Hupacasath

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Traditional territory of the Hupacasath and today's reservations

The Hupacasath or Hupač̓asatḥ (formerly also Opetchesaht ) are Canadian Indians who live around Port Alberni on the Vancouver Island . They speak Wakash and belong to the Nuu-chah-nulth . They call themselves Hupacasath First Nation ; vis-à-vis the government, the approximately 230 Hupacasath are mainly represented by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council .

history

Today's Hupacasath go to three ethnic groups , the Muh-uulth-aht ("people who live on the mountain with the burned face"), the Kleh-koot-aht and the Cuu-ma-as-aht (Ahahswinis) ("In the center thinned ”) back. The former lived around Great Central Lake and Beaver Creek near Stamp Falls. The Cuu-ma-as-ath lived around Ahahswinis, which is close to today's center of Port Alberni, more precisely between Coleman Creek and Alberni Canal. Their village was on the Somass River. The Kleh-koot-aht lived around the Kleh-koot ( Sproat Lake ) between Yaaqis (Prairie Farm) and the Sproat Falls, with a summer village on the Sproat River. Armed conflicts with various tribes of the coastal Salish caused the tribes to unite as early as the 18th century. This Kanaawis (Kanowish) was raised to the common chief.

After the journals of the James Cook expedition were published in 1784, a race for otter skins began on the Pacific coast. The Spaniards, British and Americans fought fierce arguments, but most of them took place in Nootka Sound . On the side of the Nuu-chah-nulth, Wickaninnish and Maquinna first played the main roles. The sea otter and then the beaver populations collapsed by around 1830 and 1860, respectively. In 1843 the first permanent trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company was built on the site of today's Victoria . In 1862–1863, a severe smallpox epidemic raged on the Pacific west coast , probably killing 20,000 Indians. Probably the Hupacasath were also badly affected.

Vancouver Island became part of British Columbia in 1867 and Canada in 1871. The province of British Columbia took over the " Indian Affairs ", which led the Department of Indian Affairs . First of all, the natives should be Christianized more intensely. In addition, most Nuu-chah-nulth tribes were assigned reservations by Indian Commissioner Peter O'Reilly between 1881 and 1889.

In 1881 there were 59 Opetchesaht (Opetcheset), in 1891 66. Of the 59 Hupacasath in the 1881 census, most belonged to three families with 12, 17 and 20 members. There were also two small families and an old couple aged 66 and 70. The second oldest tribesman at 72 years of age was the "Indian Tribal Chief" known as Cannowish, who belonged to the second largest family with 17 members. The oldest was Quassoon, 74, who was part of the largest family. In 16 cases “fisherman” was given as occupation, in one case “tribal chief”, in most cases no information was given. It is noticeable that the younger ones hardly ever had traditional names, except in the Cannowishs family, where the youngest, one-year-old child, Tamikis, also had a traditional name.

In the census of 1891, the chief appears as the oldest with an age of 86 (!) Years. His family consisted of only seven members. The tribe now comprised 11 families, apparently the way of life had changed significantly. In addition, the job information was differentiated, because now 9 seal hunters, two chiefs - in addition to Cannowish, 40-year-old Bob, who belonged to the same family -, a "General Laborer" and 6 fishermen.

Territory claim

The Hupacasath claim the area around the Ash and Elsie River systems in the northwest, east to the Beaufort Range , then southeast to Mount Arrowsmith and Labor Day Lake and the Cameron River . This includes China Creek, Franklin River, Corrigan Creek, and the northern portion of the Coleman Creek area. The southern boundary follows Alberni Inlet to Handy Creek, then northwest to the heights between Henderson Lake and Nahmint Lake. The western border forms the estuary of Sproat Lake and the area around Great Central Lake. The total area is about 2,320 km². However, this area is not considered to be the exclusive property of the Hupacasath if other First Nations have demonstrable claims. This is especially true for the portion in the Pacific area.

Highway 4, the main west-east route on central Vancouver Island, runs through the Hupacasath area.

Reservations

The Hupacasath have five reserves , of which only the first two are inhabited: Ahahswinis 1 (37 ha), Klehkoot 2 (116 ha), Cous 3 (53 ha), Chuchakacook 4 (2 ha) and Nettle Island 5 (10 ha) . The main reserve is Ahahswinis, which is located in the administrative area of ​​the city of Port Alberni . Klehkoot is 2.2 km west of the city. While Nettle Island is part of the Pacific Rim National Park , the other two reserves are 20 and 30 km south of Port Alberni.

In 2001 there were 127 Hupacasath in the reservation, 113 of them in Ahahswinis and 14 in Klehkoot. In total, around 230 people consider themselves to be members of this First Nation. Since their number is growing relatively quickly, it is foreseeable that in a few years the reserves will be too small.

Political situation

Like other First Nations , the Hupacasath are claiming back their original territory. They are also trying to develop an independent system of government and administration, but so far have not gone as far as the Tla-o-qui-aht , for example , who have begun a return to the traditional system of rule. The Hupacasath are currently developing a manual for this purpose.

