For Tseshaht’s Jane Jones, preserving and teaching the Nuu-chah-nulth language is a passion she has committed herself to for more than 20 years. This passion is shared by many other Nuu-chah-nulth-aht and some of them got together to work on a project that will allow free access to their latest learning tool, a series of E-books.

An E-book is a digital or electronic book that can be read on electronic devices, including computers. They are an attractive option to both publishers and consumers because they cost less to produce and provide easier access to titles for the consumer.

Jane, along with her daughter, Connie Watts and elder Angie Joe got together to produce a series of three children’s books written in the Nuu-chah-nulth language that tell stories that Joe recalled from her childhood.

Jane says each of the women bring very important talents to the table in the creation of the books. Jane says she is the organizer, Angeline Joe is a fluent speaker in the Barclay dialect of the Nuu-chah-nulth language and Connie is a renowned artist also gifted with the technical skills required to create the books on computer.

The three books are titled Angie and the Bird, Berry Picking and Going to get Mussels. They are each about 10 pages long and are written by Angie and Jane and illustrated by Connie. All of the books come with English subtitles.

What makes these books even more special is that they come with a sound track so that the reader can hear the proper pronunciation of each and every word.

Angie Joe drew from her own life experiences for the stories. In the book called Angie and the Bird, Angie recalled a time that she had been working in her yard when she noticed a bird that seemed agitated. Curious, she watched the bird, then followed it as it moved toward its nest. It was then that she saw her cat looking up at the nest and she realized the bird was not happy about the cat’s attention so she chased the cat away.

“This is a true-life story about animals and how we listen to them and how we are one,” said Jane, adding that we also listen to plants, because everything is one.

The women have been working tirelessly to develop tools and opportunities to keeping the language alive. Connie wrote proposals for funding and was successful in getting a grant from Primates Wildlife Refuge & Development Fund through the Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation.

The money they raise to create books does not fully cover their true expenses so the work they put into the project is a labour of love for the language and a gift to future generations. Besides creating innovative teaching tools, such as the language books, all three women have been involved in Nuu-chah-nulth language classes and tirelessly work to keep classes going.

The women will not be making money from the books but will make it available for free, first by email. Then they will add it to the Quu-quu-atsa Society website. By making the books available for free to everyone, they hope to spark even more desire in people to learn the language.

Jane says she hopes one day that there will be a central location to store and access all of the Nuu-chah-nulth language learning tools developed by everyone over the years so that people can have easier access.

“We’re still fighting to bring the language back and that’s why we work so hard on these projects,” said Jane.

While they lack funding to do more books the women vow to continue recording Angie’s stories in the hopes that someday funding for language preservation will become easier to access.

According to Connie, the work they do is needed. “That’s why the work we’ve done is pretty much on a volunteer basis.”

The Quu-quu-atsa Language Society (QLS) is a legally registered society formed by language students at North Island College taking the Nuu-chah-nulth Language course delivered by the Huu-ay-aht Nation. For more information about QLS visit http://quuquuatsa.ca/

To receive a copy of the books, email chimsstudios@shaw.ca. The files are large,12mb, so the books may need to be sent in more than one email.

Tribal Council looks forward to immediate consultation on implementation and action

The former federal Conservative government previously called the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) an aspiration document, while the new federal Liberal government of Canada, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has committed to a new nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples across Canada.

This renewed commitment to Canada’s Indigenous peoples was confirmed at the 15th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) when the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, declared full support of the UNDRIP. The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) which politically represents 14 First Nations and over 9,700 citizens along the West Coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, is excited to hear Minister Bennett’s recent statements for the adoption of UNDRIP. However, the NTC is cautiously optimistic as there is currently an immediate need for change and action.

Debra Foxcroft, NTC President stated, “Nuu-chah-nulth citizens are relieved that there has been a renewed relationship between the federal government and First Nations across Canada.  However, we must recognize that there is a lot of work that needs to be done immediately. Implementation of the UNDRIP is an amazing start, but there are still issues that need to be addressed, including why this current federal government insists on battling five of our First Nations (Ahousaht, Ehattesaht, Hesquiaht, Mowachaht/Muchalaht, and Tla-o-qui-aht) in the Ahousaht litigation and lack of funding for child and family services. UNDRIP will provide the preliminary tools for Canada’s toolbox in their dealings with First Nations.”

“Although this is exciting news, there is still much work to be done,” commented Ken Watts, NTC Vice-President. “We want to acknowledge all the Indigenous leadership that helped draft UNDRIP, in particular Grand Chief Ed John. But most importantly, we look forward to the Government of Canada not only consulting, but engaging with First Nations in a working relationship to implement UNDRIP in Canada. We must also not forget the Province of British Columbia (BC) has an important role to play in implementation of UNDRIP. We as Nuu-chah-nulth call upon BC Premier Christy Clark to undertake a review (in consultation with BC First Nations) of what it would take to implement UNDRIP in BC, much like the work the Province of Alberta has already undertaken.”

Fire Safety experts arrived in Ahousaht May 11 to spend two days working with senior Maaqtusiis Secondary students and interested community members on home fire safety and firefighting training.

The Fire Prevention Boot Camp, spearheaded by First Nations Emergency Services Society (FNESS), with support from Kidde Canada and the Ahousaht Volunteer Fire Department, took aim at younger people with the goal of training them to teach fire safety skills to other people.

The Fire Prevention Boot Camps are designed for people between the ages of 14 and 29. The local volunteer fire department is invited to join in the training in order to integrate their knowledge into the program and to motivate people to join the department.

Bonnie Hayes is one of Ahousaht’s veteran volunteer fire fighters, having been involved with the service for more than 12 years. She took part in the training and assisted with the use of Ahousaht’s fire equipment.

According to Luke Swan Jr. and Mike George, the Ahousaht Volunteer Fire Department has nine volunteers, but only four are fully committed. With Ahousaht’s population at about the 1,000 mark, Swan says the experts say they should have at least 20 committed fire fighters based on community size. They were hoping the Boot Camp will bring more volunteers to the AVFD.

About 15 people from Ahousaht took part the first day of boot camp, which involved classroom training along with hands-on training in fire suppression. The training also included fire extinguisher training and mini home safety inspections that the school children would learn.

Ahousaht’s own Curtis Dick, former AVFD chief and now with FNESS, was there to guide the exercises.

With fire protection gear borrowed from Surrey Fire Department, all of the trainees learned how to work the hoses on the Ahousaht fire truck and they competed in some fire hose races to help develop their skills.

Liz Wilson, from FNESS, said they were there to teach people about fire safety, prevention and also get them interested in career opportunities in firefighting. They also wanted to leave safety information with the students that they could present to other community members, passing the information on.

When the first day of training was complete, the students would become the teachers. On May 12 they taught the younger children in the school the fire safety and prevention knowledge they had learned. A community dinner was then held where the trainees presented fire safety knowledge to the community.

The Fire Prevention Boot Camp in Ahousaht was the third one FNESS was involved in. Events were held at Seabird Island and in Victoria as part of the Gathering Our Voices event. FNESS will be bringing their Boot Camps to other first nations in the province.

