The Southern Cortes Community Association (SCCA) estimate 500 people may have turned out for Cortes Day on Saturday, July 15, 2023.
Mike Manson, whose great uncle(1) and grandfather(2) were among the island’s first known European settler, remembers there were once two festivals.
Continue reading Cortes Day: Then and now
By Alexandra Mehl, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
This year, before students even closed their books for the summer, forest fires sparked throughout the region.
The Cameron Bluff fire, which is believed to have been human-caused, grew to 229 hectares, closing Highway 4 for most of June – the only highway in and out for many West Coast communities.
One month later, the 16.6-hectare Klanawa River fire was discovered in what Huu-ay-aht Chief Councillor John Jack referred to as the shared territory between his First Nation and Ditidaht.
Continue reading First Nations’ emergency capacity stressed as wildfire season rages on
By Mina Kerr-Lazenby, North Shore News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) has announced it will adopt the same protections used for rental homes throughout the province for Sen̓áḵw, its high-density project at Kits point, and all future on-reserve housing developments.
Continue reading Squamish Nation to use BC residential tenancy protections for own housing developments
By Aaron Hemens, The Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
For the 22nd year in a row, syilx Okanagan people took a canoe journey across the invisible border between “Canada” and the “United States” that divides their territory — challenging a colonial marker that continues to infringe upon their unceded homelands.
Dozens of pullers hauled at least 10 boats, including several dugout canoes, to the shore of nk’mip (Osoyoos Lake) in sw̓iw̓s (Osoyoos) in syilx homelands on Tuesday. The group sailed through the lake’s waters on the way to Oroville, Washington, before returning later in the day.
Continue reading Canoe journey crosses colonial border, upholding syilx sovereignty: ‘this is still our territory’By Aaron Hemens, The Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Whether harvesting salmon or simply spending quality time with her grandfather and uncles, Janna Wale has no shortage of stories about being on the water with her family.
She moved around a bit growing up, but can vividly recall different memories from her early years fishing in her Gitxsan homelands — there were “tons of fish everywhere” at the unceded confluence of the Skeena, Nass and Bulkley rivers near the village of “Hazelton, B.C.”
“Our culture is totally built around salmon. We have different roles for salmon in the feast hall. It’s a large food supply for a lot of people, especially in the winter,” said Wale, who is from the Gitanmaax First Nation and is Cree-Métis on her mother’s side.
Continue reading Guided by her culture, Gitxsan scientist looks to old ways for climate resilience
