Tag Archives: Friendship Pole

Business, Community

First Days At The Nook; Final Touches

A lot has happened in the five months since Tommaso Biasiolo became the Outreach and Admin Coordinator for ‘the Nook’ in Cortes Island’s Village Commons. The Grand Opening was on June 27, 2025, but there are still small projects to complete. Two special small rooms need to soundproofed; the Nook’s kitchen has not been installed. The original vision was to create a space where nonprofits can work and hold their meetings, but these spaces are now available for individuals as well.

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Arts, Indigenous Nations History

Kwakwaka’wakw artist Ernest Puglas explains how carving saved his life: ‘This is powerful’

As a new welcome pole is raised on Klahoose, Homalco and Tla’amin territories, its maker describes how, through art, ‘I have recreated myself’

Editor’s note: The author of this profile sits on the board of the Cortes Community Foundation, which commissioned Puglas’s welcome pole. IndigiNews is honoured to share Puglas’s story.

By  Forrest Berman-Hatch, IndigiNews,, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Standing before a crowd of roughly 50 people on “Cortes Island,” carver Kuma’inukw (Ernest) Puglas first acknowledges his Kwak’wala lineage.

Then, he thanks the Klahoose First Nation for hosting him and for the honour of carving on its territories (the island is the traditional lands of Klahoose, Homalco and Tla’amin Nations), before unveiling his newest cedar welcome pole in a public ceremony.

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Community, Development

Changes Coming To The Heart of Mansons Landing

The audio version of this story starts with Michael Keith’s impromptu response to a car horn sounding off during his Friday, July 12, performance in the Village Commons Music Series.  

  • “I don’t want to live in this crazy place, 
  • all the horns are beeping all over the place. 
  • Every time I try to play, I can’t – I hear another horn, 
  • it’s probably someone shopping for corn.” 

There have been a lot of changes in what Manda Aufochs Gillespie calls the heart of ‘Mansons Landing.’ The big tent where Michael played has been moved  beside the Mansons Hall parking lot for the summer. Cortes Currents did not check to see if  Reef Point Farm is already selling corn at the Friday Market, but Sara Stewart was there. Her stall was involved in the realignment which now connects the Market with the Village Commons.

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Community

Feb 1st Update on the Village Commons

The Cortes Island Community Foundation is inviting Cortes residents to an update on the Village Commons, 4-6 PM at Mansons Hall on Thursday, February 1st.

“The goal for this Village Commons update is to have the Cortes Island Community Foundation present our design plan for the Village Commons Pavilion, which is going to start construction pretty soon. Then also hear from some other stakeholders like the Southern Cortes Community Association (SCCA), Cortes Housing Society and the Fire Hall to talk about any plans that they have upcoming for the downtown Manson’s area,” explained Isabella McKnight, Executive Administrator of the Cortes Island Foundation.  

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Community, Development, Indigenous Nations

Richard Andrews First Month as Project Manager of the Village Commons

Richard Andrews compared his first month as Project Manager of the Village Commons, in downtown Mansons Landing, to the years he was the Executive Director of a non profit in Vancouver.

“There’s a lot of planning going on right now.  We’re in  phase one of our build. We have the welcome pole to make, and a big pavilion. The funnest work is going to be making a playground.  The vending zone and the playground are mysterious right now. I have an idea of what they might be. I have an idea of what people want because we have  a lot of documentation from the Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA) about the community process they went through to determine what was to be done with this property,” he said.

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