FNESS is a society that had its beginnings in the 1980s with a group of concerned first nations people working to reduce the number of fire-related deaths in aboriginal communities. It has since grown to include more emergency services and is respected Canada-wide.

Kidde Canada is a leading manufacturer and supplier of smoke alarms in Canada. First Nations can visit their website to apply for smoke alarms.

Patrick Folliott was in Ahousaht to provide information about the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home and to give away free smoke alarms from Kidde Canada.

He delivered valuable information about the latest technology in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as information about the best placement of smoke detectors in the home. His main message to the children was smoke alarms save lives.

Myles Anderson, a volunteer from the Fire Prevention Officers Association of British Columbia, was in Ahousaht to share his expertise. He said the value of programs like this one is priceless because it’s not just about resource people bringing information to the community but also about educating the young ones so that they can take it to the community.

“And to see them in their fire gear is so rewarding,” he said, adding that it was clear that the young Ahousaht people were proud to wear the gear.

Liz Wilson said programs such as this one bring safety benefits not only to the home but also to the whole community.

Each of the trainees received FNESS t-shirts, note pads and pens and free home smoke alarms from Kidde Canada.

A lunch was held for the graduates of a new national initiative that pairs experts in the field of aquatic resources with those interested in a career in the fishing industry.

The learners received their certificates on May 13 at the Tseshaht Administration building, with the exception of one, who couldn’t be with his class because he was already working out on a commercial fish boat.

The Aboriginal Fisheries Apprenticeship program was a three-month national pilot program giving Nuu-chah-nulth members four Transport Canada certifications and a Stability certificate from Fish Safe (an organization that provides on-the-water safety training in B.C.), as well as practical skills, such as tying knots, rope splicing, and net mending.

The course was presented in partnership between Uu-athluk, Huu-ay-aht First Nation, Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Development Corporation (NSDC), Tseshaht/Hupacasath Commercial Fishing Enterprise (CFE),

School District 70, and the Nuu-chahnulth Employment and Training Program (NETP).

“The average age of a sea captain is 65 years old, and 55 years for a commercial deckhand,” said Larry Johnson, president, Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Development Corporation. He was proud today to help train new blood for the industry and today hand each graduate items that they will need on the boats, including personal floatation devices, rain gear, and a knife, as well hats and sweatshirts, along with the certificates they earned.

A suicide crisis support service which began in Port Alberni back in 1993 has won a $400,000 per year contract from First Nations Health Authority (VIHA) to expand services throughout the province of British Columbia.
According to FNHA, KUU-US services are for First Nations, by First Nations and all crisis response personnel are certified and trained in Indigenous cultural safety and therefore bring an understanding of First Nations history and trauma from the residential schools to their roles.
KUU-US Crisis Services is based out of Port Alberni and offers crisis support to anybody needing it. The service started in 1993 following concerns raised by Nuu-chah-nulth leaders about the lack of resources for people in desperate situations.
Following community meetings that included emergency response workers, counsellors and the public, a 24-hour crisis phone line was established. It was named KUU-US, meaning ‘all people’ in the Nuu-chah-nulth language.
The service started with volunteer crisis phone line workers serving Port Alberni and a toll-free line was added so that people from outlying communities could access the service.
The phone line workers are trained and can handle a wide-range of issues, offering support, referrals and safety monitoring.
Elia Nicholson-Nave has worked with KUU-US Crisis Services since its inception and is now the executive director.
“We offer a unique, specialized crisis line geared to the needs of aboriginal people,” said Nicholson-Nave. Statistics, she added, show that suicide risk in aboriginal communities is higher than average in the general population and more needs to be done.
“We recognize that additional support is needed, especially in remote aboriginal communities where they have limited or no access to crisis services,” said Nicholson-Nave.
Besides supporting a client through a crisis call, a worker will refer them to the appropriate resource. KUU-US Crisis Society (KCS) will then follow-up with the client to ensure their safety.
“We network with counsellors and we develop supports in remote communities, which includes safety planning and follow-up care,” she added.
According to Nicholson-Nave, FNHA has regional wellness coordinators throughout the province.
“We are partnering with them to build awareness of our services, said Nicholson-Nave. The additional funding that comes with the contract means that KCS will be able to hire and train much-needed crisis phone line workers.
But this is welcome news for Nicholson-Nave who has had to rely on fundraisers over the decades to keep the crisis line up and running.
“Imagine how much more we can do with core funding,” she said, adding that FNHA is helping KCS help others.
The new contract means that KCS will visit with all BC First Nations in their communities to set up protocols and service agreements with KCS.
“It’s an incredible opportunity,” said Nicholson-Nave. “Since 1993 we’ve developed a strong network to support people in need and it comes from understanding the needs of aboriginal people; we try to fill the gaps in service,” she continued.
KCS has 15 employees on staff. Last year they received 11,000 crisis line calls.
KCS is looking for caring, empathetic people willing to take 60 hours of training to work the phone lines and help provide service to British Columbia’s 205 first nations communities.

Tla-o-qui-aht member Ann Barker, 56, begins her day early in the morning by having her favourite cup of coffee, does her household chores and sets out for her walk.
 The sun, bright and warm, is a delight for Ann, but she walks no matter what the weather conditions may be. It’s a relief to finally get some sunny weather, but Ann will walk whether it is raining, snowing, freezing or hot.
In the past few months, Ann has been called by many people to go for a walk, which is a switch as she has been trying to get people out and about walking for some time now.  Ann said she sometimes walks up to five times a day, and says she prefers to walk rather than catch the bus or a ride to her destination if possible.
Ann is a fun, loving, kind and generous lady and has numerous friends. Watching Ann shows a lot of respect to the people she talks with. Ann is very amiable and loves being with family and friends.  Ann has a keen sense of humor and loves to make people laugh.
Throughout the year, Ann participates in a variety of sporting activities, including volley ball, floor hockey and slo-pitch.
During a friendly volley ball game at the AW Neill School in Port Alberni, she doesn’t waste any time joining in a game already in progress. The teams are made up of both male and female, old and young. Ann can hold her own, and is quick and ready to do her share in the game.
Ann plays for the Diamond Dawgs slo-pitch team in Port Alberni. She is the pitcher, and does a great job.  Diamond Dawgs play in the league games that are usually played every Sunday. The team works together to fund raise, so that they can travel out of town for tournaments.
This year Ann hopes to try out basketball and horseshoes as other means of staying active.
 In 2013 Ann injured her knee while playing slo-pitch game and was laid up for eight weeks. It was tough on Ann not to participate in any strenuous activities until her injury healed completely.
Ann has been on the waiting list for physiotherapy for more than a year, but said she could not wait any longer, so once Ann’s injury healed she started to find ways to strengthen her knee by doing stretches and slowly building up exercises at home.
While on one of our evening walks Ann talks about her life’s accomplishments and is proud to share that she volunteered at the Bread of Life as a cook. Ann learned how to cook by taking cooking classes with NETP (Nuu-chah-nulth Employment and Training Program). She also provided catered meals for meetings and workshops that were held in Port Alberni and Tofino.
Ann took the NETP Driving Course and is taking opportunities to learn how to drive a vehicle on the busy streets of Port Alberni. It is no easy task and can be quite daunting, but nonetheless she is looking forward to the independence this will allow her once she gets her driver’s license.
Ann has worked at various jobs in Tofino and Port Alberni and travels to Parksville five days out of the week to do housekeeping.
Ann is especially proud of her children and shared that they have all graduated from high school and her boys Ryan and Christopher are working in the construction business.
Most recently, Ann has taken up cultural dancing again and thoroughly enjoys relearning how to dance and has a lot of pride and a sense of belonging by being involved. 
Her late grandmother Edith Simon was a real inspiration and role model to Ann and her family as she could speak her own language and knew a lot about culture and the history of their family and Tla-o-qui-aht.
Edith taught them who they were as a family and where they came from and to always know who their relatives are.
Ann’s late mother Marie George (nee Thomas) comes from Hesquiaht and her late father Ned George comes from Tla-o-qui-aht. Ann has relatives living in Columbus, Ohio and regrets not being able to see them much.
At the end of the day Ann starts planning her activities for the next day or weeks ahead. Ann is an inspiration and role model by being involved in daily physical activities to keep fit and healthy.

