Category Archives: Indigenous Nations

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, Politics

Reconciliation on hold as BC blocks Cowichan land win

By Sonal Gupta, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A BC government appeal of a court ruling recognizing aboriginal title to part of the Cowichan Nation’s ancestral land in Richmond will delay reconciliation and prolong generations of harm, the nation’s lead lawyer said.

“This land was where the nation lived together, where they harvested together, where they were defended together and where they were literally embedded in the earth,” said David Robbins.

Last week, Justice Barbara Young granted the Cowichan title to almost 7.5 square kilometres of their ancestral Tl’uqtinus village lands on the south shore of Lulu Island in Richmond, BC across from Tilbury Island. The largely industrial area, long described by the Nation as their traditional settlement area, includes land owned by the federal government, the City of Richmond, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and private holdings. The ruling affirms their constitutionally protected title and right to fish for food in the south arm of the Fraser River — after more than 150 years of struggle since the land was taken from the Cowichan during the colonial era. 

However, within days of the decision, BC Attorney General Niki Sharma released a statement stating the province would appeal, warning the ruling could have “significant unintended consequences for fee simple private property rights in BC.”

Continue reading Reconciliation on hold as BC blocks Cowichan land win →
Indigenous Nations, Politics

First Nations call for co-governance in coastal economic development

By Jordan Copp, Coast Reporter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A new report outlines a transformative vision for the future of the Island Coastal Economic Trust (ICET), calling for First Nations to be equal partners in regional economic governance across Vancouver Island and the coastal mainland, including the Sunshine Coast.

Commissioned by the B.C. government and ICET, the First Nations Strategic Recommendations Report by Sanala Planning is the result of a year-long Indigenous-led engagement process with 53 First Nations. 

The report proposes a co-governance model that would permanently finance and restructure ICET to include First Nations in decision-making roles.

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Arts, Indigenous Nations History

Kwakwaka’wakw artist Ernest Puglas explains how carving saved his life: ‘This is powerful’

As a new welcome pole is raised on Klahoose, Homalco and Tla’amin territories, its maker describes how, through art, ‘I have recreated myself’

Editor’s note: The author of this profile sits on the board of the Cortes Community Foundation, which commissioned Puglas’s welcome pole. IndigiNews is honoured to share Puglas’s story.

By  Forrest Berman-Hatch, IndigiNews,, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Standing before a crowd of roughly 50 people on “Cortes Island,” carver Kuma’inukw (Ernest) Puglas first acknowledges his Kwak’wala lineage.

Then, he thanks the Klahoose First Nation for hosting him and for the honour of carving on its territories (the island is the traditional lands of Klahoose, Homalco and Tla’amin Nations), before unveiling his newest cedar welcome pole in a public ceremony.

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Animals, Indigenous Nations

In Sheet’ká, Łingít fishers share herring harvests with a surprise influx of grey whales

By Amy Romer, IndigiNews, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

Growing up, Yanshkawoo (Harvey Kitka) never saw many grey whales in the waters of Sheet’ká Sound.

The Łingít (Tlingít) Elder and subsistence yaaw (herring) fisherman recalled harvesting gáax’w (herring eggs) in his territories before “Alaska” became a “U.S.” state in 1959. It was a time when yaaw were plentiful and sightings of whales were rare — just a handful at most.

“There was food everywhere,” mused Yanshkawoo, tracing a slow circle in the air with his hand — a gesture toward the abundance the ocean once held. He sat at a crowded café in Sheet’ká (Sitka), his voice calm but thoughtful.

“They had no reason to come into the Sound back then.” 

But things changed in 2019, when fishers, researchers and community members began noticing an influx of grey whales, an order of magnitude larger than in previous years.

Continue reading In Sheet’ká, Łingít fishers share herring harvests with a surprise influx of grey whales →