Latest news with #Nuu-chah-nulth
Hamilton Spectator
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Decolonizing surfing by learning Nuu-chah-nulth place names for surf breaks
Esowista, BC - For mułaa (pronounced mu-thla) Rising Tide Surf Team, the love of surfing runs in tandem with learning how to say surfing – and all the surf words – in Nuu-chah-nulth language. Anyone can come along for the ride too; mułaa worked with Gisele Martin at the Tla-o-qui-aht Language Department and Samantha Touchie from Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government to create a surf map that showcases the traditional names of surf breaks from načiks (Tofino) to Ucluelet. Graphic designer Riley Milroy of Crimson Studio Illustration did the artwork for the map, and it was printed on t-shirts, toques, posters, postcards and tote bags, which can be purchased at the Tourism Tofino Visitor Centre or Tsawaak RV Resort and Campground. The non-profit's co-founder Rachel Dickens-Greening says mułaa's surf map and surf language card has empowered the Indigenous youth to take ownership back over the local surf breaks. 'Indigenous languages carry our traditions, values, and worldviews. Language is deeply tied to traditional knowledges on land, medicine, spirituality, and governance. When a language disappears, an entire way of understanding the world is lost,' said Dickens-Greening. 'When the youth ask for more language throughout the program, they are keeping this knowledge alive. Speaking the language, and seeing the non-Indigenous community engage with it, such as through the t-shirt and map sales, also fosters pride and self-confidence,' she continued. Most recently, mułaa collaborated with Slowtide Towels to create a 100 per cent recycled quick dry towel featuring their surf map. Slowtide donated 50 towels to the Indigenous surf team and 20 more will be sold on the companies' website, with all the profits going to mułaa. Cass Hale, mułaa's program co-ordinator since April 2024, says the towel project took flight about a year ago. 'To see it is awesome. The kids in summer camp last year picked out the colour. I think they are fantastic. I love it,' said Hale during a mid-spring session at their local surf break on Long Beach or yaaqsis (pronounced yaaq-sis) in front of the Tla-o-qui-aht village of Esowista. Ucluelet resident, surf dad and co-founder of Slowtide Dario Phillips delivered the towels in-person and caught waves with the crew. 'It means a lot for me to be here,' he told the youth. 'For us as a company and for me living here, we just want to support our local area and do whatever we can to give back. I use these beaches all the time and that's why we support Rising Tide,' said Phillips. He said his two kids, ages six and nine, are learning to speak Nuu-chah-nulth in school. 'It's awesome. I love it. Even in my group thread with most of my surf dads, we are calling it by the original reclaimed names. It's really cool to see my kids look at an eagle and call it the Nuu-chah-nulth name,' said Phillips. 'Things like that I didn't learn throughout my childhood.' Emelia Hale, 11, has been part of mułaa for two years. Her surf goal is to do a headstand on a wave, and she's getting better at pronouncing Nuu-chah-nulth words. 'It's really hard to learn Nuu-chah-nulth, but it can be done. Surfing is really fun because we get to do party waves. That's the most fun,' said Emelia, who is Hale's daughter and of Nuu-chah-nulth and Metis heritage. The Nuu-chah-nulth alphabet has 45 letters. It is a phonetic alphabet, meaning each letter represents a different sound, and every sound is represented by only one letter, notes a page on Tla-o-qui-aht's website . 'I'm getting better at learning (place names). I know what it breaks down to really just spending time with the alphabet,' said Hale. There are 16 youth registered in the program this year, three support workers, six surf instructors that rotate throughout the season and Tla-o-qui-aht language revitalization support worker Tsimka Martin has also joined the team. 'That circle is really starting to feel complete in our program,' Hale beamed. Mułaa was awarded grant funding from the federal Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities (SSDIC) initiative, which covers basic operations for the year. Dickens-Greening says they also rely on donations from community members and visitors to the region. In the past, they have worked with a Hawaiian group to make traditional surfboards and since launching in 2019 , they have added a winter ski trip to their programming. 'They would love to travel the world surfing to dip their feet in different oceans. Now that we have this steady group, they've been there a long time, they're getting older together, we get to adventure a whole lot more with them,' said Hale, adding that they're door is open to building new relationships with nations around Vancouver Island and the world. 