecially on the hills. These are necessary is about a quarter that of asphalt paving.

When the final layer of chip seal is apto ensure a safe work site and not cause

By September 9, kilometres 32 to 76 on plied, the new surface needs to cured then damage to the road or vehicles.” the Anacla/Bamfield end was completely it must be swept.

Huu-ay-aht invites people to join them chip sealed. in celebration of the project completion Grading, preparation, and chip sealing for Motorists are reminded that there will be at the House of Huu-ay-aht in Anacla on the remainder of the Bamfield road on the short delays, with single-lane alternating traffic guided by a pilot vehicle for the Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, starting at noon.

Port Alberni end has continued throughremainder of the project. Drivers are reout the month of September. Travellers minded to follow the posted speed limits on the route have faced short waits with

September 21, 2023—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 3

Calls for all-government approach to climate crisis A recent report highlights climate equity, traditional knowledge and First Nations’ relationship to the land

By Alexandra Mehl Local Journalism Initiative Reporter On Sept. 13, Deloitte Canada released a report highlighting the significance of climate equity when considering responses to the adverse impacts of environmental events on Indigenous communities.

For Jason Rasevych of Ginoogaming First Nation, who is the national leader of Indigenous Client Services for Deloitte Canada, the disruptions of climate change for First Nations communities are significant due to “reliance on the land,” making them “more vulnerable to those disruptions.”

Rasevych shares that some of the primary climate change impacts that Indigenous people have faced are related to disruptions in “food security, access to sacred plants and traditional medicines, traditional gatherings that are on the land, safe housing.”

He also noted that the cultural livelihood of communities “is pursued through exercising inherent rights and treaty rights, and also just the generational transfer of Indigenous knowledge from elders and from ancestors down through generational cycles.”

“There’s been a long history for Indigenous people to be sustainable; to have sustainable coexistence due to the knowledge systems and due to Indigenous peoples’ roles, and protecting concepts like biodiversity since millennia,” said Rasevych.

“When it comes down to that service that Indigenous peoples are providing to society [and] that the land provides, that often goes unnoticed and also it goes un-

Jason Rasevych accounted for on the balance sheet when it comes to environmental accounting,” he added.

The report makes recommendations to include a whole-of-government approach with “clear and ambitious” climate equity objectives when approaching solutions that prioritize racialized and low-income communities. It includes the recognition of First Nation, Métis, and Indigenous leadership structures as leading partners, recognizing Indigenous-led environmental assessment, and for each level of government to establish reliable climate equity funding.

“The message around the ‘whole-ofgovernment response is needed’ is meant to make the recommendation to government that the siloes need to be removed

and also that this is not a partisan issue, that we need to maintain consistency amongst messaging across the provinces and jurisdiction,” said Rasevych. “As the impacts of climate change grows, there needs to be more departments, ministries, agencies; the administrative bodies, they need to be working together on planning to mitigate this so that it becomes more of a clearer responsibility across government rather than having one specific department that’s tasked with that.”

Rasevych shared that historically, Indigenous perspectives, voices, and knowledge were not commonly prioritized when considering climate change.

“For climate change solutions to work and achieve positive outcomes, they need to explicitly include a holistic approach and focus on the wellbeing of people in their communities,” he said.

In June B.C.’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change launched their first National Adaptation Strategy to help reduce the impacts of climaterelated disasters. The strategy aims to improve people’s wellbeing, protect and restore nature and biodiversity, build and maintain infrastructure, and support the economy.

Originally released in 2022, the strategy was open for final comment among territories, provinces, and Indigenous organizations for review.

Similar to the recommendations in Deloitte’s report, most feedback provided was on “how governments could work together to achieve goals and measure progress,” reads a press release.

“Notably, feedback allowed for even deeper recognition of the lived realities

and climate change impacts in communities across the country, including Indigenous communities and the North,” it continued.

For Tyson Atleo, hereditary representative of Ahousaht First Nation and Climate Program director for Nature United, Crown-government models of resource management are not “well aligned with long-term climate outcomes.”

“What we need to do is draw on other systems of knowledge that are deeply rooted in ecology… to inform new policies for relating to our natural ecosystems,” said Atleo.

“We know that historically… our cultures in terms of governance and law were very effective at maintaining respectful protocols between our human societies and natural ecosystems,” said Atleo. “Our way of relating to the natural environment was one based on a foundation of reciprocity, care, respect, [and] shared learning.”

Atleo reflects that for Ahousaht a true solution to climate change is to integrate traditional knowledge in the context of resource management.

“It would allow us to manage our resources in a way that would continue to sequester carbon and manage resources and develop communities in a way that are climate resilient, because our traditions and our cultures were climate resilient,” said Atleo.

“Indigenous peoples are climate leaders,” continued Atleo. “We need to support and enable their leadership in the mitigation and adaptation efforts related to addressing the climate crisis.”

‘We didn’t ask for it, but we have to live with it’: Wa•s Continued from page 1.

“Imagine how difficult it was for some of our members to have to enter that building to work or for support services,” said Les Sam, Tseshaht’s former elected chief councilor, in a 2007 issue of HaShilth-Sa. “When the worst experiences of their lives, when they were just children, happened in that very building.”

The Hall was replaced with a basketball court, said Watts. He reflected on survivors who spoke about “how great it was to see kids happy there, [in] a place that wasn’t so happy for them.”

For Tseshaht, the closure of AIRS and the work of continuing to reclaim where the school stood is “helping create a safer space in our community,” shared Watts.

“It’s helping people’s willingness to come back because those buildings represent a dark history,” he said. “It’s an open wound for many who aren’t willing to cross the bridge.”

“That’s why we painted ‘Every Child Matters’ on the bridge,” Watts added.

Watts shared that for years he has been working with Canada to tear down Caldwell Hall, and they have made a commitment in writing.

“Our hope is that when we remove those [buildings] it’ll help create a new history there,” said Watts. “Reclaiming the space as ours because it’s our territory.”

Following phase one of Tseshaht’s LiDar scanning and investigation, where they found at least 67 children died at the school, Tseshaht announced 26 Calls for Truth and Justice. One of these calls is under Canada’s Residential School Infrastructure Fund.

Included in this call is for Canada to

Eric Plummer photo

Charlie Thompson, a member of the Ditidaht First Nation and former student of the Alberni Indian Residential School, speaks alongside Ha’wiih at a gathering on the former school site. fund the deconstruction of Caldwell Hall gathering here, on our territory, in a place Council who in 1972, decided to take and an event, as well as supporting the where we have such an open wound, is on the responsibility of their children’s construction of a community center with important to all Nuu-chah-nulth and all education and close the school. facilities in former AIRS buildings, such survivors,” said Watts. “That building “They did the right thing to close it as a gymnasium, fitness gym, commercial needs to be… a place of healing, not just down rather than continue to allow Indian kitchen, and office spaces. The call also for meetings or cultural events, but for Affairs to run our lives as kids,” said mentions funding the deconstruction of sports, for simple gathering.”

Thompson, reflecting on the hard work the gymnasium if Tseshaht chooses to do to close the residential school. “I have a Only fifty years ago so, reads the statement. small part in it, makes me feel great.”

Watts said that in the coming months the “To me 50 years… doesn’t seem a long “We didn’t ask for it, but we have to live Tseshaht community will be gathering time ago,” said Thompson. “In the end with it,” said Watts. “And now we have to decide how they would like to move it’s a blessing because of the hard work to try to help fix those wrongs made by forward with the gymnasium, known as of those people who made it happen.” others so that we can create a better comMaht Mah’s.

Thompson shared that he is thankful munity for everybody.”

