First Nations

From left: λugʷaləs, Janine and Raven Shaw share a happy moment. Their parents Crystal Smith and Raymond Shaw were successful in getting B.C.’s Vital Statistics Agency to put λugʷaləs’ proper name on his birth certificate. Shaw family photograph

Vancouver Island couple wins battle to get son’s Indigenous name on birth certificate

B.C. Vital Statistics Agency agrees to accept Indigenous language letters

 

Kwakiutl First Nation master carver Stan Hunt’s 18-foot monument to Indigenous children who were abused and died while attending residential schools is taking shape and nearly ready to be painted. (Megyn Williams photo)

B.C. residential school monument ‘asking for these children’s spirits to come home’

North Island master carver finishing 18-foot work in remembrance of residential school children

 

Program manager Ben Whitby shows a similar type of buoy-based wave data collection platform to the one that will be deployed in the waters off Yuquot at the University of Victoria’s Pacific Regional Institute for Marine Energy Discovery (PRIMED) lab in North Saanich March 3. (Austin Westphal/News Staff) Program manager Ben Whitby shows a similar type of buoy-based wave data collection platform to the one that will be deployed in the waters off Yuquot at the University of Victoria’s Pacific Regional Institute for Marine Energy Discovery (PRIMED) lab in North Saanich March 3. (Austin Westphal/News Staff)

Researchers hope B.C. First Nation can ride the waves to reclaim their ancestral home

Wave-powered renewable energy microgrid to power Mowachaht/Muchalaht return to Nootka Island

 

Leslie Varley, executive director of BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, says a Hyatt Regency Vancouver employee denied a cultural advisor and staff member of BCAAFC access to a washroom, causing a “public and humiliating” incident. The hotel has since publicly apologized. (Screen cap)

Vancouver Hyatt Regency apologizes to First Nations group after alleged discrimination

BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres welcomes apology, but won’t use hotel for event

Leslie Varley, executive director of BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, says a Hyatt Regency Vancouver employee denied a cultural advisor and staff member of BCAAFC access to a washroom, causing a “public and humiliating” incident. The hotel has since publicly apologized. (Screen cap)
Christina Spence-Proteau of Port Alberni takes a shot during the final round of the 2019 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur & Senior Championship at Osoyoos Golf Club. (Chuck Russell/Golf Canada)

Island golfer helping B.C.’s first Indigenous Golf Championship tee off this spring

Port Alberni golfer takes the helm as tournament chair for May event in Osoyoos

Christina Spence-Proteau of Port Alberni takes a shot during the final round of the 2019 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur & Senior Championship at Osoyoos Golf Club. (Chuck Russell/Golf Canada)
Gitxsan blockade of CN rail lines near New Hazelton in early 2020 erected in support of Wet’suwet’en opposition to the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline. (File photo)

Chiefs ban RCMP’s ‘militarized’ squadron from Gitxsan lands in northern B.C.

Community-Industry Response Group not welcome on Gitxsan lands, say chiefs

Gitxsan blockade of CN rail lines near New Hazelton in early 2020 erected in support of Wet’suwet’en opposition to the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline. (File photo)
Mowi Canada West salmon farm. (Mowi photo)

B.C. First Nations reject continued fish farming in the Broughton Archipelago

Three First Nations announce their call on region’s last 7 fish farms through consent-based processes

Mowi Canada West salmon farm. (Mowi photo)
Drummers sing as they walk into the Sts’ailes Lhawathet Lalem (Healing House) on Friday, March 3. (Adam Louis/Observer)

PHOTOS: ‘This beautiful work’: Sts’ailes First Nation welcomes 29 baskets home

Ancestral baskets repatriated to First Nation from Kilby Historic Site

Drummers sing as they walk into the Sts’ailes Lhawathet Lalem (Healing House) on Friday, March 3. (Adam Louis/Observer)
Chrissie John (ḥakaƛ) and her partner are committed to teaching their two young children their First Nations language as they grow up. The family is part of an increasing number of First Nations people in B.C. who are working to reclaim their mother tongues. (Submitted photo)

Taking back identity: New learners fight to keep First Nations languages in B.C. alive

Number of fluent speakers declining, but new learners on the rise

Chrissie John (ḥakaƛ) and her partner are committed to teaching their two young children their First Nations language as they grow up. The family is part of an increasing number of First Nations people in B.C. who are working to reclaim their mother tongues. (Submitted photo)
Wei Wai Kum Chief Chris Roberts (left) speaks at the signing of a protocol Feb. 27, 2023 in Nanaimo between the Wei Wai Kum First Nation, We Wai Kai First Nation and the Myra Falls Mine. We Wai Kai Chief Ronnie Chickite holds a carved paddle to be presented to Myra Falls general manager Adam Foulstone. Photo contributed

Deal reached between 2 First Nations and Vancouver Island copper and zinc mine

Wei Wai Kum and We Wai Kai Nations sign historic agreement with the Myra Falls mine

Wei Wai Kum Chief Chris Roberts (left) speaks at the signing of a protocol Feb. 27, 2023 in Nanaimo between the Wei Wai Kum First Nation, We Wai Kai First Nation and the Myra Falls Mine. We Wai Kai Chief Ronnie Chickite holds a carved paddle to be presented to Myra Falls general manager Adam Foulstone. Photo contributed
Wei Wai Kum Chief Chris Roberts (left) speaks at the signing of a protocol Feb. 27, 2023 in Nanaimo between the Wei Wai Kum First Nation, We Wai Kai First Nation and the Myra Falls Mine. We Wai Kai Chief Ronnie Chickite holds a carved paddle to be presented to Myra Falls general manager Adam Foulstone. Photo contributed

