Tag Archives: Tsawout First Nation

Indigenous Nations

With court win, Quw’utsun Nation sees a ‘spiritual homecoming’ after 150 years

By David P Ball,  IndigiNews, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The shoreline at Tl’uqtinus village — once the annual home to more than a thousand people during salmon season — is today a tangle of blackberry bushes and shipping terminals in what is today ‘Richmond, B.C.’

The riverside village of Tl’uqtinus — once the annual home to more than a thousand people during salmon season — is today a sprawl of retail warehouses, mostly unused municipal lots, a Coca-Cola plant, and a fuel facility for the nearby Vancouver International Airport.

Less than 15 kilometres up the “Fraser River” from the Salish Sea, the former fishing village’s once-busy shores are today host to shipping terminals and a tangle of thorny and invasive blackberry bushes.

Last week, Tl’uqtinus village sparked an even thornier public debate over Indigenous people’s right to land — and settlers’ private property — across the province.

The B.C. Supreme Court, after a record-length trial, declared the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) Nation holds title to the 7.5-square-kilometre village site and the right to fish near it — a century-and-a-half after the province sold it to settlers.

Continue reading With court win, Quw’utsun Nation sees a ‘spiritual homecoming’ after 150 years →
Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

‘Industry doesn’t understand what our people know’: WSÁNEĆ chiefs call for halt to commercial herring fisheries

By Spencer Sacht-Lund, IndigiNews, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

WSÁNEĆ* hereditary chiefs are calling for an immediate moratorium on all commercial herring fisheries in the Salish Sea prior to the season’s expected start later this month.

Surrounded by relatives and members of the community at Tulista Park in “Sidney,” overlooking the ocean, four hereditary chiefs read aloud a joint declaration Wednesday morning — coming together for a public, unified call to action for the first time in 40 years, the leaders said.

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Rivers & Oceans

Herring cut not enough, says west coast First Nation

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 →