“I sure realize how important our people for the chiefs of the West Coast District

Page 4— Ha-Shilth-Sa—September 21, 2023 Ha-Shilth-Sa newspaper is published by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council for distribution to the members of the NTC-member First Nations, as well as other interested groups and individuals.

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Youth outreach centre opens in DTES Half of Vancouver’s homeless lives in Downtown Eastside, says municipal study

By Karly Blats Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor Vancouver, BC - The first Youth Outreach Centre has launched in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) for young people struggling with homelessness, as well as mental and physical-health challenges.

The new centre, operated by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and located at 786 Powell St., will save lives by connecting young people from age 15 to 24 to crucial mental-health and substance-use supports, states the province.

According to a news release from the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, approximately 75 per cent of serious mental-health issues emerge before the age of 25.

In addition to the centre, the province is expanding the multi-disciplinary outreach team from two workers to eight, including mental-health and substance-use nurses, youth care workers, an Indigenous peer advocate and social workers.

“Young people have faced significant challenges over the last few years and their well-being continues to be our top priority,” said Jennifer Whiteside, minister of Mental Health and Addictions, in the news release. “The Downtown Eastside Youth Outreach Centre, which is the first of its kind, will help connect young people to the supports they need and deserve on their journey to wellness, as our government continues to build a system of mental-health and addictions care from the ground up.”

Data from the 2020 Homelessness and Supportive Housing Strategy by the City of Vancouver shows that 2,095 individuals identify as homeless in the metropolitan arear—547 of whom are unsheltered and 1,548 sheltered. Of the unsheltered individuals, 52 per cent of them marked the DTES as where they reside.

Nine per cent of the more than 2,000 individuals who identify as homeless are youth (under age 25) and 36 per cent said they are, or were, in the care of the Ministry as a child or youth. Forty-eight per cent of respondents first experienced homelessness under the age of 25.

The report states people who are homeless consistently experience a range of health issues including addiction (60 per cent) and mental health issues (45 per

GoToVan/Wikimedia Commons photo

Sixty per cent of the Downtown Eastside’s unsheltered population deals with addiction issues, according to a report. Pictured is Hastings Street in 2020. cent). mental-health, addictions and health-care The report also shows that Indigenous services. These teams also distribute people are over-represented among harm-reduction supplies, such as nalhomeless in Vancouver at 39 per cent, oxone, as well as basic necessities like whereas Indigenous people make up two sleeping bags, socks, food and drinks. per cent of the general population.

Last year the Province of B.C. enhanced It’s similar in the Alberni Valley. In mental-health and substance-use serthe 2021 Port Alberni homeless count, vices for young people across B.C. The 65 per cent of individuals identified as province has added 33 new and expanded Indigenous, up from 48 per cent in 2018. substance-use programs, supported by apThat is compared to 17 per cent of the proximately 130 new health-care workcity’s general population who identify as ers, specifically for young people.

Indigenous.

In the Alberni Valley, The Youth Short To help create a culturally safe space at Term Assessment and Response Team the new DTES Youth Outreach Centre, (YSTAR) was highlighted as a new VCH collaborated with three Coast Salish service funded by the province to seek artists, including a young painter who out and help youth before substance iscreated murals that adorn the walls. sues escalate. YSTAR teams are based in “Meeting this population where they are Campbell River, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, is fundamental to the work we’re doing,” the Cowichan Valley and Mount Wadsaid Emily Giguere, VCH clinical planner dington. for Youth Substance Use Services, in a “The creation of YSTAR teams across press release. “They are sometimes difsix communities on Vancouver Island ficult to find. They may not have a fixed is significantly increasing connection, address or phone number and they are supports and service access for highly often distrustful of the health-care sysvulnerable children and youth experitem. It’s the best way to connect them to encing severe mental-health challenges the care they need, where and when they and are using harmful substances,” said need it. However, the goal has always Tenille Lindsay, member of the Port been to have a home base: a safe, welAlberni YSTAR team. “As a former coming hub where the team works from emergency department nurse, I know the and where clients can easily find them.” value of quickly and effectively connectThe team heads out to the streets of ing youth and, where appropriate, their Vancouver to meet vulnerable youth support persons with community-based to build a rapport and connect them to services and supports.”

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September 21, 2023—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 5

Policy amendment bans drug use from playgrounds Skate parks and spray parks are now also drug free, as governments heed a call from police for public safety

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor Port Alberni, BC - In a move to “ensure families feel safe” in public spaces, British Columbia is making an amendment to its decriminalization policy by prohibiting illicit drug use near playgrounds and skate parks.

As of Monday, Sept. 18, illegal drugs are banned within 15 metres of a playground, spray park, wading pool or skate park, according to an announcement from B.C.’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions.

“We requested this amendment from Health Canada to ensure that families feel safe in their community while continuing to use every tool available to fight the toxic drug crisis and save lives,” said Jennifer Whiteside, B.C.’s minister of Mental Health and Addictions, in a press release.

The amendment comes amidst a threeyear decriminalization term in B.C., an exemption to the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that came into effect Jan. 31. This exemption means that adults carrying up to 2.5 grams of certain illicit drugs will not face criminal charges or arrest. The decriminalization applies to opioids like heroin, as well as cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy).

As B.C. continues to lead Canada’s provinces with the highest rate of fatal overdoses, the move to decriminalization aims to divert people away from the criminal justice system and towards the supports they need for health, while encouraging drug users to not hide their addiction and use alone.

When the exemption was announced in January, the federal and provincial governments pledged to ensure that “desired outcomes of decriminalization are met and there are no unintended consequences.”

When the Health Canada exemption was announced in January illicit drug use had already been prohibited at B.C.’s elementary and secondary schools, as well as daycares. But since then the BC Association of Chiefs of Police has pushed for more areas where drug use is not allowed.

“There is clear need to ensure everyone feels safe in public places, while also ensuring people who use drugs are provided with alternate pathways of care,” stated the association’s Vice-President Fiona Wilson.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying societal restrictions, health authorities have struggled to mitigate the deadly effects

Denise Titian photo

Leon Titian (right) stands with others behind the Safe Injection Site facility in Port Alberni in April 2022.

Alberni. Expected to open this summer, Council called for an around-the-clock of an increasingly toxic and unpredictthis collection of small living units in “rapid access addiction clinic” and certiable supply of street drugs. By the Port Alberni’s poorest neighbourhood is fied detox centre. spring of 2020 visits to the province’s “We say ‘No more deaths’ – we must fix being run by the local friendship centre, supervised consumption sites dropped to nearly 20,000 from the over 60,000 visits this problem now!” stated NTC President offering 24-7 staff who can support illicit Judith Sayers at the time. “We can’t keep drug users. tracked in January of that year.

At the time Bennett praised the new site, saying this is a crisis, an emergency, if Usage at supervised sites has since while commenting that there are more we haven’t taken drastic steps to prevent recovered, reaching 67,641 visits in June effective approaches than drug treatment more deaths. The time to act is now – of this year, but fatalities have not, as facilities.

B.C. now sees nearly 6.5 deaths a day at- let’s act together to save lives.”

“Quite often, the 28-day program hasn’t Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns has tributed to illicit drug use. The first seven worked. People need longer programs,” months of this year have proven to be the called Port Alberni “ground zero” of most deadly yet, with at least 1,455 drug- B.C.’s opioid crisis – a small city that has she said. “We are building the kinds of puzzle pieces that fit in so that every the province’s largest number of Nuurelated fatalities across the province. jurisdiction can do what they know they chah-nulth residents. Johns reported that First Nations people have been affected need to do.” last year Port Alberni saw an overdose at a rate more than five times that of the While decriminalization aims to reduce fatality rate that was double of what ocrest of B.C.’s population, according to the stigma of using illicit drugs, Ya’ara curred across the Island Health region.

