Kyuquot-Cheklesahht
The Kyuquot-Cheklesahht (spelling: Kyuquot / Cheklesahht, or Ka: 'yu:' k't'h '/ Che: k: tles7et'h' First Nations, often also Kyuquot / Checleset ) are North American Indians and live on the Vancouver Island , which is off the west coast of Canada . They speak Wakash and belong to the Nuu-chah-nulth , whose northernmost group they represent. They are mainly represented vis-à-vis the Canadian government by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council .
The two eponymous tribes were united into one tribe in 1963, and in April 2010 had exactly 509 registered members.
Reservations
The Kyuquot-Cheklesahht live in 26 reserves , mainly in the Rupert District , but also in the Nootka District , with a total area of around 370 hectares. The numbering of the reserves (1–17 and 1–9) still corresponds to the two formerly separate tribes. The majority of the population lives on the north bank of the Kyuquot Sound , across from Walter Island, in the Houpsitas 6 reserve (11.7 hectares). A total of 154 people lived in the reserves in April 2010, 14 more in other reserves, and 341 lived outside the reserves. 509 people were recognized as Kyuquot-Cheklesahht. Aktis and Kamills Island (47.8 and 29.5 ha), but above all McLean Island (87 ha) represent the largest areas of the Kyuquot, an area on the Chekleset Bay the largest area of the Cheklesahht.
history
At the end of the 18th century the Cheklesahht numbered between 600 and 1,200 tribe members who lived in three or four villages. The largest town was Acous, which in 1892 consisted of 18 long houses in two rows. But by 1855 only 50 to 60 men were counted, in 1860 there were only 32, five years later even only 30. In 1896 there were a total of 119 tribesmen, in 1916 only 57. When the Quineex Indian Reserve was visited in 1926 it is described as a halibut hunter with three houses.
Oral tradition says that the Cheklesahht defeated the Classet in a bloody argument at Cape Cook . The neighboring Klaskino on Brooks Peninsula , which spoke Kwakwala , died out by 1940. The Klaskino Inlet was named after them.
In 1886 a ship capsized off the coast and the crew was found and rescued by the Cheklesahht after 21 days. Other ships also sank here, so a shelter was built.
The 1881 and 1891 censuses showed that the number of Chekleset had dropped from 148 to 131. The number of kyuquot had even fallen from 662 to 469. They lived on Village Island , which is registered as an abandoned Mamalaleqala Band Indian Reserve (see Mamalilikulla ). Because the number of Chekleset declined so far, they merged with the Kyuquot in 1963.
The oldest of the 662 kyuquot in the 1881 census were 80 and 74 years old (Imida kack and Keilhnuk). 213 of them were called "Fisherman". A total of 36 families were recorded. The number of Christian names clearly predominates only among those under the age of 19. Mission successes were massive from around 1863, a year after a devastating smallpox epidemic . Two of the families had more than 40 people (42, 45), four had over 30, twelve over 20, seven over 10, and there were eleven families with fewer than 10 members.
Todays situation
Contract negotiations
In 2003 the Kyuquot Sound Coastal Plan was adopted, which covers the approximately 60 km long coastline between Nootka Sound and Brooks Peninsula , a total of 545 km of coastline and 550 km² of coastal waters. It contains numerous protective provisions for the natural treasures of the region, but also calls for the local First Nations to be included in all decision-making processes, especially when it comes to questions about important cultural sites. In addition, their economic situation is to be improved through joint ventures , marketing aids and training initiatives. The parks and recreation areas need numerous helpers (guardians) for this.
In 2007 the Ka: 'yu:' k't'h '/ Che: k: tles7et'h' voted to accept a treaty with the governments of British Columbia and Canada. Together with the Uchucklesaht , Toquaht , Ucluelet, and Huu-ay-aht , they form the Maa-nulth group , which negotiated a separate treaty. They all receive considerably more extensive areas (around 23,000 hectares in total) than the previous reserves, but at the same time they do without the original, much larger tribal areas. At the same time, the land is being privatized, so it is neither protected against sale nor expropriation. Therefore, the goal of the BC Treaty Process is increasingly controversial, as it could lead in the long term and with the current impoverishment of the Nuuk-chah-nulth to the extensive loss of tribal areas.