'We are thinking of working with other nations to expand the surf map and there is talk of going to Haida Gwaii for a cultural exchange,' she shared. At the beginning of each weekly surf session, the group has started to include a spontaneous Nuu-chah-nulth phrase for everyone to learn before going over the usual safety talk. Who's ready to ride the wave? Surfing or siiksaanapšiił ( pronounced seek-saw-nup-sheelth ) refers to going in with the waves (siiksaana), and šiił refers to doing something over and over again. -30- Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
08-05-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Pacific gray whale washes up on Long Beach, DFO to conduct full necropsy
Long Beach, B.C. - Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks Guardian Gisele Maria Martin spotted the whale floating out in rough seas in front of the Esowista Peninsula on Monday and by Wednesday the magnificent creature had found its final resting place just south of Lovekin Rock on Long Beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. 'The first thing we did was ceremony. We did a chant for the whale,' said Martin. Then the Guardians secured a rope around the tail of the deceased juvenile gray whale to save him from the rising tide and with the help of Parks Canada, they drew lines in the sand to create a perimeter around the body. 'When I first arrived, people were quite close and poking the whale. We just don't want to see the whale getting walked on for selfies,' she said. In Nuu-chah-nulth culture, whales are represented in a lot of stories and have brought wealth to nations, says Martin. They also carry a strong connection to the supernatural. 'Seeing it up close made me think of the amazing strength and endurance that the whale hunters had,' she said. For many curious onlookers, the sight of the dead whale brought on a flood of emotions. 'There was one woman visiting from Alberta…She was in tears about it,' said Martin. DFO to conduct full necropsy Ph.D. biologist and Tofino resident Jim Darling has been researching whales since the 1970s. He told the Ha-Shilth-Sa that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) will perform a full necropsy of the gray whale to determine the cause of death. 'To have a whale wash in dead at this time of year is not really unusual at all. It happens most years,' said Darling. Gray whales spend their summers feeding in the northern latitudes, right up into the Arctic and even into the Beaufort Sea, explained Darling. They feed all summer and then they migrate south to Mexico, where they feed 'little to none.' 'This is when they are most vulnerable. They have been living off fat reserves from last summers' feeding,' he said. 'However, to complicate that though, the last couple of years and continuing this year for sure, there is something else going on for sure,' Darling continues. It has been widely reported that over 70 whales have died this year along Mexico's Baja California coast, where wintering females give birth and nurse their calves. 'That's shocking. Those numbers are really high. Everyone is concerned,' said Darling. 'I think the consensus is amongst most researchers is that the problem is in the Arctic where the ecosystem has changed quite dramatically. The feeling is that these gray whales just aren't getting the food reserves that they need to make it through the migration and the winter-feeding season.' There are roughly 200 local gray whales that live off the coast of Vancouver Island and around 15,000 grays that do the migration route, according to Darling. He said the migrating herd is overall 'really stressed' while the local herd seems 'stable'. He said the results of the necropsy will determine whether the whale died from an empty stomach, which would indicate malnourishment. 'They store their fat reserves in their blubber. They can measure the thickness of that, and it gives and indication of the health of the whale,' Darling said, noting that the necropsy will also examine the whales' organs, blood and skin. maaʔak means 'take a big bite' In Tla-o-qui-aht language, the word for gray whale is maaʔak, which translates to 'take a big bite'. Martin says Tribal Parks Guardians is looking at taking some of the whale blubber, whale bones to carve traditional tools and some of the baleen for traditional regalia. Tom Campbell, of Ahousaht First Nation, brought his grandkids to see the deceased whale on May 7. 'We had one wash up in Ahousaht some years back. I got to taste it because they started cutting it up. It was chewy. A little bit hard to chew. Years ago they used to put the blubber on a big fire to make oil and they had some pretty sharp tools to cut it up,' Campbell shared. While commercial whaling decimated the species, putting an end to traditional whale hunting for Nuu-chah-nulth, the Makah Tribe located in Washington State at Neah Bay recently submitted an application for a permit to hunt a limited number of North Pacific gray whales for ceremonial and subsistence purposes in the summer of 2025 and 2027. Public comments on the Makah Tribe's application closed on May 5 and a decision is pending. A necropsy is now underway, according to DFO. -30-