2022 data from the First Nations Health Saks, Canada’s current minister of Men“Between the ages of 19 and 44, we’re Authority. tal Health and Addictions, noted the carealmost five times the provincial averOn Aug. 31, which was International ful balance needed to prevent unintended age of toxic drug deaths - in the worst Overdose Awareness Day, butterflies consequences in communities. province for toxic drug deaths per capita were released at the Usma Nuu-chah“This cannot be forgotten as we continnulth Family and Child Services building in the country,” he said. “In Port Alue to work relentlessly to reduce subberni there’s no detox. You have to go to in Port Alberni in recognition of loved stance-use-related harms,” she stated in Nanaimo to get detox, and then you have ones lost to the crisis. a release. “This amendment ensures that to wait, and then there’s a massive gap “It’s affected every single Nuu-chahbetween detox and treatment. More often law enforcement has the tools needed to nulth person,” said Jaimey Richmond, a address public drug-use concerns, while than not, treatment is in Maple Ridge.” youth harm reduction outreach worker continuing to provide support for some Johns made those comments in early with Usma. “It’s an everyday occurrence, of the most vulnerable people in our comwhether it’s a friend or a family member.” July, when Carolyn Bennett, Canada’s former minster of Mental Health and Ad- munity who use drugs.”

In April 2022, six years after the opioid dictions, came to see the Walyaqil Tiny crisis was declared a public health emergency in B.C., the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Shelter Village on Fourth Avenue in Port

Page 6— Ha-Shilth-Sa—September 21, 2023

Tofino’s drought dries reservoir to urgent level Businesses are adapting to water conservation efforts, as district replaces public washrooms with outdoor stalls

By Alexandra Mehl Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Tofino, BC - It’s not uncommon for Tofino to go into water restrictions throughout the summer months given dryer weather conditions and an increase in visitor traffic. Kat Thomas, a counsellor for the District of Tofino, said that stage one is usually implemented at the beginning of each summer, though, this year is the earliest that she recalls going into stage three water restrictions.

In early July all outdoor water use became prohibited among residents, business owners and visitors with most public washrooms being replaced with portable stalls.

On Sept. 1 the District of Tofino released a call for urgent water conservation, outlining recommendations for short term-rentals, resorts, food and beverage services, tour providers, retailers and residents in an effort to have reservoirs outlast the drought.

The notice provides recommendations to each sector to decrease water usage, such as shutting off access to outdoor showers, selling or providing bottled water, as well as removing unnecessary linens and extra towels.

Despite a decrease in visitor traffic due to the Highway 4 closure, June’s water consumption only went down by 4.2 per cent compared to June a year earlier, reads a water conservation notice from early July.

Due to low creek flows on Meares Island, where Tofino sources their water, the reservoirs have reached their lowest level so far this year. Tofino’s particularly dry season saw 75 per cent less rainfall than an average summer, reads an urgent water conservation notice from Sept. 1.

“In addition to not seeing the little bit of rain that we normally do, we didn’t get the same level of fog,” said Thomas. “I think it’s less the volume of the rain, but [we] just need some sustained rainfall.”

Melissa Renwick photo

Like other business operators Lewis and Cathy George, owners of the House of Himwitsa, have been forced to adapt to Tofino’s summertime water shortage. In recent years they removed four hot tubs from their lodge, and now collect rain with a 500-gallon tank for the business’ outdoor use. the roof which he uses to water the plants The District of Tofino has been monitorMaquinna, Lewis George, Ahousaht outside his business, and when needed, ing water usage every day and sharing it Tyee Ha’wilth, owns the House of Himpower washing. He plans to add another with the community, said Thomas. witsa Native Art Gallery & Gifts, House 500-gallon tank to collect rainwater.

“We were sharing that information with of Himwitsa Lodge and a smoked fish “People should be gathering rain and usthe community to kind of encourage business in Tofino. He said the drought people and show them that we were all in and water conservation efforts have had a ing rainwater to clean whatever it is that this together,” she said. “Everybody was “tremendous impact” on his business and they’re having to clean,” said Maquinna.

“This is the worst so far that we’ve doing such an incredible job of it.” day-to-day life. seen,” he added. “Last year was bad too In early September, staff from the Dis“Our guests have been really good,” trict of Tofino were able to redirect some said Maquinna, who has five rooms at the but we scraped by it.”

Similarly, Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Adminof the water from higher performing areas House of Himwitsa Lodge. “We’ve been istrator Jim Chisholm said that this year to sites with lower levels, said Thomas. telling them that [we] really got to watch was a “more extreme summer” and is A study by McElhanney Ltd, which will out for our water.” hoping for a wet winter and spring so that help inform a report set to be released by In the last couple years Maquinna next tourist season bounces back. the end of this year, will include detailed removed four hot tubs from his guest “Usually in the summertime we get a solutions to Tofino’s water system, helphouse foreseeing the impacts of water ing to plan management for the next shortages in the summer. Now, Maquinna lot of rain as well, it’s just not happening couple of decades, she added. has a 500-gallon tank to collect rain from anymore,” said Maquinna.

September 21, 2023—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 7

With water restrictions and lack of parking, can Tofino sustain tourism?

Even with businesses seeing as much as 80 per cent fewer guests this summer due to Cameron Bluffs wildfire, parking spaces and water were in short supply

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter Tofino, BC – The town of Tofino has survived the tourist season that didn’t quite materialize in the summer of 2023, thanks to the Cameron Bluffs wildfire.

The fire itself closed Highway 4 for several weeks, starting June 6. For the rest of the summer the highway was either closed completely or open to single-lane alternating traffic as fire damage was repaired. The uncertainty of road openings drove tourists away from the west coast.

But even with the full re-opening of Highway 4 on September 1, Tofino tourism operators and locals are facing other concerns. Although Vancouver Island’s west coast communities saw up to 80 percent fewer visitors in the summer 2023, parking for local offshore residents and tourists was still scarce, and so was fresh water.

In an interview with Ahousaht Tyee Ha’wilth Maquinna, Lewis George, he noted that summer water shortages were still a concern for his guests even with the slow season. Maquinna owns the House of Himwitsa Lodge, offering five rooms.

“The first thing they want to do after a long trip is shower,” Maquinna told HaShilth-Sa about his guests.

The District of Tofino stated on their website that historic and prolonged drought has had a significant impact on water levels in their reservoir.

“This week (Sept. 1, 2023) Tofino’s reservoirs reached the lowest levels of 2023,” they stated.

Tofino’s water is collected from creeks on Meares Island, in Tla-o-qui-aht tribal parks territory. In a normal year Tofino receives 424 millimetres of rain from May to September. But in 2023 Tofino saw less than 100 millimetres over the same time period.

Summers have been getting hotter and drier, even in coastal communities like Tofino, so much so that the Coastal Fire Centre issued an extended ban on campfires on July 7. The campfire ban for all Vancouver Island remains in effect.

Anticipating the lack of rain, the District of Tofino launched a water conservation challenge on June 1, encouraging residents to decrease consumption by 20 per cent. But even with early conservation efforts, the District of Tofino Stage 3 water restrictions by July 10. An urgent message was issued by the district on July 14, asking that the community and businesses to immediately reduce water consumption by 20 per cent.

Ha-Shilth-Sa reached out to the district as well as local and offshore First Nations to ask how they plan to manage water and parking with increasing pressure on Tofino’s infrastructure. The District of Tofino was the only one to respond.