Deal reached between 2 First Nations and Vancouver Island copper and zinc mine

Wei Wai Kum and We Wai Kai Nations sign historic agreement with the Myra Falls mine

Wei Wai Kum Chief Chris Roberts (left) speaks at the signing of a protocol Feb. 27, 2023 in Nanaimo between the Wei Wai Kum First Nation, We Wai Kai First Nation and the Myra Falls Mine. We Wai Kai Chief Ronnie Chickite holds a carved paddle to be presented to Myra Falls general manager Adam Foulstone. Photo contributed
The NK’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course presents stunning views of the South Okanagan Valley. (nkmipcanyon.ca)

B.C.’s first Indigenous Golf Championship tees off in South Okanagan

The event, hosted at Nk’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course, will see 128 golfers compete

The NK’Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course presents stunning views of the South Okanagan Valley. (nkmipcanyon.ca)
Family, friends and hereditary chiefs gather in a ceremony in Victoria on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, to witness the historical repatriation of the Nuxalk Nation totem pole after years of effort to release the pole back to the nation from the Royal BC Museum. The pole that embodies the history and culture of the Nuxalk Nation is being welcomed back to its ancestral home in Bella Coola, more than 100 years after it was taken. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Celebration marks repatriation of B.C. totem to Nuxalk Nation after century-long wait

Dancing and feasting to accompany return of totem pole to its home in Bella Coola Monday

Family, friends and hereditary chiefs gather in a ceremony in Victoria on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, to witness the historical repatriation of the Nuxalk Nation totem pole after years of effort to release the pole back to the nation from the Royal BC Museum. The pole that embodies the history and culture of the Nuxalk Nation is being welcomed back to its ancestral home in Bella Coola, more than 100 years after it was taken. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
John Woodworth and Hälle Flygare at the bronze plaque placed on a granite boulder east of Burnt Bridge Creek in Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park on July 31, 1988 when the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail was dedicated as a provincial heritage site. (Photo courtesy of Halle Flygare)

Efforts afoot to correctly identify one leg of Alexander Mackenzie’s 1793 travels near Bella Coola

Hälle Flygare of Canmore, Alta. has been documenting, researching the trail for decades

John Woodworth and Hälle Flygare at the bronze plaque placed on a granite boulder east of Burnt Bridge Creek in Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park on July 31, 1988 when the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail was dedicated as a provincial heritage site. (Photo courtesy of Halle Flygare)
Chief Grace George with the Katzie First Nation wants Trans Mountain Corporation to stop work on Katzie First Nation territory. (The News files)

B.C. First Nation orders Trans Mountain to stop work on their land

Katzie First Nation claims work at two sites is being done without proper notice or consultation

Chief Grace George with the Katzie First Nation wants Trans Mountain Corporation to stop work on Katzie First Nation territory. (The News files)
A totem pole is removed and lowered from the Royal B.C. Museum on Feb. 13 as Nuxalk Nation members and others watch on. The totem pole is being repatriated to the Bella Coola territory, its original home before it was taken. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)

PHOTOS: Nuxalk chief ‘teary-eyed’ as totem pole removed from Royal B.C. Museum

Sacred item’s return to Bella Coola will help bring back their stories, says hereditary chief

A totem pole is removed and lowered from the Royal B.C. Museum on Feb. 13 as Nuxalk Nation members and others watch on. The totem pole is being repatriated to the Bella Coola territory, its original home before it was taken. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)
Snuxyaltwa (Snooks-yell-twa) totem to the Nuxalk Nation of Bella Coola before it was removed in 1913. (Photo submitted)

Coming home: A history of the Nuxalk totem and its return to Bella Coola

More than 100 Nuxalk are expected to travel to Victoria Feb. 13

  • Feb 6, 2023
Snuxyaltwa (Snooks-yell-twa) totem to the Nuxalk Nation of Bella Coola before it was removed in 1913. (Photo submitted)
A seal kiss from mom to pup on Discovery Island. (File photo by Nick Wemyss)

Pair of Vancouver Island provincial parks on the table during treaty negotiations

Sooke Mountain, Discovery Island provincial parks now being considered for inclusion

A seal kiss from mom to pup on Discovery Island. (File photo by Nick Wemyss)
Hereditary Chiefs Aaron Hans, Jeffery Snow and Snuxyaltwa (as known as Deric Snow) visit the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria which houses family poles. (Mercy Snow photo)

Totem pole returning to Bella Coola, Nuxalk territory, after decades in Victoria museum

The plan is to load the pole onto a truck on Feb. 13 in Victoria

Hereditary Chiefs Aaron Hans, Jeffery Snow and Snuxyaltwa (as known as Deric Snow) visit the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria which houses family poles. (Mercy Snow photo)
The Quarterdeck beer and wine store had this old sign hanging up stating it would not accept Indigenous status cards as ID, and it was promptly taken down by new management after it went viral online. (Jozi Child - Facebook photo)

Sign denying status cards as ‘suitable’ ID at Port Hardy liquor store sparks uproar

Liquor store apologizes and removes sign after photo goes viral on social media

The Quarterdeck beer and wine store had this old sign hanging up stating it would not accept Indigenous status cards as ID, and it was promptly taken down by new management after it went viral online. (Jozi Child - Facebook photo)