In June 2009 the federal government ratified the treaty.
tourism
Kayak tours are growing rapidly in the area and are the livelihoods of some of the Kyuquot- based businesses. The neighborhood to several provincial parks is very beneficial. Brooks Peninsula in the north and Rugged Point Provincial Park in the south in particular offer additional employment opportunities. There is also the Big Bunsby Marine Provincial Park on the largest island in the Bunsby archipelago, which is intended to relieve the Checleset Bay Ecological Reserve . Furthermore, the Dixie Cove Marine Park (156 ha) is located in the tribal area, more precisely on Hohoae Island in the Kyuquot Sound . Finally, the Tahsish-Kwois Provincial Park and the Artlish Caves Provincial Park are in the traditional area of the double tribe . In all areas there are cultural sites of the Kyuquot and the Cheklesahht, which can only be visited with the permission of the tribe.
A motel, various water taxi companies, a few restaurants and B & Bs , shops and artists (woodcarvers) in Kyuquot also benefit from the parks . There are also companies like the Tlaa-nii-haanlth (Rainbow) Society , which drive from hut to hut between Fair Harbor and Brooks Peninsula .
fishing
During the 1960s , have been km long, for example, at 17 Kauwinch River so greatly cut the forests that some fish populations, like the salmon of the variety Pink Salmon ( pink salmon ) collapsed.
For some fishermen, the reintroduction of the otter initially meant a decline in the catches of all species that are also prey for the otters. But the animals have been migrating again since 2003, so that an upper limit of the population has been exceeded. Beach guards were appointed to reduce the negative impact. It was mainly about the manila and the littleneck clams .
In addition to individual fishermen, the Kyuquot Checleset Shellfish Corporation is the largest employer in this area, and the motel, some bed-and-breakfasts and a restaurant in Kyuquot also depend on their supplies. However, on June 1, 2004, a fishing ban had to be imposed, which was not due to overfishing but to bacterial contamination of the fish. In Clayoquot Sound and Barkley Sound Clamfish farms employ 156 people, more aquaculture , although highly controversial, in planning. More than 330 people work in shellfish fishing, so that over 600 people in this sparsely populated region live directly from fishing. Since this industry is very dependent on the water quality, which in turn is hardly affected by the few people (barely 40,000 people live on the west coast of Vancouver Island), it is above all floods that endanger fishing.
So the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program became of great importance. Deforestation appears to be a major contributor to the increase in coli pollution. In the First Nations, there is also the fact that deep-sea fishing by men is declining, while shellfish have made up an ever increasing proportion of the diet. This has upgraded women's work, but now threatens to suffer from the fishing bans. Furthermore, this work is endangered by the government-sponsored allocation of fishing areas closed off for other fishing areas since 2001. However, the First Nations do not see themselves in a position to raise the necessary funds for the purchase of the beach sections. In the fall of 2002, a mobile laboratory examined the catch - it is now permanently in Port Hardy . Since most private and commercial shellfish collectors belong to the two tribes, private collectors must negotiate with them when it comes to access to beaches that are not closed for coli contamination. For the government this is an "internal matter".
Attempts to restore the salmon stocks can be found, for example, at Jansen Lake, which is near Easy Inlet on Kyuquot Sound ( Jansen Lake Fish Habitat Restoration Project (1999–2002)). Above all, Kyuquot workers were used. The same applies to the Chamiss Creek Watershed Restoration Project (2003/04), which tries to restore a stream that also flows into the sound. This area is considered to be particularly sensitive, as the double trunk in 1995/96 forced the timber company International Forest Products to selectively felling, i.e. not to carry out any clear-cutting. Around two thirds of the trees remained standing.
Self-management
Therese Smith is the current elected chief. She has two counselors and two counselors at her side.
See also
literature
- Susan Kenyon: The Kyuquot Way: A Study of a West Coast (Nootkan) Community , Mercury Series, Canadian Ethnology Service, paper 61, Ottawa: National Museum of Man 1980.
Web links
- Website of the Ka: 'yu:' k't'h '/ Che: k'tles7et'h' First Nations
- John Dewhirst: Kyuquot and Checleseht First Nations , The Canadian Encyclopedia
- former website of Kyuquot / Checleseht , archive.org, April 20, 2012
- Kyuquot Elementary / Secondary School , archive.org, June 28, 2009
Remarks
- ↑ According to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, First Nations Profiles, Ka: 'yu:' k't'h '/ Che: k: tles7et'h' First Nations ( Memento from June 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ According to the information from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development , First Nation Profiles: Reserves / Settlements / Villages ( Memento of the original dated June 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The results of the census can be found here: [1] .
- ↑ The official government report can be found here: Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ Federal government approves treaty with Maa-nulth First Nations on Vancouver Island , in: Times-Colonist, June 17, 2009 ( Memento of June 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ A map can be found here: Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 14, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ See Marine Water Quality on the West Coast of Vancouver Island , archive.org, December 18, 2011.