“District staff and council are actively working together with Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht leadership to identify shortterm and long-term solutions for current parking challenges,” they wrote in an email.

Lewis George They went on to say that a technical working group has been established to develop solutions for Tofino’s limited parking situation and the challenges offshore drivers face.

Tofino offers free downtown and beach parking passes to residents of Tla-o-quiaht, Hesquiaht and Ahousaht communities. In addition, they are working with Tla-o-qui-aht to extend Tofino’s seasonal free shuttle bus to Ty-Histanis and Esowista to help meet their communities’ needs.

When it comes to water, the District of Tofino says a roundtable will be established comprised of representatives from business and resident sectors. The purpose of the roundtable will be to provide recommendations to Tofino Council on water-related maters to inform amendments to the district’s Water Conservation Bylaw.

Tofino has made infrastructure upgrades to its reservoirs, which were installed in September 2023 to increase reservoir resiliency in the face of extended drought.

The district gave away water aerators to residents in 2023 to reduce consumption.

They are looking at incentives to encourage residents to collect rain and to use recycled water for things like gardening.

Stage three restrictions in Tofino means a ban on the use of water outdoors for things like outdoor showers, washing or rinsing cars, boats, bicycles and windows. No filling or topping up hot tubs and pools is permitted, no watering lawns and gardens and no pressure washing.

People were being asked to take fewer showers, and shower no longer than four minutes. Accommodation businesses were asked to notify their guests of water restriction measures and to remove extra towels, bathrobes, and tub stoppers from rooms.

On September 1, the District of Tofino called for urgent water conservation measures to avoid moving to stage four restrictions, which could significantly impact businesses and potentially trigger a state of local emergency.

The district didn’t go past stage three and stepped down to stage one water restrictions as of September 19, 2023.

Page 8— Ha-Shilth-Sa—September 21, 2023

Huu-ay-aht hosts Nuu-chah-nulth Artist Sympo

Master artists stress the need for a Nuu-chah-nulth cultural centre with a rotating schedule of mentors to support developing crea

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter Port Alberni, BC – A group of Nuu-chahnulth master artists gathered at the Best Western Barclay hotel in Port Alberni at the invitation of Huu-ay-aht First Nations.

According to organizer Kimmie McDonald, this is the first-ever Indigenous artist symposium held in Port Alberni and she hopes it won’t be the last.

Huu-ay-aht master carver Edward Johnson Sr. told the group of artists that when he first arrived, he wasn’t even sure what a symposium was, but toward the end of the second day, he said he understood and thought it was beneficial for Nuu-chahnulth artists.

By definition, a symposium is a conference in which experts or academics discuss a particular subject.

In this case, about a dozen Nuu-chahnulth master artists discussed important topics around art and showcasing their work. They spent September 12 and 13 at the hotel in group discussions and engaged in other activities.

The artists discussed ways in which they can protect their art from being exploited or stolen. They also discussed what forms of art should be held sacred and private, and what can be shared with the public. They talked about ways in which mentorship can be provided to up-and-coming artists.

In March 2023, then-project-lead Edward Johnson Jr. told Ha-Shilth-Sa that the idea for the symposium was part of a plan to bring Huu-ay-aht citizens back home and to put a spotlight on Indigenous artists. They applied for and received funding from the Canada Council for the Arts to host the symposium.

“Our aim is to create an artists’ collective to collaborate on tourism/culture development strategy and build a space that displays traditional ways of creating art with modern access,” Johnson Jr. wrote in an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa. He went on to say that a collective would advocate to protect the artists’ rights and the authenticity of Indigenous creative pieces.

“We want to have true Indigenous artists enabled and on display,” he continued.

“With a space dedicated to Indigenous

Gordon Dick works on a piece carved by Hjalmer Wenstob outside the Nuu-chah-nulth artists symposium on Sept. 13 at the Best Western Barclay h During the gathering Huu-ay-aht members Delia Johnson (below left) displays knitted hats she made, as Hipolite Williams (below centre) sits with a for sale, and Lavern Williams demonstrates how to weave with cedar bark (below right). art, we can control our own stories, push boundaries and preserve art in the face of loss of language.”

Over the course of discussions at the symposium, artists shared who they learned from and cultural teachings they picked up along the way.

Lavern Williams, a weaver from Huuay-aht, shared how she learned from her grandmother how to harvest grasses and

bark for weaving. She recalled fighting the biting bugs as she harvested. Her grandmother told her to crush a certain plant in her hands and rub the liquid over her skin to keep the bugs away.

“She was a pretty cool gramma – she always wanted to teach me something new,” said Williams of her grandmother Carrie Mickey.

Many of the carvers recalled spending

time in carving sheds, mentored by master carvers. They acknowledged that it is a good way to draw the interest of up-and-coming artists.

“We set up a carving table in the parking lot outside the hotel for 20 minutes and it wasn’t long before people were dropping by to watch Tim (Paul) carve,” said Hjalmer Wenstob.

Wenstob, a Tla-o-qui-aht artist, has

September 21, 2023—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 9

ist Symposium

support developing creators

Denise Titian photos

ept. 13 at the Best Western Barclay hotel in Port Alberni.

Williams (below centre) sits with a swan carving he made been working on totem poles and sculptures that are being erected in his homeland. His goal is to one day see more than 200 poles in the territory, like it used to be.

He brought one of his projects to the symposium and allowed other carvers to work on the pole.

Wenstob said he dreams of a Nuu-chahnulth cultural education centre, but it would have to be reimagined from the historical

context.

“Old teachings were that when artists worked on projects, the community took care of them, they would feed them,” he said. “When they were taken care of the artists could concentrate 100 percent on their art. We don’t have that anymore.”

Feeling guilt and the responsibility to give back, Wenstob told the crowd that he wants to mentor young artists but he doesn’t have the time. This is something people want, noted Wenstob, but it costs money to have a space and, in this day and age, most artists have other jobs.

“We still have to feed the family and pay the bills,” he said.

He suggested that a Nuu-chah-nulth cultural education center could operate with a rotating schedule of master artists.

“People can be learning under Gordon Dick, Tim Paul, Joe Martin, Hipolite Williams and others,” he said.

Hupacasath artist Rod Sayers asked if they should have a Nuu-chah-nulth centre for the arts and if so, what it would look like. Everything takes money, he noted.

“All wealth is generated from the land, yet we have to ask for permission to get a log in our own territory,” he said.

Hesquiaht carver Tim Paul concurred.

Even with the benefit of major donors there are always regulations and guidelines to follow – money with strings attached.

Paul asked that a cultural library be set up. He talked about his peers, those with cultural knowledge, entering their 80s. He spoke of art projects involving family stories and from residential school survivors.

“We don’t own it (stories) – it has to go back to the families,” said Paul.

But with governments funding projects, “we have to be responsive to the templates of Indian Affairs – that’s how we’re losing our culture,” said Paul.

“We have to get something done now,” he stressed.

The Huu-ay-aht organizers hope that the outcomes from this event will support another Nuu-chah-nulth artists symposium in 2024.

Nuu-chah-nulth master artists taking part in the symposium were Edward Johnson Sr., Hipolite Williams, Lavern Williams, Gerren Williams, Tom Patterson, Tim Paul, Connie Watts, Geraldine Edgar-Tom, Gordon Dick, Hjalmer Wenstob, and Rodney Sayers.

Event explores evolution of authentic First Nations art

By Denise Titian Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter Port Alberni, BC – Indigenous art is not only unique and beautiful, but it is also functional, at least historically. Without written language, Indigenous peoples have made art to convey their history and stories to future generations.