Tseshaht First Nation has elected its first-ever female, and youngest, elected chief councillor.
Cynthia Dick, who turns 27 today, was elected May 12 along with Corey Anderson, Hugh Braker, Melanie Fred, Jennifer Gallic, Luke George, John Gomez, Eunice Joe and Trevor Little. She is one of four new councillors. On May 19, at the first meeting of the new Tseshaht council, Dick was chosen from among the group to sit as elected chief, replacing Hugh Braker who served in that position the last term.
Ha-Shilth-Sa sat down with the newly-elected chief the day after the election. Dick, the daughter of Eileen Watts and Richard Dick Sr., said she is conscious of the fact that she has assumed an elected position that will at times put her on a national stage.
“I recognize the responsibilities that come with this role, and I have full confidence that I have the ability to do what needs to be done,” she said. “And I know I have the support of our council and the rest of the community and the hereditary chiefs, and that we will all work together towards what we want as Tseshaht.”
Dick said she spent part of her childhood in the care of family members and partly in foster care, “in the system.” Despite those bumps in the road, Dick said she was able to stay connected with her Nuu-chah-nulth culture as she attended first Haahuupayak school, then A.W. Neill, and graduated from Alberni District Secondary School in 2007.
Dick started her post-secondary at North Island College, then transferred to Vancouver Island University in 2008, where she completed her Bachelor of Arts in 2014, with a Major in Sociology and a Minor in Psychology.
“I started as a summer student at [the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council] in 2007, and I worked in a number of departments,” she said.
Those included Non-Insured Health Benefits and Social Development and Health Promotion, but her most compelling role was in Education.
“I started as the Post-Secondary Counsellor, but then I went back to Tseshaht as Office Manager (October 2014). Then, last June, I went back (to NTC) as the Pathways to Student Success Supervisor.”
Dick said her decision to run for council flowed from her term as Tseshaht office manager.
“I started attending the meetings and recording the meetings. I became very passionate about everything that happens with Tseshaht, and I decided I wanted to get more people involved.”
When Dick returned to NTC, she continued to participate in community meetings and educated herself on the local, provincial and national issues Tseshaht is involved in on a daily basis.
“I am up to date – not completely, of course, but I am definitely aware. And I will continue to educate myself,” she said.
For her election campaign, Dick used social media as a matter of course.
“But I was really excited about running and about being accepted as a candidate, so I went above and beyond, and ordered a bunch of lawn signs.”
Motorists on Ekooth Road and Old Logging Road could not miss the huge campaign signs created by family members. Then there were those people wearing “Cynthia for Council” shirts.
Balloting took place from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 12, after which Tseshaht members were invited to watch the ballot count.
“It felt great to know I had my community behind me in this decision,” Dick said.
Dick declined to comment on the nomination process that saw her elected as chief councillor in an internal ballot. In part, she admitted, she was unsure of the media protocol surrounding the proceedings. But she will say she avoided “politicking” with the other newly-elected councillors to win their favor.
“My approach was to stay away from that. I wanted to make a fresh start when the nine of us were elected, recognizing that we would all work together from that point.
“The first priority for me is to build those relationships and work with the community to get where we want to go.”
Dick said her experience in NTC Education reinforced her belief in the importance of acknowledging and promoting the value of Nuu-chah-nulth culture, both to students and to the general population as a whole.
“This all goes back to hishukish ts’awalk – we are all one and interconnected. That is the great thing about Nuu-chah-nulth culture – we are all so welcoming and, for the most part, everyone can be part of it,” she said.
That understanding of culture has led Dick to recognize the value of gaining fluency in other cultures. This fall, her four-year-old daughter will begin kindergarten at Alberni Elementary, with the goal of attending the French Immersion program. For a young multilingual and culturally-literate person, the horizons are almost endless.
“I do my best to make sure she has that strong attachment to our culture, and I will definitely encourage both along the way,” she said.

Nuu-chah-nulth women gathered at Nanoose Bay Pentecostal Camp for three days of fun, friendship and the chance to reconnect and learn from one another.
The event started May 17 and women were promised the opportunity to learn about traditional healing, partake in self-care and indulge in plenty of laughter.
The theme for 2016 was SuWaqsa?i, which translates to ‘be yourself’. 
The days were packed with activities and guest speakers. The women took turns volunteering for set-up and clean-up of the daily meals, and in the evening they retired to nearby cabins on the shores of Nanoose Bay.
Resource people were brought in to speak to the women about food, personal health and healing. They came from First Nations Health Authority, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and the local community.
Others were brought in to provide personal care services like hairstyling, manicures and massage. Others were brought in to teach women crafts like applique and cedar weaving.
The NTC nurses set up an area where they provided health screening, which included measuring blood sugar levels and blood pressure.
One presentation, delivered by Nitanis Dejarlais, revolved around her desire to learn to live off the land much the way our ancestors did, and to teach her children what she’s learned. A severe storm in 2006 caused her family to be housebound without electricity. Fortunately, there was a store nearby that ran on a generator and she was able to find food to buy.
“I felt insecure and I wanted to learn about Indigenous diets and eat like our ancestors did,” she told the women.
Prior to contact with Europeans, Nuu-chah-nulth-aht did not eat wheat, dairy, sugar, processed food, beef, chicken or pork. So her family began eating elk, moose, deer, fish and shellfish. “It changed our palates,” she said.
They moved to an isolated cabin and spent their summers harvesting berries and fish, which they would dry and can.
“It felt good knowing we had the skills to survive,” said Dejarlais.
The family of 10 have since moved back to the city, but they continue to build on their knowledge of edible/medicinal plants. They share their knowledge freely with anyone wishing to learn.
The Quu?asa team thanked Myra Mack, Doreen Little, Geraldine Edgar, Betty Thomas, Marie Samuel, Vyna Brown, Janice Johnson, Nitanis Dejarlais and the many others who delivered presentations and services at the 2016 NTC Quu?asa Women’s Gathering.
The event wrapped up on May 19 with women leaving feeling refreshed and happy.

Students of Port Alberni’s AW Neill Elementary School spent the week of May 17 to May 20 learning about Nuu-chah-nulth culture through hands-on activities, including projects that they’ve been working on throughout the year.

