qathet Living, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
For decades, the Salish Sea’s herring nearly disappeared, starving local salmon, whales and other species. The run miraculously came back in 2014.
Since then, Ottawa has allowed commercial boats to harvest 20 per cent of the herring run – in spite of lobbying by First Nations and environmental groups.
Continue reading Herring cut not enough, says west coast First Nation
New evidence suggests that First Nations people may have arrived in northern Vancouver Island as early as 18,500 years ago.
Chris Hebda, from the Hakai Institute, is the lead author of a study that found Topknot Lake, near Cape Scott, has been ice free since then. In today’s interview he also gives a tentative outline of our area’s history from post ice age settlement down to the First Nations of our era.
Continue reading The Ice Age settlement of Vancouver Island and the Discovery IslandsNational Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
It’s hard work, but it’s heart work.
That’s the maxim of the climate action team helping bring the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) First Nation’s vision of clean energy sovereignty to life.
The small, remote coastal nation in Bella Bella on British Columbia’s wild central coast is in the last stage of shaping a three- to five-year clean energy plan to shift its dependence on diesel and increase the community’s climate resiliency by focusing on sustainable solutions using the sun, wind, earth and water.
Continue reading Heiltsuk First Nation doing ‘heart work’ to tackle climate crisisBy Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
From a bridge above train tracks in New Hazelton, B.C., supporters of the Gitxsan Nation watched on Nov. 18, as Gitxsan children and teens tossed marshmallows at a fleet of heavily-armed RCMP units descending upon the tiny town in the northwest part of the province.
“They had tactical units, sniper teams and riot suppression gear and we had children with marshmallows,” Kolin Sutherland-Wilson, a Gitxsan member of Wilp (house group) Git’luuhl’um’hetxwit, told The Narwhal in an interview.
Continue reading ‘We are not here to get killed’: Wet’suwet’en solidarity actions met with armed police responseJonas Fineman has been at sea for much of the last seven months: cleaning up beaches, showing tourists the marine wonders of our area and as the captain of a scientific research vessel. He returned home briefly last week, before setting out again for the waters off southern Vancouver Island.
Continue reading Beach clean-ups, the Misty Isles and life between two worlds