But now that we have other modes of communication, how has Nuu-chah-nulth art evolved? What is its purpose, moving forward? How will future generations learn ancient techniques and the history behind artistic patterns and pieces?

Huu-ay-aht First Nations hosted a Nuuchah-nulth Artist Symposium in Port Alberni, Sept. 13 at the Best Western Barclay Hotel. The purpose of the symposium was to open dialogue among Nuu-chah-nulth artists around the history and evolution of their work. They discussed Indigenous art and how to protect its authenticity.

“When our traditions and languages were taken from us, art played a very important role in preserving and transmitting culture for generations. Master carvers, weavers, painters, singers, and dancers were storytellers who carried on our languages and culture with their hands and feet,” said Edward R. Johnson in an email.

Huu-ay-aht Chief Councillor John Jack said he hoped that the symposium would

allow artists to discuss ways to preserve the authenticity of their work, and to protect their intellectual property.

“You see it on Orange Shirt Day, for example,” said Jack.

Non-Indigenous people are everywhere, selling shirts emblazoned with designs that are not authentic Indigenous art, according to material accompanying the symposium.

“How do we preserve that authenticity of Nuu-chah-nulth art in all forms?” Jack asked.

Nuu-chah-nulth-aht, he added, are known for their intellectual property. The Ha’wiih have their history preserved on ceremonial curtains. They own songs and dances, and individual families have their own songs, art, and stories. How do we protect that intellectual property, Jack wondered.

On September 13, all Nuu-chah-nulth-aht were invited to join the artists. They met Nuu-chah-nulth master artists at work as they demonstrated their techniques. Guests were invited to observe the artists during their panel discussion.

Vendors were on site, selling their art to the public.

“We’re not sure we will solve it, but we will help to organize an approach to it,” said Jack.

The Nuu-chah-nulth Artist Symposium was funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Barb Johnson of Huu-ay-aht models a kakawin (orca) cedar bark hat she made.

Shawnee Thomas demonstrates beading at the symposium.

Page 10— Ha-Shilth-Sa—September 21, 2023

First Nations pieces will stay downtown, says RBCM Museum plans to keep Aboriginal artifacts at its main building, while other collections will go into new facility

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor Victoria, BC - This month the Royal B.C. Museum began construction of a 164,000-square-foot building to house its collections that aren’t on display, but the institution doesn’t plan to include its First Nations pieces in this new facility.

Instead, as the RBCM aims to be “more proactive rather than reactive” in returning certain Indigenous artifacts to their home communities, it intends to keep the First Nations pieces at the main downtown location to facilitate more repatriation opportunities in the future, according to the museum’s communications department.

“Through conversation with community, the intention has been to continue to keep Indigenous collections at the downtown location,” stated the museum in an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa. “This is to maintain accessibility for Indigenous communities throughout the province to visit with belongings and allow space for people to be with them in privacy. There are upcoming sessions this fall with the First Nations Summit and with tribal councils to continue conversations about how best care for the belongings in our care.”

Currently only about one per cent of the museum’s collection is on display.

With over seven million artifacts in its care, the construction of a new facility is intended to house the RBCM’s extensive archive, while offering additional space for research and public engagement. With a total estimated cost of $270 million, the collections and research building in Colwood is expected to be open to the public in 2026.

“Visitors will also have the opportunity to see the team working with specimens and artifacts more easily - work that at present, is predominantly behind closed doors,” stated the RBCM. The museum’s Ethnology collection includes over 14,000 objects, spanning from the early 1800s to the present. Much of this is Indigenous to British Columbia, with tools, regalia, basketry, bead work, weaving and wood carving. Sizes range from full-scale canoes and totem poles to miniscule jewelry.

Two of the larger pieces in this collec-

RBCM image

The 164,000-square-foot collections and research building is being built in Colwood, at an estimated cost of $270 million.

The Royal B.C. Museum plans to keep its Indigenous collection at the downtown location to ensure First Nations have easy access to their artifacts. tion are a pair of welcome figures that 200 videotapes of potlatches and other remains of two other people added to it originate from the front of a big house ceremonies. during the following years after bones in Kiixin, an ancient Huu-ay-aht forAlso included in this collection are at were found on northern Flores Island protress and village site in Barkley Sound. least 3,700 sound recordings of First Natruding from the ground.

The welcome figures can be seen at the tions people. The orally recorded history The remains were transferred into a museum’s main lobby, while replicas of tribes and communities are preserved cedar box made by Ahousaht artist Wally stand on either side of the entrance to the in these tapes, with traditional dialects Thomas for transport and burial in a House of Huu-ay-aht in Anacla. graveyard on Flores Island, with Ha’wiih spoken by fluent speakers.

In many cases, the Indigenous artifacts “Some of the sound recordings and vidand witwaak accompanying the journey were taken from their original places eo tapes can be accessed by appointment; back to Ahousaht for security. without permission of the people who those that document family histories and “In some repatriation cases, communilived there, a historical dilemma that has ceremonies can be accessed only with ties have wished for us to retain their led the RBCM to repatriate pieces to their belongings but to transfer the ownership the permission of the rights holder of the home communities since the 1970s. hereditary privileges,” stated the RBCM back to them, while others have wished In 2018 the remains of six whalers were for their belongings to be physically on its website. returned to Ahousaht, along with bones These recordings have recently been returned home,” wrote the museum. from two other individuals that were discussed during the Nuchatlaht case in “Through ongoing communication, taken from the northern part of Flores the B.C. Supreme Court, where the First community visits, and open dialog we Island. For many years, all of the remains are working with communities to ensure Nation is claiming Aboriginal title over were mixed together in a plastic tote the northern half of Nootka Island. The that their wishes for their belongings are container in the RBCM’s storage. The province is disputing that there was a being honoured whether that is through whaler’s remains were originally taken continued history of inland habitation in repatriation or other aspects of museum from an Ahousaht whaling shrine in the this area, but the RBCM tapes could be work.”

1930s by Rev. George Kinney, a missionAnother element of the RBCM’s reposi- presented as evidence, as the Nuchatary stationed in Bamfield who travelled tory is the Indigenous Audiovisual collec- laht’s legal team is prepared to invest in the west coast of Vancouver Island. This translating and transcribing the recordtion, with approximately 65,000 images collection ended up at the museum after documenting the province’s First Nations ings if needed.

Kinney’s death in 1958, which had the from the 1850s to the present, plus about

Phrase of the week: %u%usum%nis c^a%ak mi+šaa+^a>kuu ha%uk%up šuc^’aš@aqkin Pronounced ‘Oh ooh sum nis alth cha ugh mit shay alt koo haa ook up sue chas ugh kin’, it means, ‘We need the rain to feed our Earth’ Supplied by ciisma.

Illustration by Ivy Cargill-Martin

September 21, 2023—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 11

Vessel fined after illegally fishing $127,825 of tuna In late June owners of the Ocean Provider were fined $6,000 for fishing without a valid license in summer 2022

By Alexandra Mehl Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Port Alberni, BC - The owners of the commercial fishing vessel Ocean Provider were sentenced earlier this summer after pleading guilty to fishing albacore Tuna from July 22 to Aug. 15, 2022 without a valid license. A total of 2,250 tuna, equalling 31,956 pounds and amounting to $127,824, was forfeited to the Crown.

On June 28, 2023, the Port Alberni Provincial Court fined the company owners $6,000 and upheld the seizures to the crown.

