Tseshaht First Nation

Last updated
Tseshaht First Nation
Band No. 665
c̓išaaʔatḥ
People Nuu-chah-nulth
Province British Columbia
Population (2021) [1]
On reserve452
On other land40
Off reserve755
Total population1247
Government [1]
ChiefKen Watts (waamiiš)
Council
  • Debra Foxcroft
  • Jennifer Gallic
  • Leisa Hassall
  • Eunice Joe
  • Natasha Marshall
  • Ed Ross
  • Les Sam
Tribal Council [1]
Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council
Website
https://tseshaht.com/
Tseshaht.png

Tseshaht First Nation is an amalgamation of many tribes up and down Alberni Inlet and in the Alberni Valley of central Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. They are a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council which includes all other Nuu-chah-nulth-aht peoples except the Pacheedaht First Nation.

Contents

Population

There are 1,205 Tseshaht. The main reserve community is located in Port Alberni, British Columbia. [2] They became the area's dominant tribe through historical warfare. The Tseshaht First nation is one of 14 that make up the Nuu-chah-nulth culture. Their language is a member of the Wakashan family


Creation story

Tseshaht oral history tells that their people were first created on Benson Island, British Columbia. [3] In 2012, an interpretive display about the importance of the island was installed in cooperation with Parks Canada. The site is marked by a tall wooden carving by Tseshaht artist Gordon Dick. [4]

Notable people

See also

Related Research Articles

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Alec Thomas was born around 1894 near Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. He was a fisherman, trapper, longshoreman, interpreter, self-taught anthropologist, and Tseshaht politician. Alec had a wife named Eva and also had a son named Bob. With him being a trapper he would lay traps for 14 miles between 2 bodies of water, the Somass River and Sprout Lake. At the end of the day, he would check each one with his wife and son, walking through his miles of traps. This is what he did for a living, hunting different animals such as fish and beavers.

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Tim Paul is a member of the Hesquiaht tribe from the Nuu-Chah-Nulth first nation. He is a master carver from Esperanza Inlet British Columbia. He was the senior carver at the Royal British Columbia Museum until 1992 when he left to oversee an indigenous education program for the Port Alberni school board on Vancouver Island.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "First Nation Profiles". Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada . Government of Canada. November 14, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  2. "Reserves/Settlements/Villages". Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada . Government of Canada.
  3. "We are Tseshaht" . Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  4. "First Nations Cultural Experiences: Broken Group Island Unit" . Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  5. "Alec Thomas". Tseshaht First Nation. Archived from the original on November 22, 2006.