Hamilton Spectator
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Spring Carving on the Edge Festival uplifts the next generation
Tofino, BC - Hammering chisels with rubber mallets, children helped hollow out a traditional Nuu-chah-nulth log drum at the spring Carving on the Edge Festival, which took place May 1 to 4 at the Tofino Community Hall in Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations territory. Tla-o-qui-aht artist Hjalmer Wenstob said the focus of the spring festival was all about coming together. 'Our log drum is what we built the whole festival around. It was drop-in carving throughout the whole festival. Really, it's just basically about learning about different tools,' said Wenstob. 'It's a nice, simple block of wood that people aren't afraid of. We're gonna hollow it out as a community,' he said. Three different school groups participated in the log drum project: the Grade 2/3 class from Wickaninnish Community School, an art class from Ahousaht and a high school group from Oregon. 'When young people come and create, it's beautiful. Having elders, the knowledge keepers in the room, to share with the next generations… it's all about sharing knowledge and building something together,' he said. Wenstob will take the log drum home and carve it into a wolf. He plans to gift the final work of art to Tla-o-qui-aht. 'I know they haven't had a traditional log drum in a while. We've been hosting the festival for 15 years now in Tla-o-qui-aht, so we thought it would be a good way to give back,' Wenstob continued. Beside the log drum, Port Alberni-based artist Kelly Robinson was working on a huge Thunderbird spirit mask in Nuxalk Nation's distinct style. 'Nuxalk is bulbous, voluptuous, curvy and deep,' said Robinson, who has had Nuxalk work in market for over 15 years. 'I've been practicing Nuu-chah-nulth style seriously for the past five years, and it will take a lifetime to learn. Nuu-chah-nulth is really fine with shapes coming out of nowhere,' he said. Robinson expressed his gratitude for the Carving Festival as it gives space for artists to network and just hang out with other artists. 'We're alone the majority of the time. It's been great to meet younger artists and share,' he told the Ha-Shilth-Sa. Tla-o-qui-aht artist Ivy Cargill-Martin agreed. 'I loved the overall feel of all the artists coming together, talking together and inspiring each other. It was so laidback. The whole vibe was just artists coming together to do art,' she said. When she wasn't hosting a busy lino carving and print making station, Cargill-Martin worked on a wooden fish commission inspired by Nuu-chah-nulth style, although a little more 'free'. 'My late uncle Darren Williams taught me to be more free and not as structured. He used to say to not draw with an eraser and just go with the mistakes you made,' Cargill-Martin shared. During the May 2 afternoon program, Hesquiaht artist and world-renowned carver Tim Paul surprised non-Indigenous west coast community member Laurel White with a Nuu-chah-nulth name. Surrounded by his family, Paul gave her the name ʔuuʔałuk, meaning 'taking care of'. 'Take that name and use that name as you go on in life. Just make sure you take care to pass on to our young people,' said Paul. White was raised in Prince Edward Island. She now lives in Ucluelet and works for the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council (NTC) as a public health researcher with a focus on what it means to live well and raise children well. She was shocked and notably speechless after receiving her Nu-chah-nulth name. 'I was trying not to cry. It's more than a word, it carries meaning,' White said. 'It's such an honour, but also a gift of responsibility to the knowledge and learnings that have been shared with me over my years of working with the NTC health dept, such as the responsibility to take care of those teachings, share them and embed them into my work and my life,' she said. Since 2021, White has been working with Paul and other Nuu-chah-nulth Elders on the Indigenous Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative . 'Elders like Tim amplify the work. I have so much gratitude and respect for Nuu-chah-nulth culture. It's such a beautiful thing,' White said. The Nuu-chah-nulth log drum will be displayed at the fall Carving on the Edge Art Show coming Oct 3 to 9, 2025. -30-