“This is a serious violation of the Fisheries Act and Canada’s international fisheries obligations,” reads a press release from Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The illegal activity was discovered when an offshore patrol vessel conducted a routine fisheries inspection of Ocean Provider, 42 nautical miles offshore of Barkley Sound while the crew was actively fishing.

“Officers determined that the vessel was not licensed to fish for tuna at that time,” reads the press release. “The vessel was escorted to port by the fishery officers where the catch was offloaded for processing and seizure.”

Illegal fishing not only threatens conservation efforts, but it can also impact management and closures, recreational fisheries, and commercial harvesters, reads the press release.

The press release goes on to say that illegal fishing can also result in negatively impacting the coastal economy and “threatens the food source for Indigenous people.”

Fisheries and Oceans Canada photo

From July 22 to Aug. 15, 2022 the Ocean Provider caught 2,250 tuna west of Barkley Sound without a valid licence.

DFO sold seized tuna after vessel was charged

By Alexandra Mehl Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Port Alberni, BC – When the commercial vessel Ocean Provider was found fishing albacore tuna 42 nautical miles offshore of Barkley Sound without a valid license on a routine fisheries inspection, they were escorted to port, where 2,250 tuna amounting to 31,956 pounds were processed then seized.

After the owners pleaded guilty, they were sentenced the following summer in Port Alberni Provincial Court and fined $6,000. But when seizures were upheld to the Crown, it left the question: What happened to the seized tuna?

In an interview, Sean Ward, chief of DFO’s Enforcement Operations, told Ha-Shilth-Sa that when an investigation is opened it is up to the initiating officer to decide how the fish will be disposed of based on the various options under the Fisheries Act. “Because of the quantity and the location, they got three bids, and sold it,” said Ward. “The money goes to the Receiver General [of Canada] and is held pending the outcome of the court case.”

In this case, the tuna fished by Ocean Provider between July 22 to Aug. 15, 2022, amounted to $127,824.

Ward explained that the officer could also distribute the fish among local communities. But with each situation there are a number of factors to consider, such as the type of fishery and license issued, willingness of the community to accept the product, among others.

“Last thing you want is a resource to be wasted by expiring,” said Ward.

Wikipedia image

The Ocean Provider caught 31,956 pounds of albacore tuna, pictured in the top left, one of the smaller varieties of the fish.

According to the Sept. 13 press release, from another area or conservation at a things including conservation and others some concerns involve the impact on higher level,” said Ward, adding that it who follow the regulations,” said Atleo, conservation efforts, recreational and also takes away from other commercial, who holds the position of chair of the commercial harvesters as well as the lorecreational, and Indigenous-based fisher- Council of Ha’wiih Forum on Fisheries, cal economy. ies. and was a negotiator in the Ahousaht “If someone decides that they’re just goSimilarly, Cliff Atleo, said that followCase. “I’m glad that they caught these ing to fish without a license, that means ing fishing regulations is a “no brainer”. guys, just simply because we are in that that they’re taking that resource away “If you don’t, you impact all kinds of situation where licenses are important.”

Page 12— Ha-Shilth-Sa—September 21, 2023

President’s Message Hello Everyone. Hope all is well in your communities. It seems that summer is quickly passing by and in another week it will be fall. The children are back in school and our students are back in post secondary institutions for another year.

Looks like it was a fairly successful fishing year and people got their fish smoked, canned and frozen. Nothing like having fish year-round.

Don’t forget the NTC scholarships will be October 13th and graduation on the 14th. This was postponed from June when the highway was shut down completely and then one lane alternating.

Come and help celebrate our scholarship winners and graduates from all levels of education.

Our NTC AGM also had to be postponed due to the audit not being completed due to circumstances beyond our control. An important part of the AGM is the audit. This will now be held on November 30, 2023.

September 30th is coming up quickly.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, better known as Orange Shirt Day. This year Tseshaht is celebrating 50 years since the Alberni Indian Residential School was shut down. There is an art exhibit at the Barclay hotel starting at 10:00 a.m., then a walk at 11:00 a.m. starting from the Barclay and a cultural celebration at noon at Maht Mahs. All are welcome. While we remember the impacts of the residential school every day, it is good to have one day that we dedicate to this.

The latest residential school in a northern Saskatchewan First Nation called English River announced a total of 93 unmarked graves at the end of July. These announcements will keep coming as more and more of the schools get their groundpenetrating radar completed. September 30th is a day to raise the profile of all the missing children, those that never got to go home. We must all mark this day and educate others on what happened.

As was promised, Highway 4 opened on the Thursday before the Labour Day weekend to two-lane traffic. For now, this will be the case, though the Ministry of Transportation will continue to monitor the area above Angel Rock, especially with rainstorms. Solutions are still being sought for a permanent secondary highway out of Port Alberni. MLA Jose Osborne was very good through these highway closures in bringing all the local leaders impacted together to meet with the Ministry of Transportation and be able to ask questions and have input into decisions having to be made.

I was part of a call with Transport Canada and MP Gord Johns and a few other leaders to talk about changes needed in Tofino Harbour following the two float plane crashes and other dangers. Finding money to do some of the changes is required, as is also looking into changes to laws on how this can best be addressed. Slowing down the boats and planes, flashing lights on planes while landing, etc. This is the first meeting in two years and we will continue to meet to ensure the safety of people and vessels in the harbour.

I spoke at another conference on Zoom with a panel talking about how Canada is doing in taking action on climate change. After a summer of an unprecedented number of forest fires, ocean temperatures rising higher than ever before, flooding, the issue of climate change must rise to the top of the political agenda. Ensuring there is enough resources - human and equipment - to

Community&Beyond Nuu-chah-nulth Baby Group

Every Monday CYS - 4841 Redford Street 10am-12pm. We offer Prenatal and infant development information, special guests, snacks provide and $20.00 food voucher per family. Referrals when needed. NTC Nursing and Doula’s 250-724-3939.

Enter from 4th avenue side, building with orange stripe.

Port Alberni Friendship Center – Eating in Balance

9:00am-12:00pm Cultural Brushings in support of the Tseshaht Community.

If you have any questions, please call Leanne Harding, Administrative Assistant 250-724-1225 Marcia Keitlah Memorial

September 23th, 2023 Maht Mahs Gym – Port Alberni 2:00pm The Keitlah family would like to announce the memorial for Marcia Keitlah.

National Truth and Reconciliation

Every Wednesday

September 30th

PAFC fight forest fires is critical. Having places where people can evacuate to is also very important. Also having resources to sustain people who have to evacuate and fixing infrastructure before people can return home is critical. Some First Nations communities were burned to the ground and other had major damage. Replacing fibre optic cables and transmission lines take a long time. How do communities cope with this? There is so much to prepare for and discuss with governments regarding natural disasters so we prepare for when they do come.

It is very important that First Nations are now being part of the conversations around climate change and what actions need to be taken. What role can we play to help in the climate crisis?

I continue to attend meetings with BC Hydro as they work with first Nations to design a call for power. There has not been a call for power for 15 years and this time, for the first time ever, they are asking First Nations how we want it done. How should First Nations participate in the call? Should every project that is bid have First Nations equity owners, or at the very least meaningful benefits? BC Hydro is having focus groups with various parts of the province and I have attended two sessions. It is critical for all First Nations to be voicing their positions and insisting that all projects must include First Nations. The free prior and informed consent of First Nations must be obtained before any clean energy project moves forward in their territories. I encourage all First Nations to participate in these sessions.

