Category Archives: Indigenous Nations

Guided by her culture, Gitxsan scientist looks to old ways for climate resilience

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.

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A historical right to invite people into the territory: Ahous Adventures marks first season with grand opening

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

Tofino, BC – National Indigenous Peoples Day also marked the grand opening for Ahous Adventures, an eco-cultural tour company that offers whale watching, bear watching, and the hot springs tour through the lens of Ahousaht nation.

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How Whaletown got its name

Lynne Jordan, former President of the Cortes Island Museum, is writing a history of Whaletown. Her manuscript is already 300 pages long. In the first of a series of interviews about her research, Jordan describes the history behind Whaletown’s name.

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Heightened need for clean energy prompts BC Hydro to put call out for new sources

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

BC Hydro will be issuing a call for new sources of renewable, emission-free electricity, with applications to open in the spring of next year.

The call out, the first to come from BC Hydro in 15 years, has been prompted by an accelerated need for clean energy, said Premier David Eby on Thursday, at a media event at the Tsleil-Waututh Nation administration building in North Vancouver.

Eby said an additional 3,000 gigawatt hours per year of renewable energy, enough electricity to power 270,000 homes in B.C, is needed by 2028 – three years earlier than previously estimated.

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2023 ‘Keeping It Rural’ Conference

While young families have been migrating to urban centres for decades, in recent years there has been a trend in the opposite direction. The BC Rural Centre asks ‘’What does it take to entice young people away from big cities to small towns?’ Every two years they host a major international conference to profile successful and innovative rural development initiatives. This year’s conference was held on June 1 and 2 at the Hampton Inn, in Kelowna

Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney of Area C gave the Strathcona Regional District Board a brief report at their June 14 meeting. 

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