Hamilton Spectator
26-04-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
B.C. Supreme Court upholds first-ever jail sentence for man who killed 2 black bears in his Tofino backyard
By Nora O'Malley Parental advisory: This story contains graphic content of animal cruelty. Tofino, B.C. – 'The bears did not die instantly,' wrote Judge Alexander Wolf, who convicted and sentenced Ryan Owen Millar to 30-days in jail and $11,000 fine for illegally killing a mother bear and her cub in his backyard about four and a half years ago. 'They were injured and were in considerable pain before they died. A number of arrows had to be deployed to 'finish them off',' wrote Judge Wolf. Under the Wildlife Act, Judge Wolf also imposed a 20-year hunting ban and 20-year weapons/firearms ban. Millar appealed the jail sentence, arguing for a conditional jail sentence to be served in community. According to his defence attorney there are no cases in B.C. where a court imposed a jail sentence for the killing of a black bear. On April 4, 2025 Millar's case came to a close as Justice Thompson of the B.C. Supreme Court upheld the 30-day jail sentence, but allowed Millar's appeal in part by reducing the 20-year hunting ban to two years. Judge Thompson also 'set aside the 20-year weapons/firearms prohibition', according to the BC Prosecution Service. BC Prosecution Service went on to say in an email that Millar did not appeal the monetary penalty, with $10,000 of the $11,000 fine ordered to be paid to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, and he did not appeal the forfeiture order that was imposed in provincial court of his recurve bow and cross bow. Forensic evidence from Dr. Caeley Thacker, a provincial wildlife veterinarian, showed that the adult black bear was a female that was lactating when it was shot with four arrows. The second bear, or cims as the animal is called Nuu-chah-nulth language, was a cub, no more than 50 pounds, under the age of 12-months. Dr. Thacker's evidence was not challenged in court. Millar is a father of two, an experienced hunter, wildlife guide and owner of a Tofino short-term rental. He was raised in South Africa and his father was a conservation officer. Millar shot the black bears, who were both about 15 feet up a tree, with a long bow on October 14, 2021. In an 'excellent witness' testimony, Thomas Funk told the court he saw Millar use a cross bow to 'finish off' the mother bear and then he hid the cub. Funk was staying at an AirBnB with his spouse and could clearly see Millar from about 20 to 30 feet. He called the police and captured a video of Millar 'essentially grabbing the bear by the scruff of the neck and putting him under a tarp'. The video was an exhibit in the trial. Millar lied to the initial police officer on scene saying, 'he knew nothing about any bear being shot,' according to court records. When conservation officers went to investigate, Millar changed his story and told them the bear 'came at me', but Funk says the bears were not being aggressive and Millar made no attempt to scare the bears away. 'Mr. Funk is clear that based on what he saw and heard, Mr. Millar simply saw the bears, went into his house, came back with a bow and crossbow and killed the bears,' wrote Judge Wolf. Parks Canada scientists estimate that there are about 90 black bears living in a 300 square-kilometre area that includes the Long Beach Unit of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and the Kennedy Flats area. This region is bordered by Tofino to the north, Ucluelet and Hitacu to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Kennedy River and Kennedy Lake to the east. In 2024, BC Conservation Officers (COs), who are armed law enforcement officers with Special Provincial Constable status under the Police Act, killed 38 black bears on the west coast of Vancouver Island and a total of 303 black bears province wide. 'Through various designations and authorities, including under the Environmental Management Act and Wildlife Act, Conservation Officers are authorized to dispatch or euthanize wildlife in areas where it would be unlawful for the public to use a firearm. For example, CO's may euthanize an injured animal along a highway or dispatch (kill) a bear in an urban area to ensure public safety, if appropriate to do so,' reads a statement from the Conservation Officer Service. BC COS says there is no open season for wildlife within 100 meters of a dwelling or occupied outbuilding, nor is there an open season for a black bear less than two years of age, or a bear in its company. A $100,000 fine and up to one year in jail are both potential penalties for the offences. 