I am also working on the Heritage Conservation Act Transformation project. We want legislative changes to go through next spring before there is a provincial election. One important topic is shared decision making agreements with the province. How can we do that more easily than the process now? The process is that you need cabinet approval for such agreements. Getting on the agenda to a cabinet meeting and getting approval is a long, drawn-out process and takes far too long. There are also a few other ways to get agreements in the Heritage Act and we are trying to find ways to make these agreements easier to negotiate so First Nations can manage their own heritage sites. There will be First Nations engagement sessions on September 27 and October 3rd to review what is being proposed for legislative changes. Your input would be appreciated.

Looking forward to all the events and meetings coming up for Nuu-chah-nulth.

Respectfully, Cloy-e-iis Judith Sayers

Port Alberni 1:00pm – 3:00pm. Participants work together to make a meal, discuss health and food related topics. Participants who work (cook and clean) with the group will receive a $10.00 grocery coupon that can be used at either Quality Foods or Buy-Low Foods. Childminder on premises. A drop-in group, no registration required. For more information about our program, please call and ask for Amber – 250-735-6276 ext. 233. A part of the ASI Early Years program.

Westcoast Community Resources Society Community Lunch

Every Thursday

10:00am AIRS student art display at the Barclay Hotel. 11:00am Walk starts at Barclay Hotel. 12:00pm Celebration begins at Maht Mahs. 50 years has passed since Alberni Indian Residential School closed it’s doors. We invite everyone to join us in celebration with a walk to honour AIRS survivors and those that did not make it home, followed by lunch, fun activities, dinner and more! Bring your drums and shawls, wear orange. A shuttle will be available for drivers to return to their cars. For more information or to make a contribution or donation to this event, please contact Event Coordinator, Esther Charlie at 250-730-3246 or esther. airs@tseshaht.com

Westcoast Community Services hub – 500 Matterson Drive, Ucluelet 11:30am – 1:00pm. 250-726-2343, admin@wccrs.ca, www.wccrs.ca

NTC Education and NETP Graduation and Scholarship Ceremony

Cultural Brushings with Quu asa

October 13th – 14th 2023

Every Friday

ADSS

Administration Building

More info to come.

September 21, 2023—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 13

Employment and Training

Check out our new Facebook page Nuu-chah-nulth Jobs and Events Updated daily!

Page 14— Ha-Shilth-Sa—September 21, 2023

Kayakers spot massive sunfish in Kyuquot Sound The size of a small car and weighing up to 2,500 kilograms, Mola Mola sightings are increasing on the B.C. coast

By Karly Blats Ha-Shilth-Sa Contributor Kyuquot, BC - This August kayakers in Kyuquot Sound were astonished when they paddled upon a giant ocean sunfish.

Tashi Townley, his partner Megan Komori-Kennedy and her mom Violet Komori are still processing what they saw during their last-minute kayak trip.

“It was so surreal. Basically we pulled up on this fin and we initially thought it was maybe a sea lion sleeping on its side and its flipper was poking out of the water,” Townley said. “Then as we got closer there was this moment of just complete uncertainty and it took about 10 seconds for it to sink in that it wasn’t a sea lion and it was actually this massive fish flapping in the current. There’s not really many words that can describe seeing such a large fish.”

Townley, who splits his time between Vancouver Island and B.C.’s interior, said this was his first time paddling around Kyuquot, but his partner and her mom have been coming to the area for years.

None of them had seen a giant sunfish before, but the ironic part is, they were all talking about how surreal it would be to see one 30 minutes before the encounter.

“We were all paddling 18-foot kayaks, and [the sunfish] had to be at least half the length of our kayaks and probably close to that in width as well. It was probably the size of a small car,” Townley said. “To me they seem like these mythical creatures.”

Townley said he had a rough idea of what the giant fish was but it was his mom who suggested he submit the photo to the Marine Education & Research Society (MERS).

The giant sunfish that Townley paddled upon was a Mola Mola, one of two different sunfish species showing up along the Pacific Coast that MERS is collecting data on.

Along with ocean surveys and working with partners like Fisheries and Oceans Canada, MERS relies on citizens to submit photos or videos of Mola sightings in waters on the coast from California to Alaska.

The other Mola species found in West Coast waters is the Mola Tecta, also known as the hoodwinker sunfish, because until recently it’s been misidentified as the Mola Mola and has gone undetected.

Jackie Hildering, education director with MERS, said Molas are not uncommon or rare, but there’s been little dedicated research on the species, especially

Submitted photo

Kayakers Megan Komori-Kennedy and her mom Violet Komori paddled upon a giant ocean sunfish this August in Kyuquot Sound. the Mola Tecta.

“Our role in it as the Marine Education Research Society is to try to use our networks to get more sightings,” Hildering said. “There’s been more research done in California because it’s warmer and [Mola’s] are more common there, but there’s not been a lot of research done certainly in Alaska and in B.C.” Hildering said research and data collection on the two Mola species showing up in the Northern Hemisphere began to pick up steam when a blog post she wrote in 2011 on what she presumed was the Mola Mola caught the attention of marine scientist Dr. Marianne Nyegaard.

Nyegaard published her discovery of the hoodwinker species in 2017, which she first identified in waters off New Zealand four years prior. Nyegaard believed the temperate Southern Hemisphere was where you’d find the hoodwinker species until a dead one appeared on a beach in

TSESHAHT MARKET GATEWAY TO THE PACIFIC RIM

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

San Diego, California in 2019. After that she began searching the internet for any blog posts or citizen photos on social media of the species being spotted on the other side of the world.

Nyegaard found that it was common for hoodwinkers to be misidentified along the western coast of North America. Tracking how long this species has been living in Canadian waters is difficult because there’s not much data before the beginning of social media.

“Presumption even by researchers on this coast was that they were all Mola Mola and with [Nyegaard’s] keen understanding of this new species, she thought wait, that’s not a Mola Mola and it was 6,500 kilometres further north than what was expected to be the range,” Hildering said.

Differentiating the Mola Mola and the Mola Tecta isn’t easy for the average person, but Hildering says through her

research she’s often able to tell the two species apart, especially if they’re adult sunfish.

“Depending on the photo…if there is wrinkling on the skin, it’s almost certainly to be a Mola Mola and there’s an overall smoother appearance to the Mola Tecta,” she said. “If you can get a good look at their head, there’s no head or chin bump in the [Mola Tecta].”

Hildering said Mola Mola’s are known to get to be about 3.3 metres in size and there’s reports of them weighing up to 2,500 kilograms. She said females are believed to be bigger than males. There’s been far fewer sightings on the Mola Tecta and the biggest one known to date is 242 cm long and can weigh up to two tonnes.

There’s been more than 2,000 citizen submissions to date that MERS, along with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and partners in the U.S., have received on Molas.

“For us specifically, even for just this year, we have 60 data contributions in B.C. and a few are from Alaska,” Hildering said. “In terms of whatever we get randomly, if the number of sightings is big enough it should allow a sense of how many and where the two species are relative to one another. Otherwise it is really difficult. If we are getting more people engaged in one area of the coast versus the other than that is going to skew the results.”

Hildering said sightings off Vancouver Island are sometimes more common because of the same warm waters that bring in tuna. She said she’s seen sunfish near Port McNeill and there’s been sightings outside Haida Gwaii and offshore around B.C. It’s not yet known if sightings around B.C. are due to El Nino years or warming temperatures due to climate change.

“There has been the presumption that [Mola] are far slower and less mobile, which is wrong…they can dive really deep where it’s colder and they’re believed to come to the surface to warm up,” Hildering said. “They also present (at the surface) to be cleaned by birds like Alcatraz because they have parasites on the outside and it is why they are called, collectively, the sunfish, not for their shape but for this behaviour coming to the surface for sun.”

