Tag Archives: K’omoks First Nation

Indigenous Nations, Politics

Blaney asks the name of our riding be changed to ‘North Island – qathet’

It has been more than two months since the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission tabled their report for British Columbia in the House of Commons. Their mandate ‘was to propose new boundaries for federal electoral districts in the province to maximize voter parity while taking into consideration social and geographic factors, including respect for communities of interest or identity.’ Yet the commission has not yet responded to First Nations suggestions that they drop the name ‘Powell’ from North Island – Powell River.”

In response to a request from the Tla’amin First Nation, Rachel Blaney is asking the Electoral Boundary Commission to change the name of our riding to ‘North Island qathet.’ 

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Rivers & Oceans

Waiting for DFO to decide the fate of open-net pen fish farms

Sometime in the next three weeks, Canada’s Minister of Fisheries, Joyce Murray, will decide whether the licenses for 79 fish farms will be renewed. 

“I heard a rumour that the minister laid out her options or her ideas to cabinet and cabinet has the plans right now. They’re  figuring out what to do. We can expect an announcement quite shortly on the plan around the transition of farms out of British Columbia and also the licensing decision,” said Stan Proboszcz, senior scientist with the Watershed Watch Salmon Society.

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Indigenous Nations History

Precolonial Forest Gardens and Orchards

Dr Chelsey Geralda Armstrong is an associate professor from SFU and the lead author of a paper, about the ancient forest gardens in Nuu-chah-nulth territory, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. While individual species do grow in the wild, forest gardens and orchards exhibit a sophisticated understanding of cultivation and are found adjacent to ancient village sites. In a related study, Armstrong and her colleagues wrote that forest gardens largely disappeared around the time of the smallpox epidemic that swept through B.C’s Indigenous communities more than 150 years ago.

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Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance calls DFO a ‘captured regulator’ of the fish farm industry

(Click here to access other presentations taken from the Committee.)

One hundred and two British Columbian First Nations are calling for fish farms to move onto land. The Klahoose, Tla’amin, Homalco and K’omox First Nations are among them. On May 12, Chief Bob Chamberlain, Chair of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance, told Parliament’s Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans that DFO is a captured regulator of the fish farm industry 

Chamberlain began by addressing the committee in his native tongue.

This is a transcript of the rest of his opening presentation.

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Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

Hereditary Chiefs flotilla protesting Raza Island fish farm

Editors note: Cortes Currents was notified that this event has been put on hold due to an illness. They plan to reschedule it in the near future.

The Hereditary Chiefs of the Laichkwiltach, We Wai Kai and K’omok First Nations will be taking a protest flotilla to the Raza Island fish farm on Saturday, May 14,2022.

“We three Hereditary Chiefs have jurisdiction and have the right to stewardship over the waters and lands of the Laichwiltach Nation, unceded waters and lands of the Discovery Islands,” wrote Hereditary Chief George Quocksister Jr of the  Laichkwiltach First Nation on his facebook page.

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