Prior to Aboriginal Awareness Week the students, under the guidance of their teachers and guests, took part in lessons and projects focused aboriginal culture. These projects were on display in the school hallways.

During Aboriginal Awareness Week guest presenters were brought in, coordinated by Nuu-chah-nulth Education Worker Richard Samuel. In half-hour segments, they guided the children through Nuu-chah-nulth language lessons, art, singing, bannock-making and they learned how to play lahal.

Tim Sutherland sang Nuu-chah-nulth songs for the children after fielding questions from them about how to make a deer hide hand-held drum. Nitanis Desjarlais shared edible plant knowledge with the students.

Elder Katie Fraser and Eva Prevost taught the children how to say Nuu-chah-nulth words through interactive games and exercises. In another room Faith Watts and Angeline Charleson taught cedar weaving techniques.

The school home economics classroom smelled heavenly as Faith Watts demonstrated bannock making.

The children loved to play the Nuu-chah-nulth guessing game of lahal under the guidance of Stan Lucas.

Outside they learned how to play lacrosse with Stephanie Hopkins and stealing sticks with Diane Gallic.

On the final day of Aboriginal Awareness Week everyone was treated to a traditional salmon barbeque with fish caught from the Somass River that morning and roasted on cedar sticks over a fire by Moy Sutherland and his wife Jan Green.

The week of culture wrapped up with a school assembly featuring the unveiling of a new cedar box and the school logo. Principal Darrin Olson, following Nuu-chah-nulth protocol, first acknowledged and thanked Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations for allowing the school in their territories.

The cedar box was built by Jim Lawson; the art work was created by artist Josh Shaw. Shaw said that he was asked to depict creatures seen in and around Port Alberni. With that in mind, his design featured plenty of trees, eagles, and a female salmon full of eggs, bears, wolves and hummingbirds. On one side was an image of a woman, who represents Mother Earth. On another side was a man, Shaw said, to maintain balance and because men and women need one another.

The box will be used to store drums and regalia and will be put on display during important school events.

Following the recent reconfiguration of the SD70 school system that saw the transformation of AW Neill Junior High school to an elementary school, the staff saw the need for a new school logo.

Principal Olson and teacher Mrs. Anker collaborated on a school logo design, and when they were finished, local artist Ray Sim was contracted to bring the image to life through paint.

The design features a wolf framed by green mountains cradling the sun. Sim said the wolf was chosen for the design because they are not only strong pack animals, but also strong individually – a message they hope to impart to the students.

The logo was unveiled to a huge round of applause. SD 70 trustee Jane Jones was in the audience along with Kelly Johnsen of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.

Principal Olson said the school sends a huge thank you to Mr. Samuel, NTC Nuu-chah-nulth Education Worker for all his efforts in making the AW Neill Aboriginal Awareness Week the great success that it was. Funding for the cedar box came from the BCTF Ed May Social Responsibility Fund, AW Neill Elementary School and SD70.

Aboriginal Awareness Week at AW Neill Elementary School was made possible through funds from AW Neill School, the Parent Advisory Council and SD70.

Students and staff of Zeballos Elementary Secondary School greeted hundreds of guests that honoured their invitation to take part in their school potlatch.

School buses began arriving in Zeballos on the morning of May 26. Guests came from Port Alberni, Gold River, Kyuquot, Coal Harbour and Port Hardy. The schools they represented were Haahuupayuk, Ray Watkins Elementary School, Gold River Secondary School, Quatsino K’ak’ot’lats’I School, and Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw School.

See our photo gallery here: http://www.hashilthsa.com/gallery/zeballos-school-hosts-annual-regional-...

The school potlatch is a regional event held every year by a school in Zeballos, Gold River or Kyuquot on Vancouver Island. The teachers, students and parents begin preparing for the potlatch usually before Christmas and that was true this year, said ZESS principal Wayne Alsop, with students working on potlatch gifts around Christmas time.

Drawing from resources in the community, Alsop said artist Vince Smith helped by making designs for the students to paint. Parents and other interested community members met weekly to help with the making of gifts.

“Florence John is our school elder and she is the head of the potlatch committee,” Alsop said. Margret Miller took charge of making regalia and gifts while Nuu-chah-nulth Education Worker (NEW), Celina Charleson, helped with art.

Nuu-chah-nulth Education Worker Sheila John and Stacey Miller, an SD84 Child and Youth Care Worker, took part in planning and organizing the potlatch.

Principal Alsop said the preparations for the school potlatch and the potlatch itself count toward the students’ culture and language credits.

Ehattesaht First Nation contributed to the potlatch by providing funding for resource people and several Ehattesaht volunteered their time during weekly meetings to make gifts or to practise culture.

Everyone gathered at the school playground for a soup and sandwich lunch. Students from Haahuu-Payuk School showed their gratitude by singing a dinner song and a prayer was said before people ate lunch.

Following lunch everyone gathered in the gym where the ceremonial curtain was on display. ZESS graduate Judae Smith told Ha-Shilth-Sa that the curtain designs represented four schools in Gold River, Tahsis, Zeballos and Kyuquot, and that all schools share the curtain, bringing it to their community when it’s their turn to host the annual potlatch.

Principal Alsop welcomed everyone to the School District 84 potlatch and acknowledged the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, SD84 and NEW staff for their support in making the potlatch happen.

Dennis John and Jimmy Johnson guided the students through an important first step of any potlatch, the cleansing or blessing of the floor. The hosts then offered ta’ilthma (support) to several guests who lost loved ones in their family. Each was lovingly wrapped in blankets.

The hosts performed two dances before guests were invited to perform. Haahuupayuk students were the first guest group to perform.

“We’re very honoured to be here; we’ve heard what you’ve been doing for the past few years and we are pleased,” said Haahuupayuk cultural teacher Trevor Little. His first order of business was to shake hands with the Ha’wiih, because, he said, it is important to hold up the leaders of our land, for without them, we have no direction.

Both culture teachers, Little and Lena Ross carefully explained where each of their songs came from and why they do each one.

The cii’qa, or prayer chant, Ross explained, was newly composed for the students of Haahuupayuk. “The kids use it when we’re doing big business like Hinkeets dances; they know it is important to talk to the Creator first – and it’s also intended to help them prepare for when they graduate Grade 7 and move on to other schools. It helps them ground themselves,” she explained.

Haahuupayuk students performed several dances that included brilliant regalia and headdresses, to the delight of the audience.

The next group to take the floor came from Port Hardy. The students of Gwa’sala-Nakwaxda’xw School did several performances under the guidance of their cultural teachers William Wasden Jr. and K’iodi Nelson.

“We are happy to see that we’re not the only ones doing what we’re doing in our school,” said Nelson. He was pleased to see the display of culture, alive and vibrant in the neighboring Nuu-chah-nulth communities.

“It gives me great energy to see our children celebrating their culture; it was not all that long ago when the Canadian government banned this,” he said.

Both Wasden and Nelson also carefully explained the stories behind each of their performances. While there are differences in culture there was one strong similarity. The eagle down fluttering from their headdresses during a dance, said Wasden, represented peace and harmony.

