Chapter 2: Stewards of the Land

I write this on the Traditional Territory of the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ (Ucluelet First Nation). The Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast have a rich and complex history, fraught with conflict and tribulation caused by colonial interference.

The history of coastal First Nations goes back millennia. Carbon dating at an ancient village site on Benson Island in Barkley Sound shows people were living there five thousand years ago. Their ancestors are believed to have arrived at the end of the Ice Age.

An archaeological site was discovered at Ucluelet’s Little Beach in 1991, when contractors excavating a potential building site unearthed burial cairns and pit graves marked with rocks and whale bones. Middens consisting mainly of mussel shells were found above the beach.¹ Discovered artifacts included a labret, or ornamental lip plug. Radiocarbon dating showed the site to be at least four thousand years old.²

Fourteen coastal nations belong to a group called the nuučaan̓uł (Nuu-​chah-​nulth). The group name, chosen by the Nuu-​chah-​nulth Tribal Council in 1980, means “all along the mountains.” The name is preferable to “Nootka,” which was chosen by British mariner Captain James Cook in 1778. (He was being given directions, and mistakenly thought the people were sharing their name with him.)

Of the fourteen Nuu-​chah-​nulth nations, six have territory in Barkley Sound. Two of these, the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ (Ucluelet First Nation) and the t̓uk̓ʷaaʔatḥ (Toquaht First Nation), are situated on the north side of Barkley Sound.

The town of Ucluelet, meaning “people of the safe harbour,” is named after its original inhabitants. Another Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ safe landing beach is at Kwisitis, near what is also referred to as Wickaninnish Beach.

The Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ were made up of people from nine villages. Today, their main village is hitac̓u (Hitacu), on the east shore of Ucluelet Inlet, near the harbour mouth. There have been various versions of the village name, including Ittatsoo and Hitattsoo. Like today’s name of hitac̓u, they all mean “inside.” Early West Coast settler Eddy Banfield described this site in an 1858 article he wrote for the Daily Victoria Gazette, stating that 450 members of the “Youcloulyet” tribe lived near “a beautiful harbor, facing to the south but not at all exposed to the Pacific Ocean, equally sheltered and five times as large as the estuary at Victoria.”³

The Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ, like their neighbouring nations, thrived in their environment. Plentiful food provided a healthy diet, with the sea a primary source, and salmon a staple. They also harvested herring and salmon roe, and fished for cod, halibut, pilchards, perch and herring. Fishing methods included the use of spears, whale-​bone hooks, traps, weirs and nets.

The nuučaan̓uł were skilled whalers, and also hunted seals and sea lions. Abundant shellfish included sea urchins, clams, mussels, chitons, oysters and crab. A popular saying held true: “When the tide is out, the table is set.”⁴

The forest provided a wealth of berries, plants and roots. The nuučaan̓uł hunted deer, elk and bear, but these were secondary to the bounties of the sea. Much of their food was preserved by drying or smoking. They also hunted sea otters and other mammals for pelts, which they made into cloaks and robes.

The rhythm of the seasons defined the rhythm of their days. In spring, they harvested the herring spawn. In summer, they prepared for winter by preserving their catch. They moved between different villages and camps seasonally, according to the availability of fish and game and the ideal timing to harvest plants and trees.⁵

Cedar, like salmon, was at the heart of the way of life of the West Coast First Nations. Sturdy longhouses were built from hand-​felled cedar trees. Canoes were carved from cedar logs. Bark was used to weave clothing—cedar hats and capes were waterproof, ideal for the rainforest environment. Items were stored and carried in cedar woven baskets. Masks, ceremonial poles and tools were carved from cedar. Creation of masks, regalia and canoes was seen as giving the cedar new life. Gratitude and respect accompanied the felling and carving of cedar.

This speaks to the core beliefs of these Indigenous Peoples. They were surrounded by a wealth of resources, from the sea beside them, and from the rivers, lakes and dense forest nearby. As stewards of the land, they took only what was needed. Nadine Crookes of the ʕaaḥuusʔatḥ (Ahousaht First Nation) eloquently describes the nuučaan̓uł concepts of ʔiisaak (respect) and hishuk ish ts’awalk (interconnectedness): “Our beliefs are thousands of years old, yet perhaps more relevant today than ever…People are dependent on the environment and on each other. All is interconnected.”⁶

The nuučaan̓uł societal structure was complex yet clearly defined. Social ranking was important, ranging from hereditary Chiefs at the top, then lesser Chiefs, and below them the common people. Slaves had the lowest ranking.

Clans were led by hereditary Chiefs. Power was shared with Councils, Advisors and Elders. This structure is still seen in the governing of nuučaan̓uł people today, although now, as well as hereditary Chiefs, there are elected Leaders and Councillors. Family is integral to the social structure: crests, stories, songs and dances are passed down through families. Oral Traditions continue to be essential.

The sea was the highway of the nuučaan̓uł, who travelled great distances along the rugged West Coast in their solidly built canoes, often through stormy conditions. In this way, they connected with other nations, trading items such as dried fish and fish oil, dried meat and shell jewellery. Some visits were for forging alliances through intermarriage.

Intertribal relations were not always smooth. Status was very important. An actual or perceived insult to a Chief or nation could lead to war. Other wars took place for revenge, or to acquire slaves. In a 1955 report, linguists Edward Sapir and Morris Swadesh documented two incidents of the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ taking slaves, theorizing they did so to trade them for guns. Slaves were also taken to be used as workers, or to add to the taker’s prestige. Slaves lost kinship ties and social identity, and were rarely recovered by their people

Disputes over territory also led to wars. One such conflict, between the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ and the residents of the salmon-​producing river at Nahmint, resulted in the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ seizing ceremonial and territorial rights.⁷

The Ucluelet Nation also fought with the Toquaht Nation. The t̓uk̓ʷaaʔatḥ, meaning “people of the narrow beach,” lived at Toquaht Bay on the north side of Barkley Sound, site of their main village of m̓aʔaquuʔa (Macoah). They also lived at Mayne Bay, and in other parts of west Barkley Sound. Jessie Mack’s husband, Cecil Mack, became Hereditary Chief of the t̓uk̓ʷaaʔatḥ in the 1920s. Jessie’s reflections on conflict were shared in a 1980 Westerly News article, in which she related that their land was coveted in the 1800s “because of its location close to the Toquaht River, abundant with coho, steelhead and spring salmon.”⁸ This led to many raids on m̓aʔaquuʔa. By the mid-nineteenth century, warfare had caused heavy losses, and some families moved away. A few families settled at hac̓aaqis (now also known as Stuart Bay and Hakoda Bay), just inside Ucluelet Harbour. Although now deserted, hac̓aaqis again belongs to the Toquaht Nation. This is near what was originally the Toquaht’s main summer village, called t̓ukʷaa ( Du Quah).

In the 1920s, m̓aʔaquuʔa (Macoah) was abandoned. In the 1980s, people began returning and building houses. At the writing of this book, there are about forty Toquaht citizens living at Macoah, with the other 135 Toquaht citizens living in Ucluelet, Port Alberni and other places, mainly on the coast.

Of the approximately seven hundred Ucluelet First Nation citizens, around 210 live in the main village of hitac̓u, while the rest live in other areas on Vancouver Island and across Canada and the US. Affordable housing initiatives help support citizens wishing to return home.

Despite the damaging colonial attempts at assimilation and cultural genocide, the nuučaan̓uł have maintained the foundations of their cultures, and continue to achieve preservation and reclamation.