'No one should take it upon themselves to needlessly destroy wildlife. We ask people to call us if they have a concern. It's not lawful to take matters into your own hands,' said COS Sgt. Dan Eichstadter in a written statement released after Millar's 2023 sentencing. 'We'd also like to thank the witnesses who immediately reported their concerns to authorities and initiated this investigation.' Black bears play a culturally significant role in Indigenous culture across Canada. In a statement given to CO Eichstadter for Millar's sentencing, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation elder Dr. Barney Williams said black bears represent the qualities of 'courage and strength in spirit'. 'Communities do not hunt these animals because of the symbolic connection to courage and strength, and the animals hold a special connection spiritually to all members of the Nation,' wrote Dr. Williams. 'Pre-contact in First Nations law, punishment for killing a cims (bear) not out of necessity could mean banishment or being taken out into the wilderness with an elder to receive teachings and become grounded with nature again,' Dr. Williams continued. Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation elder Moses Martin, 84, owns and operates Clayoquot Wild, a longtime bear and whale watching company based in Tofino. He says he's done a lot of hunting in his younger years, mostly for deer and harbour seal, but never for black bears. 'I'd never take a mom bear or baby bear,' he told the Ha-Shilth-Sa. 'For us, that's not the right thing to do. I've been four or five feet away from a bear and they didn't bother me so I didn't bother them,' said Martin. To report poaching or other unlawful activities, call the Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) hotline at 1-877-952-7277. -30- Caption: A black bear sow and her cubs wander the shores of Clayoquot Sound. (Jérémy Mathieu photo)
CBC
09-03-2025
- General
- CBC
Indigenous language now included on Ucluelet bus stop signs — a first for B.C. Transit
Jeneva Touchie has been learning her traditional language, nuučaan̓uł (Nuu-chah-nulth), for seven years — something she's carried on from her grandmother, who taught the language in her community on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Now, as the manager of language services for the Ucluelet First Nation's Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government, Touchie has helped bring the language to the local transportation system. Bus stop signs at all 36 B.C. Transit stops in Tofino, Ucluelet, Long Beach, hitaću, Esowista and Ty-histanis now include both English and Nuu-chah-nulth wording. "As a language learner and as a language teacher, it means the world to me because it's a really great connection to our land and our home," Touchie told CBC's On The Island host Gregor Craigie. B.C. Transit says this is the first time an Indigenous language has been included on its signs anywhere within its system, but it does plan to work with other communities to include local languages elsewhere. Government relations manager Seth Wright said B.C. Transit was inspired to include the Nuu-chah-nulth language on signs after seeing Parks Canada do the same. "We thought that including Nuu-chah-nulth on all bus stop signs was the right thing to do and supported our respective work towards reconciliation," Wright said. So, they reached out to the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation for expertise, to try to figure out what words would be appropriate to use. The names on the signs were created with both Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ and Tla-o-qui-aht dialects in mind, Touchie said. "It's a working collaboration with our neighbouring nations." The Nuu-chah-nulth on local signs isn't new to the community; the District of Ucluelet started putting both Nuu-chah-nulth and English on its signs in 2022. "Ucluelet is very ahead of the times, I would say, because they're trying to incorporate language within the community, and we've been incorporating signs here within our small community of Ittatsoo," Touchie said. "It's been really great to see language kind of blossom and flourish." She said keeping the local language alive in the community helps both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people understand the history of the Nuu-chah-nulth people. "Each nation, they've all been there since time immemorial," Touchie said. "But there's, I think, a lack of understanding of what that means for particularly nations that have been there a long time. It's just a really great opportunity to raise those questions and to better understand the nations that surround the communities."