Dances and presentations continued until dinner time. Principal Alsop said there were more performances that they didn’t get to simply because they ran out of time. Students and their teachers had long distances to travel and needed to get home before it got too late.

Kyuquot Elementary Secondary School will host the 2017 SD84 potlatch.

Trace the journey of halibut, from ocean to plate

This year, consumers will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase Ha’oom Wild Seafood’sPuu?i or halibut – available for the first time since inception of the business in 2012. As part of its commitment to excellence, Ha’oom Wild Seafood will also be implementing the ThisFish traceability program to tag all Ha’oom halibut destined for the marketplace.

Consumers will now have the opportunity to learn the origin of Ha’oom halibut and its’ journey from ocean to plate through the ThisFish website, using a unique and trackable identification number.

"Partnerships with First Nations are a great step to reconciliation. By following the Nuu-chah-nulth values of iisaak (respect) and hiish-uk-ish-tsawalk (everything is interconnected), Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations are able to utilize modern technology, while looking after future generations," expressed Ken Watts, NTC Vice-President.

“Having consumers be able to trace their halibut back to the T’aaq-wiihak fishery not only distinguishes Ha’oom seafood products as unique in the marketplace, but raises awareness of T’aaq-wiihak and the Nuu-chah-nulth fisheries rights case as a whole,” commented Alex Gagne, T’aaq-wiihak Fisheries Coordinator. 

About Ha’oom Wild Seafood

Ha’oom is the T’aaq-wiihak Nations’ seafood brand. Generations of Nuu-chah-nulth fishers have lived, fished, and traded seafood from the cool and clean waters of BC’s Pacific Coast. Today our fishers are sharing their skills and bounty with a larger market through the T’aaq-wiihak fisheries. T’aaq-wiihak Ha’wiiḥ have given permission for all Ha’oom Wild Seafood products to be carefully harvested from their territories. For more information, visit www.haoom.ca.

About T’aaq-wiihak

Five Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations located on West coast Vancouver Island (Ahousaht, Ehattesaht, Hesquiaht, Mowachaht/Muchalaht, and Tla-o-qui-aht) have taken the federal government to court to prove their “aboriginal rights to fish for any species of fish within their Fishing Territories and to sell that fish, with the exception of geoduck” (DFO, 2016). Collectively the five plaintiff Nations took on the name of the “T’aaq-wiihak Nations,” which means fishing with permission of the Ha’wiih (hereditary leadership).

About ThisFish

Launched by Ecotrust Canada in 2010, ThisFish is a seafood traceability system that enables consumers to discover the story of their seafood by tracing its journey from the ocean to their plate using smartphones, tablets and computers. Consumers can discover who caught their seafood, when, where and how, and even send a message to their fish harvester. Seafood is identified with uniquely coded tags and labels that can be used to trace a product’s journey online at ThisFish.info. For more information, visit www.thisfish.info.

Directors of West Coast General Hospital received an unusual request for the return of an oil painting gifted to the hospital during the 1970’s. The request came from a young Ditidaht woman, who said she was the daughter of artist Thomas Joseph Jr. and she had nothing to remember him by.

Dorothy Burn was a very young child when her father died in an accident in 1981. The Thunderbird oil painting he made for the old West Coast General Hospital was painted before her 1977 birth, coincidentally, at West Coast General Hospital.

According to an old newspaper clipping supplied by Burn, Thomas Joseph Jr. was becoming a well-known artist with his paintings going as far as Denmark and Sydney, Australia. He preferred painting eagles and thunderbirds and was quoted as saying, “I think I will be an eagle when I’m reincarnated.”

If anyone remembers the old West Coast General Hospital that stood off of Redford Street between 8th and 9th Avenues, the painting was one of the first things visitors saw as they entered the hospital foyer. It was placed on a wall facing the main entrance.

Burns wrote a heartfelt letter expressing how much she wanted this work by her father. Directors at the hospital and Alberni/Clayoquot Regional Directors agreed that the painting should go back to family, on the condition that a nominal donation of $20 was made to the hospital foundation.

Burn arrived at the hospital with a large delegation from Ditidaht on May 30. She was there to retrieve her painting and hospital directors were there to greet her. The people from Ditidaht, including all the children from the community school, danced into the hospital foyer, leading the way for Burn, and her family members.

This is so meaningful to me that I needed to make a ceremony, said Burn.

It was an emotional day for Burn and she cried when caught a glimpse of the painting. With her husband and mother holding her hand, she approached the hospital directors and told them how special this painting was to her.

“I have a large wall in my house that is blank; I’ve never put anything there,” she shared, adding she wasn’t sure why. “Much like my life, which had a blank space without my father, the blank space on my wall is reserved for something very special.”

“Thank you for allowing me to have this, I will forever be grateful,” she added.

Burn handed over $20 and, with tears in her eyes, accepted the painting, to the cheers and applause of her people.

Burn presented carved paddles to Pam Reardon, Site Director, Alison Sundstrum, Assistant to Reardon, and Marie Duperreault, Alberni/Clayoquot Regional Director. Each also received hugs or handshakes from everyone from Ditidaht.

Tseshaht First Nation has rejected a four-year Tsu-ma-as Fishery Agreement as proposed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), but it will not disrupt the 2016 sockeye fishing season.

On May 26, Tseshaht announced that it would not sign the agreement “until fair representation and consideration is given to the Nation.”

Speaking with Ha-Shilth-Sa on May 31, Tseshaht Fisheries Manager Andy Olsen said the fishery would go ahead under the terms of previous one-year agreements.

“The community agreed to sign a one- year agreement with the understanding that we would negotiate a four-year agreement,” Olsen said, noting that neither side was looking for a prolonged dispute.

“Things are progressing quickly. We signed an agreement this morning.”

Had no agreement been put in place, fishers would have been prohibited from selling their catch to commercial buyers. The sockeye harvest is already underway and the initial Somass River run estimate is for a healthy one million fish.

“We have formed a committee to negotiate an agreement,” Chief Councillor Cynthia Dick said.

That committee consists of herself, councillor Hugh Braker, Olsen and community representative Martin Watts. For Dick, who was sworn in on May 19, it has been a reminder of the magnitude of her elected role.

“This is one of the most important agreements we do sign as a nation, and we want to have adequate consultation and input on the language and terms,” Dick said.

Hupacasath Fisheries Manager Graham Murrell said his Nation had been prepared to sign the original DFO agreement conditionally.

“We were prepared to go ahead with the four-year agreement with some amendments to be added through the season,” Murrell said. “DFO has agreed to consult during the season to address these issues.”

Murrell said both Nations very much want to forge a longer-term agreement in order to provide certainty for their fishers.

“When our fishers look to get financing for their boats and equipment, it looks better when [the banks] know they have a long-term agreement to sell their fish commercially,” Murrell said. “We just wanted to get our fishers out on the water and they want to be able to sell their fish.”

Murrell said the Nations are now working out the details for the communal drag seine fishery, which typically starts in early June.

This week in Vancouver, more than 400 First Nations leaders, front line workers and representatives from Aboriginal children and family organizations gathered to meet with the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) at the BC First Nations Child and Family Gathering.

Meetings held this week have shown little progress and the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) is frustrated with the lack of committed action from the Ministry and the province of BC.

