Tag Archives: Indian Act

Politics

North Island: 38 Days from the Provincial Election

British Columbia is heading for the polls on October 19, a little more than a month from now.

So far only two candidates have registered in our electoral district, North Island.

Michele Babchuk has been our MLA since 2020 and prior to that she was a Campbell River City Councillor for six years, as well as Chair of the Strathcona Regional District Board. 

Dr. Anna Kindy is running for the Conservative Party of BC. She is an  addiction specialist, and physician. On her campaign website it states   “Throughout her career, Anna has been a tireless advocate for the marginalized and stigmatized populations of the North Island.”

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Food

‘What we need to get back to’: Food sovereignty event brings talk of barter economies

Editor’s note: Cortes Island markets rely on cash, not barter,

By Alexandra Mehl, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Port Alberni, BC – In late March Nuu-chah-nulth and surrounding communities gathered at Maht Mah’s for Ahousaht’s food sovereignty event. After a full day of presentations, attendees and presenters gathered to competitively trade teas, herbs, seeds, smoked sockeye, soaps, and other goods, representing an economy that traces back thousands of years.

“Traditionally, we had vast trade routes,” said Nitanis Desjarlais, a traditional food advocate, noting there was language associated with trading. “It opened up our plates to this variety of foods, and it strengthened our relationships.”

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Animals, History, Indigenous Nations History

A Breed Apart: What was the Coast Salish woolly dog, and can we bring it back?

Editor’s note:  Salish Woolly dogs are believed to have been common throughout Coast Salish territories, so were most likely kept by the ancestors of the Homalco, Klahoose and Tla’amin First Nations. The oldest remains of this breed date back 4,000 years and were found in Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. Sheep wool is believed to have replaced dog wool in Indigenous communities after 1862.

By Mina Kerr-Lazenby, North Shore News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

If you had been wandering the Coast Salish territories of British Columbia some 4,000 years ago, rambling dense woodland and visiting village longhouses, you would likely have spotted a number of small, white, flocculent pooches.

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Indigenous Nations

SISȻENEM will be the first land trust returned to a First Nation

By Chadd Cawson, The Columbia Valley Pioneer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An untouched piece of Indigenous land called Halibut Island, also known as SISȻENEM, near Salt Spring Island, will be the first piece of land given back to an Indigenous community through a land trust. The nearly 436,000 square foot island has been stewarded by the Saanich, or W̱SÁNEĆ, Peoples for thousands of years.

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Animals

Respecting order in the animal kingdom by avoiding the top hunter

By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tofino, BC – In all of Joe Martin’s 68 years of living on the west coast of Vancouver Island, he said he’s only encountered a wolf once. 

Alone in the forest just outside of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation community of Esowista, Martin recalled when a pack of wolves ran past him over 20 years ago.

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