Hildering said for anyone who comes across the large fish, if they’re able to document it in some way without causing any stress to the animal, to please do so and submit any findings to mersociety. org.

September 21, 2023—Ha-Shilth-Sa—Page 15

Huu-ay-aht eyes Trans Canada Trail for tourism boost CEO of the largest trail network in the world visits Anacla, as Bamfield awaits more visitors with road upgrade

By Eric Plummer Ha-Shilth-Sa Editor Anacla, BC - As the First Nation looks to open up the area to more tourism, serious consideration is being given to extending the Trans Canada Trail to Huu-ay-aht territory on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island.

Spanning 28,000 kilometres by road, wilderness and waterway, the Trans Canada Trail is the longest network of recreational pathways in the world, extending to each of Canada’s three coasts.

But currently just 566 kilometres of the trail is on Vancouver Island, running from Nanaimo to the Victoria area.

This could change if conversations continue about expanding the TCT to the island’s southwest coast. On Sept. 11 Eleanor McMahon, president and CEO of the Trans Canada Trail, visited Anacla and Bamfield, including a tour to the ancient Huu-ay-aht village and fortress site of Kiixin.

“This is an opportunity for us to amplify Indigenous trail tourism experiences, to tell the story and the origin story of Canada through that lens of Indigeneity, and amplify those important cultural stories,” said McMahon. “It’s an association with an iconic brand. We would be thrilled to have the opportunity to tell the story of Canada through the lens of the people here.”

McMahon’s visit developed from discussion with Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns in April, who sees potential in the opportunity, as funding is available for First Nations that become part of the Trans Canada Trail. The TCT receives annual federal funding, as well as private donations.

“The experience of trail networks is invaluable,” said Johns, noting the marketing benefits of being part of the national trail. “It’s quite timely given the road completion coming.”

Currently the final stages are being undertaken to seal Bamfield Main, a multi-million-dollar investment from the province and the Huu-ay-aht to upgrade the 76-kilometre logging road from Port Alberni to Bamfield and the First Nation’s village of Anacla.

Cutting down on blinding summertime dust, wintertime washouts and suspension-busting potholes, the Bamfield Main upgrade is expected to enable regular vehicles to travel the road, thereby opening the remote area up to more visitors.

The Trans Canada Trail could become a part of Huu-ay-aht’s future in the tourism industry, said Chief Councillor John Jack.

“It will be something that we put on the table before council. I do believe it will be seriously considered, given the natural overlapping interests that we see in the tourism industry, but also protecting natural sites and really diversifying into things like the Trans Canada Trail,” he said, noting that conversations with other First Nations on the coast will needed.

“I do think that it’s going to take more than just one nation to make this happen, though.”

In June of last year the Indigenous presence along the Trans Canada Trail gained more exposure with the opening of Onhwa’ Lumina in Wendake.

Located in the Quebec City area, where the Huron-Wedat Nation are based, the 1.2-kilometre Onhwa’ Lumina section incorporates a dynamically lit forest, with projections and animation that illustrate the myths and symbols of Wendake. To create the project Huron-Wendat members collaborated with Moment Factory,

Eric Plummer photos

Huu-ay-aht knowledge keeper Kiskiista (above) gives visitors a tour of the ancient fortress and village site of Kiixin. On Sept. 11 a group visited Anacla and the National Historic Site of Kiixin, including MLA Josie Osbourne, MP Gord Johns and CEO of the Trans Canada Trail Eleanor McMahon. a Montreal-based multimedia entertainment company.

As many as 100,000 visitors were expected at Onhwa’ Lumina over the attraction’s first year. For the Trans Canada Trail, this serves as an indication of the tourism potential of Indigenous-led destinations. Earlier this year the TCT signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada to continue with partnerships.

“We would like more people to use our network, to become aware of it. We think it’s an amazing tool for tourism and economic development,” said McMahon, who saw trail use go up by 50 per cent during the pandemic - an engagement that has yet to show signs of declining.

“The beauty and the wonder and the nature of Canada is an incredibly powerful draw for people around the world who want to connect to nature, and who live in populated countries.”

On Sept. 11 McMahon, Johns and other visitors where taken to Kiixin, an ancient Huu-ay-aht village site located on the coast near Bamfield and Anacla. A hike through old-growth forest reveals the National Historic Site of Canada, where soil deposits show evidence of 5,500 years of habitation, explained Kiskiista during the tour.

“The history of our country is relatively short, we only have 156 years as Canada, but in our village Kiixin we have 5,500 years,” he said. “This is an opportunity for us to not only share our culture with the world and fellow Canadians, but also our own people.”

Changes in the layers of soil show that at least 21 tsunamis hit Kiixin. As many as a dozen longhouses stood atop rocky bluffs at the site, enabling residents to watch for invaders. Ahousaht tribes invaded Kiixin multiple times, and Huu-ayaht history tells of a family once hiding in a crevice within the rock bluff during an attack.

Some house posts are still evident at Kiixin, traces of multiple ages of habitation, the most recent dated in 1828.

“They all have a different time period.

Sometimes they’re separated by decades, sometimes they’re separated by centuries,” explained Kiskiista. “As we’re get-

ting ready to show this off to the world, we always like to remind our guests that there is a natural order, because we want to minimize our own footprint.”

Kiixin generated excitement among the guests, but Jack cautions that it’s unlikely the Huu-ay-aht would agree to including the site in the Trans Canada Trail.

“We have to take the appropriate measures to protect what needs to be protected, to channel a lot of the attention and energy into places that don’t necessarily have the same cumulative impacts as visiting the Kiixin site will,” said Jack.

“There are locations adjacent to Kiixin that have significant potential for developing some sort of experience that’s more hands-on for individuals, and that Kiixin will remain a protected area, something that has very curated access and interac-

tion.”

As Bamfield braces for more visitors, the elected chief looks to Tofino for lessons on preparing for the impacts of tourism in order to “maintain the unique character and experience” of Huu-ay-aht territory.

“Part of Tofino’s difficulty is that their constraining factors are geographic in nature, and that limits the amount of water that they have coming into their territory,” he said. “That may not necessarily be the same for our territory.”

Mid Island-Pacific Rim MLA Josie Osborne also attended the visit to Anacla and Bamfield, and now Eleanor McMahon plans to return to Vancouver Island in November, when she will visit the provincial legislature in Victoria to discuss the Trans Canada Trail with other MLAs.

Page 16— Ha-Shilth-Sa—September 21, 2023

Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Education with N.E.T.P.

2022-2023 Graduation and Scholarship Ceremony Where: Alberni District Secondary School 4000 Roger Street, Port Alberni, BC Scholarship Ceremony—October 13th Doors @ 4:00pm; Dinner @ 5:00pm; Ceremony @ 6:30pm Graduation Ceremony—October 14th Doors @ 2:30pm; Ceremony @ 3:00pm; Dinner @ 5:00pm

Nuu-chah-nulth nations participating in The K-12 + Post-Secondary Ceremony are: AHOUSAHT HUPACASATH DITIDAHT HUU-AY-AHT EHATTESAHT/CHINEHKINT KA:’YU:’K’T’H’/CHE:K:TLE7ET’H’ MOWACHAHT/MUCHALAHT

HESQUIAHT NUCHATLAHT TLA-O-QUI-AHT TSESHAHT TOQUAHT

Also, participating Nuu-chah-nulth Employment & Training Program *All Trades and Vocational program graduates please contact the N.E.T.P. Office to confirm attendance: (250) 723-1331 For more information, please contact Richard Samuel at (250) 724-5757 Or by e-mail: richard.samuel@nuuchahnulth.org