“We will call upon our partners and allies to ensure that British Columbians are aware of the province’s continued inaction for the benefit of First Nations children. A premier who ran on a Families First platform has not put our children first, but last on the provinces’ priorities,” said Deb Foxcroft, NTC President.

“We call upon Minister Stephanie Cadieux to meet with the First Nations Leadership Council as soon as possible and develop a joint action plan. It appears that MCFD is only interested in investing internally in their Ministry by way of the Plecas Report and through the Ministry’s newly established advisory council‎, while ignoring almost all previous reports done by Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond [Representative for Children and Youth].”

On the heels of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action, Canada's $8 billion budget committed to First Nations services and Canada’s full support of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), there is no excuse for the lack of tangible action seen from the province and MCFD.

On May 30 at the BC First Nations Child and Family Gathering, Deb Foxcroft, said Nuu-chah-nulth representitives did not come  to simply talk. "We do not want to waste our time, and more importantly our children’s time. Our chiefs didn’t travel from the West Coast of Vancouver Island to simply talk without action."

She called upon the province of BC to commit to the following:

1 Develop a BC First Nations Child and Family Action Plan and Strategy (in partnership with First Nations) to address the overrepresentation of the number of Indigenous children in care and work to prevent our children from going into care in the first place (with resources for implementation). The plan would include, but not be limited to items such as:

        a. Increased funding for First Nations in terms of child and family services.

        b. A policy and legislation review in partnership with First Nations with recommendations for amendments for action.

   c. Develop an implementation working group in partnership with First Nations to create an action plan for the implementation of ALL The TRC Calls to Action in terms Child Welfare.

   d. Commitment to fund Aboriginal Family Court Workers across BC OR family court training for First Nations people across BC.

   e.   Work with First Nations Leadership Council on all future appointments of the Assistant Deputy Minister position in MCFD who is responsible for the Aboriginal Child and Family Services.

f.  Develop an “aging out” strategy (in partnership with First Nations) for First Nations children in care so that they are provided with the proper supports, programs and services before they age out.

g. Develop a joint action plan on implementing Jordan’s Principle in the Province of BC.

h.  Create a working group, in partnership with First Nations, to begin jurisdiction preliminary discussions with BC, Canada and BC First Nations.

A significant totem pole given to Cowichan Tribes decades ago has been restored in an effort to preserve its beauty and extend its longevity. Carved by late Arthur Thompson of Ditidaht, a renowned artist who was instrumental in the fight for justice for residential school survivors, the pole has special significance because Thompson has roots in Cowichan.

The totem pole, which stands in front of the Cowichan Tribes Administration building, was carved in 1996 by Thompson, who was proud of his Cowichan heritage. Thompson’s mother Ida came from the Modeste family of Cowichan Tribes.

According to Cowichan elder Violet George, the pole was starting to show its age and Cowichan member Doug August was contracted to restore the pole.

On May 31, Cowichan Tribes spent the day celebrating the 50th anniversary of their tribal administration. According to Cowichan Tribes, their first administration office was a small A-frame building opened in 1966 with two employees and a band manager.

Today, there are far more offices with a large staff serving about 4,600 Cowichan members.

The 2015 Cowichan Princess, Shiloh Louie, age 9, took the microphone and welcomed the people to the 50th anniversary celebration. She said Cowichan Tribes Chief & Council support Cowichan culture, which, she said, is the backbone of their community.

“It is important to keep it (culture) alive so we can pass it on to the next generation,” said Louie.

Invited guests were seated in front of the totem pole on the morning of the celebration. The refurbished pole had already been raised but had blankets covering the sacred SXweXwe mask at the top of the pole.

Dozens of guests were thanked, according to Cowichan tradition, for bearing witness to the unveiling of the totem pole.

Elected Chief William Seymour, his council and other Cowichan members shook hands with special guests, thanking them for showing up for this special day.

The hosts asked that all recording devices be put away as they called upon sacred mask dancers to bless the pole as female singers drummed.

Nuu-chah-nulth people were there to celebrate the restoration of the pole. Speaker Ron Hamilton pointed out that usually, once a pole is in place, it is left to Mother Nature, who will eventually reclaim the pole after it rots and falls back to the earth.

He thanked the leaders of Cowichan Tribes for preserving the pole. “It was important to my late cousin (Arthur Thompson) to leave something where his late mom came from; he was proud to be half Cowichan,” said Hamilton.

Derek Thompson stood by the pole in place of his father, Boquilla (Charlie Thompson), who was Arthur Thompson’s brother.

“My late Uncle Art was the youngest brother in the family and he was a residential school survivor,” said Derek Thompson.

He went on to tell how Art was at the forefront of the move to give residential school survivors a voice. He was determined not to be silent.
“He had a presence, a voice and he told us to never forget who we are,” said Thompson, adding that his late uncle Art always talked about the importance of self-determination.

And so, as it was important for Art Thompson, it is also important for his loved ones that his work is kept alive.

“It is an honor and privilege to be here on behalf of my family; I am proud of my uncle and his continuing legacy,” said Derek Thompson.

The pole was blessed again according to Nuu-chah-nulth tradition. Hamilton thanked the hosts and praised their young princess, Shiloh Louie, saying she was raised well as shown by her strong public speaking skills.

He went on to explain the different elements of the pole, saying his late cousin topped his pole with a sacred Cowichan mask that reflected the maternal side of Thompson’s family.

According to Boquilla, the figure is called a SXweXwe, and some Salish families have rights to use the SXweXwe mask ceremony. He likened its level of sacredness to that of the Hiinkiits’im.

The Modeste Family has rights to the SXweXwe and so it is prominently displayed on the pole holding a salmon, which is plentiful in the Cowichan River.

Hamilton said Art Thompson knew the importance of the winter dances for the Cowichan people. The winter dances end when the frogs start singing and this is why he carved a frog at the bottom of the pole.

Hamilton thanked the people of Cowichan again, saying they have so much to be proud of. He asked them to allow the pole to stand as a mark of their successes.

Dr. Richard Atleo, a hereditary chief of the Ahousaht First Nation, will be honoured for his academic and environmental leadership when he receives an honorary doctor of education degree on June 15 at 2:30 p.m. from the University of Victoria.

He helped to create the First Nations Studies Department at Vancouver Island University and co-chaired (from 1993-95) the BC government’s Scientific Panel for Sustainable Forest Practices in Clayoquot Sound.

Three other Indigenous leaders will also receive honorary degrees during Spring Convocation week beginning June 13. 

Mary Simon has devoted her life to achieving social justice for the Inuit and a meaningful role in the environmental, economic and political decisions that influence their lives. She was a senior Inuit negotiator in talks leading to the recognition of Aboriginal rights in the Constitution Act of 1982.

She helped form the eight-nation Arctic Council, including permanent Indigenous participation in its responses to issues facing the North. Simon receives an honorary doctor of laws degree on Wednesday, June 15 at 10 a.m.

Bill Mussell is a leading promoter of health and wellness of Indigenous children, youth, families and communities. A member of the Skwah First Nation (Sto:lo), his life’s work has addressed the impacts of colonization—especially residential schools—on the lives of Indigenous peoples. Mussell receives an honorary doctor of education degree on Friday, June 17 at 10 a.m.

Frank Parnell has devoted himself to improving the economic self-reliance of BC’s north coast region, especially among Indigenous peoples. A member of the Haida Nation, he is president and CEO of TRICORP—the Tribal Resources Investment Corporation—a financial services company that has provided more than $28 million in financing to Indigenous entrepreneurs. Parnell receives an honorary doctor of laws degree on Friday, June 17 at 2:30 p.m.

From the sports world, Clara Hughes, who won six Olympic cycling and speed skating medals, tied for the most career medals among Canadian athletes, will be presented with a honorary doctorate of laws on June 14 at 10 a.m.

She is also the national spokesperson for “Let’s Talk”—Bell Canada’s mental health awareness initiative—and has detailed her personal struggles with depression in order to help break down the stigma associated with mental illness.

Honorary degrees are the university’s highest academic honour. They will be granted along with 3,458 degrees, diplomas and certificates to graduating students during nine ceremonies from June 13–17. Spring convocation will stream live at uvic.ca/convocation

A celebration was held at the Nanaimo St. Jean's Cannery and Smoke House on June 3 to commemorate the Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Development Corporation’s purchase of majority shares of a family-owned island-based cannery.

St. Jean’s Cannery and Smokehouse has operated their stores and facilities in Port Alberni, Nanaimo, Campbell River and Richmond, B.C. since 1961. Gerard St. Jean said his family has a long-standing working relationship with Nuu-chah-nulth communities.

“We started with Nitinaht crab and we bought butter clams from first nations,” said St. Jean.
There were others interested in purchasing the thriving business, but it was the Nuu-chah-nulth that understood St. Jean's vision.

“They have the communities and the commitment required to be successful in this industry,” said CEO Steve Hughes.
Ditidaht, Huu-ay-aht, Kyuquot/Checklesaht, Uchucklesaht and Ucluelet Nations negotiated the deal with St. Jean's in November 2015, said Kathy Happynook, the seafood corporation’s administrator.

“We researched business opportunities that we could enter into and this was one,” she said.

Larry Johnson, Nuu-chah-nulth Cannery Board Chairman, said purchasing St. Jean's will provide jobs and generate revenue.

“St. Jean's aligns with our vision; they have a great reputation, there is growth potential and Gerard (St. Jean) and family have shown leadership in seafood sustainability that is in line with our values,” said Johnson.

Gerard St. Jean said his father started the business and he's been involved for 54 years.

“I was looking for an exit strategy,” he told Ha-Shilth-Sa, adding he would stay on for another five years to help transition the new owners. He thanked everyone for sharing in the celebration. “Together we can go forward to build this company even bigger and better,” said St. Jean.

“We're really excited about where we're going with this new economic development opportunity for our people,” said Huu-ay-aht Tyee Ha'wilth Derek Peters.

“We're bringing fisheries back and this is another exciting opportunity in the fishing industry,” said Trevor Cootes.
Gifts were exchanged and guests were invited to a barbecue lunch while singers from each of the nations drummed.

At 7:45 a.m. Tuesday morning, a Magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Twenty minutes later, a 20-metre tsunami surged up Alberni Inlet, causing catastrophic damage all the way up to the City of Port Alberni.

Don’t feel bad if you missed the shaking and flooding. It’s all part of Exercise Coastal Response, now unfolding across the city and beyond, involving an unprecedented mobilization of federal, provincial, municipal, regional and First Nations resources.

While the “disaster” is virtual, the exercise itself is a real-time deployment of the people and agencies that would be tasked with saving lives and restoring services if and when the Big One strikes.

Representatives from the various agencies met at a special reception on Monday night at Echo Centre, with seafood and hospitality provided by Tseshaht First Nation. They were welcomed to Tseshaht and Hupacasath traditional territory by Alberni Clayoquot Regional District Chair and one-time NTC fisheries biologist Josie Osborne, who new serves as Mayor of Tofino.

Welcoming out-of-towners to “the very cool Alberni Valley – 34.5 degrees Celsius yesterday,” Tseshaht Councillor Hugh Braker said Exercise Coastal Response has the full support of Nuu-chah-nulth communities, and for good reason.

“Since the beginning, when it was initiated, Tseshaht has been a strong supporter of this exercise. All of our reserves are located along the sea. Of all the thousands of Nuu-chah-nulth people who live on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, in our 14 member Tribes, the vast majority of them live less than three metres above sea level. For us, this exercise is critically important.”

Braker noted that currently, hundreds of Tseshaht and Hupacasath members are fishing on the Somass River in small boats.

“If there were an emergency right now, we would face difficulties that others don’t.”

Even closer to the likely epicenter of the Big One, Tseshaht Beachkeepers work in partnership with Parks Canada in the Broken Island Group, overseeing the activities of 14,000 kayakers that visit the marine park each year.

“It was a very hard sell to tell our Beachkeepers that if a big earthquake hits, if there is a tsunami warning, you have less than 20 minutes to get more than 20 metres above sea level. You cannot worry about 14,000 tourists.”

Braker said with so much at stake, Tseshaht has been watching the development of the exercise since the beginning.

“Our First Nation office will be setting up an emergency centre [on Thursday]. We ourselves are going to be an integral part of this exercise, because it is going to help us plan, because we know, some day there is going to be a giant earthquake and tsunami.”

Braker said he has his own memories of the 1964 Good Friday Tsunami that devastated the low-lying regions of Port Alberni and caused long-term dislocation to many Nuu-chah-nulth people and communities in its path.

“I was eleven at the time, and I remember the day vividly, as if it were yesterday,” he said. “So we know it’s going to happen again. And we know when it happens, it’s going to be you relying on me and me relying on you. It’s going to be the Alberni Valley that has to be on its own for a long long time.”

Ha-shilth-sa had the opportunity to meet some of the players who are making the exercise happen.

Steve Rook is a Training Services Manager for C4i Training and Technology, while Mike McGinty works on contract with Calian, the company that is writing the scenario for Emergency Management BC and helping with the evaluation process to improve the province’s Immediate Earthquake Response Plan.

“This exercise has two levels,” McGinty explained. “First, there is here in Port Alberni. Here, there is ‘live play,’ with things like the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team (HUSAR), there is ‘live play’ with live casualties and mass care.”

That live play involves community volunteers who will undergo dressing and makeup to serve as convincing victims of the shaking and flood damage.

On the other side, C4i has created computer simulations of the damage and its effects on infrastructure, transportation, etc., such as which buildings have been damaged, how badly, and what levels of casualties are on site.

That information will flow to the Operations Centre (at ACRD), and in turn, to the Vancouver Island Provincial Regional Emergency Operations Centre, and finally to the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre in Victoria, which is already exercising their Immediate Response plan.

Rook explained that, while participants in the exercise will work in shifts, the ongoing consequences, such as aftershocks, would roll out in realtime, on a 24-hour clock.

“Within the simulation, we can build new emergencies [known as ‘injections’] into that,” he said.

McGinty said the community response has been excellent, and planners have taken care not to overload the exercise to the sort of extreme levels that might be encountered in a real-life event.

“The point about training is that it is training,” he said. “There is no point in having a training event that overwhelms everyone at the first instance, because no one learns anything. So this is a process where we are trying to train people locally, in their areas of specialization, and the EOC in its ability to coordinate the kind of action that would be required after an earthquake – or any other serious event, such as a forest fire or a pandemic, or any other terrible thing.”

“Whatever type of emergency you have, you still need Logistics, Financial, Operations teams on the ground. It’s the same process whether it’s a fire or a flood,” Rook said.

The exercise scenario is strikingly close to the devastating estimated 9.0 megaquake that struck the West Coast in January 1700, as verified by Huu-ay-aht oral histories and Japanese recorded history.

Rook said the goal for simulators is to provide the sort of scenario that first responders are most likely to encounter.

“So if this is based on a real-world event from the past, it is a realistic training event,” he said. “If it is based on Martians landing from the moon, that is not realistic.”

Asked about the recent trend where communities use a Zombie Apocalypse scenario as a training exercise, McGinty said that device is mainly public relations.

“That’s about raising awareness of Emergency Management,” he explained. “So that’s just a mechanism for getting people engaged.”

The message is consistent, however: be prepared to survive for at least 72 hours in an emergency situation.

“This goes back to the federal and provincial recommendations that everybody should have 72 hours worth of resiliency in their home. So it doesn’t matter if you’re prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse, or fire, or ice storm, or earthquake.”

As part of the ongoing coverage of Exercise Coastal Response, Ha-shilth-sa was invited to cover the arrival of the elite Vancouver-based Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (HUSAR) team.

According to the exercise scenario, a Magnitude 9 earthquake struck at 7:45 am Tuesday, followed almost immediately by a 20-metre tsunami.

The squad set up its base of operations on Tuesday morning at the Fall Fair Grounds. HUSAR Training Officer Kirk Heaven pointed out that, in the event of a genuine earthquake/tsunami emergency, his unit would likely not arrive for two or three days.

When Ha-shilth-sa visited at 9 am, a number of HUSAR members were setting up the base of operations while waiting for the heavy units to arrive.

“I made the callout at 8 pm last night, and they assembled at 1 am. This is our advance party. They came over on the [Coast Guard] hovercraft from Sea Island. The other team is coming on the ferry,” Heaven said.

While HUSAR assembled, a wide variety of partner agencies ranging from Emergency Social Services to Communications set up similar bases between the Multiplex and the North Island College campus.

In a previous meeting last week, Heaven emphasized that specific details of the exercise would be withheld from participants until the very last moment. In order to keep the exercise as realistic as possible, only key people would be aware of the actual sequence of events in advance.

“My team knows nothing about this exercise,” he said. “The only thing they know is the date they’re coming. Other than that, they haven’t a clue what’s going on. Everything we’re building, everything they’re doing, they have no clue. We want to maximize the challenges that we’re going to give to them.”

The City of Port Alberni and Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District have been training personnel for the past year, and are fully in the loop as far as the scenario and how the exercise will unfold, he explained.

Part of the exercise includes providing mass care and mass feeding of those injured and displaced by the quake and tsunami.

“They’re really ramping it up. Instantly, what happens in a small community is, you get overwhelmed as soon as it happens. And the resources do take time to come in.”

Besides training for disasters, the federal government has a mandate to deploy its HUSAR teams to other provinces or even to other countries when called on.

Heaven’s team was deployed to a massive landslide that took place in Oso, in Washington State, in March 2014. Thirty-six people died, and most of the effort involved slogging through mud searching for victims.

Most recently, the unit spent six days in Ft. McMurray during the worst of the wildfire emergency.

“We went in there and the town was abandoned. It’s just mind-boggling that nobody was killed by the forest fires.”

Lisa Gallic serves as the Tseshaht First Nation liaison with Operation Coastal Response.

“I am working with Lisa. One of the scenarios is that she is going to call in a specific emergency,” Heaven said.

Details of that emergency remain confidential. However, as part of the exercise, HUSAR will deploy emergency equipment to remedy the situation.

Tseshaht has also made the disused Sproat Lake School available as a disaster site.

Heaven said his unit is divided into two teams working alternating 12-hour shifts.

“Both teams will be going out to the Sproat Lake School to do a recce [reconnaissance] to see if there are any problems, anyone hurt, etc. We’ll take the dogs out there to look for victims.”

While HUSAR won’t perform any demolition in the name of realism, the team may add some modifications to the facilities, in order to improve the exercise, or, in one instance, to improve safety.

“We could have patients in there. It’s all time-sensitive,” Heaven said.

In short, as in a real-life disaster, the exercise will be to move in quickly, assess damage and determine whether the site has the potential to be used as a relief centre by follow-on agencies. But for HUSAR, the main priority is to save lives, Heaven noted.

“In the real world, if we went in and nobody was in there, we would put all the markings on the door about what we found, and we wouldn’t come back.”

On Tuesday morning, as HUSAR set up, the “surprises,” real or virtual, were already unfolding.

“We were originally going to set up down at Catalyst. But a second tsunami came in and it was uninhabitable at this time, so we came up here.”

Well, it didn’t really happen that way, Heaven said.

“That’s an ‘inject,’” he explained. The term refers to last-minute modifications to the scenario that are thrown in by organizers to challenge the resiliency of the team.

“We never plan to move a second time,” Heaven said. “We should be safe up here. We came to the higher ground. You never want to set up your operations more than once, because it’s so demanding on time and staffing to do it.”

The first big HUSAR truck to arrive carried a front-end loader, a critical tool when you bring in a smorgasbord of heavy equipment.

“We’ve brought everything here with us. You’ll see all the shelters, the showers will be set up, the water [treatment] facilities will be set up. We’ll be doing water filtration. We’ll bring water in and filter it so we can drink it and shower in it,” he said.

A dog team, consisting of five working tracking dogs and one juvenile trainee (it’s an experiment in progress) is an integral part of the unit. One doctor arrived with the advance party, with more expected, along with a team of engineers.

“We’re basically a small city,” Heaven said.

One point Heaven and other organizers have emphasized is that, other than bringing in their own specialized equipment, all participating agencies are purchasing their supplies and services locally. As if to emphasize that point, a flat-deck loaded with port-a-potties from Alberni Septic Tank Service arrived ahead of the HUSAR heavy units, followed by the mobile unit from the Galloping Gourmet Catering Company.

“It’s going to be a wild ride,” noted caterer Shelley Fraser as she hauled supplies in to the kitchen.

When the heavy units actually arrived at about 10, they were held back at the outer gate to wait for the Global News team of Linda Aylesworth and cameraman Mike Timbrell, so they could film the procession of big rigs.

As part of the exercise, ADSS teacher Dan Mott and youth support worker April McLean brought three young Nuu-chah-nulth students from the Step Up Program. Their job was to zap-strap pictures of “missing loved ones” to the temporary fence set up around the HUSAR site, as would be expected in the aftermath of a disaster.

The three declined to be named, but were initially willing to be photographed performing their task. But on learning that they were to be interviewed on camera, by Global, the students made the decision not to appear before the media, including Ha-shilth-sa.

A small disappointment, but if there is one over-riding lesson in Operation Coastal Response, it is to expect the unexpected. Or was it an “inject?”