The tribe has divided its area into 29 regions, which are classified into three categories: culturally important areas, natural resources, current uses such as buildings, roads, etc. Each of the 29 areas are now assigned objectives, some of which are any economic access except very low-key Tourism, should be withdrawn. Others should continue to serve a cautious wood industry, plus income from tourism.

This Land Use Plan from 2003 was expanded in a second stage of development. Phase 1 envisaged the determination of the values ​​important for the tribe, the allocation to the regions, a gradation of the need for protection and finally priorities when dealing with these values. The formulation was deliberately chosen to be neutral in order to be able to capture not only cultural resources but also natural resources, but also spiritual values ​​and relationships. The Hupacasath not only claim the protection of their Culturally Modified Trees , as has been provided for several years in the Protection Act for historical sites, but also require consultation. In addition, the trees should not be endangered by the fact that the forest that surrounds them and offers protection from storms is cut down. Phase 2 provides a protection zone of at least 20 to 30 m.

At the end of 2005, the China Creek Hydroelectric Project was also completed, a hydropower plant that supplies electricity for 6,000 households (two turbines with a total of 6.4 megawatts). To this end, Upnit was founded, a company in which the Hupacasath hold 72.5%. The Ucluelet First Nation holds 10%, the Vancouver-based comes Synex Energy by 12.5%, after Port Alberni with 5%.

In 2006, the restoration of the Ash River began in order to reintroduce salmon . Elsie Lake is also to be used in this way as a natural resource after the losses from logging and the construction of a dam by BC Hydro . It was supported by the Bridge Coastal Restoration Program (BCRP). The leading manager is Al Ross (Kaa-nowsh), Hereditary Chief (( Ha'wiih )) of the Hupacasath, who was already a fish watcher for the neighboring Tseshaht .

In the same year, the Supreme Court asked the Canadian government to start consultations "from government to government" with the Hupacasath. In 2004 the large logging societies tried to cut down almost 700 km² of forest without a legal basis. This can no longer be done without consulting the First Nations. In December 2005, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Lynn Smith refused to privatize 70,300 hectares of forest (Tree Farm License 44) against the Minister of Forestry and the Brascan timber company, which he supported . Brascan had since the beginning of the year for more than 2 billion dollars to buy forest areas, mostly from Weyerhaeuser . Weyerhaeuser had already laid off numerous employees, the new owner mostly worked with sub-companies and without union participation - under the name of Island Timberlands . Brookfield is behind it, but the company didn't mention the court defeat on its website. Above all, the court complained that the affected tribes had not been consulted.

At the end of March 2007, the Canadian government and that of Hupacasath signed an agreement that recognized the claims of the First Nation in principle. In addition, the Canadian government was ready to support the development path that had begun with funds. In September 2007 the government also announced its support for the Tsu-ma-as Transformation Center , in which the culture and history of the First Nations around Port Alberni will be documented, taught and published.

Judith Sayers, elected chief, has served on the Board of Tourism British Columbia since 2007 and is President of Unit Power Corporation. She also plays a leading role in setting up the Tsu-ma-uss Transformation Society tourism project .

In 2008, the tribe agreed with the provincial government to reach a contract by 2010. The tribe also received $ 550,000 from the BC Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation and the BC Integrated Land Management Bureau to advance their green electricity projects and natural environment restoration.

On the occasion of the preparation for the Winter Games in Vancouver 2010 , Juliann Hamilton took over the Olympic flame from the Tseshaht. Members of the two tribes rowed out of the port of Port Alberni on a 13 m long war canoe.

Preservation of the language

In 2006 only five Hupacasath (Hupač̓asatḥ) spoke the Barclay dialect of the Nuučaan̓uɫ language, some others understood the language. Jessie Hamilton (born 1923) has been documenting the Hupacasath language for years. This includes books, video recordings, and tapes. She also developed a curriculum for learning the language. As the daughter of Hereditary Chief Dan Watts, she was one of the first female chiefs. She is considered to be the greatest connoisseur of history, the place names and the rituals of her tribe. A children's book in their language has been available for a few months (see literature).

See also

literature

  • Hupacasath First Nation (Ed.): What the Hupacasath Did During the Four Seasons: How They Worked on Getting Food and Tools Made From Bones . Trafford Publishing February 2007, 32 pages, in Nuu-chah-nulth language and English; illustrated children's book ISBN 1-4251-0455-X

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ There is now the 327 hectare Stamp River Provincial Park .
  2. ↑ This map shows the spread of smallpox from 1800 to 1863 (Seattle Times, originally from the Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 7): The Spread of Small Pox in the Pacific Northwest ( Memento of August 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) .
  3. ↑ This according to viHistory
  4. ↑ This according to viHistory
  5. ↑ A map on the tribal homepage shows the areas and their uses: HUPACASATH USE AREAS. 5.5 Details of Each Hupacasath Use Area ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . There is also an interactive map there. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hupacasath.ca
  6. ↑ Hupacasath land use plan, phase 2, prepared by Tom Whitfield for the Hupacasath Band, o. O., o. J. (probably 2005), 44 pp.
  7. ↑ China Creek Hydroelectric Project, BC Hydro ( Memento from November 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ BC Hydro, News release ( Memento from August 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ See Brookfield Global. Asset Management Company .
  10. ↑ The message on the government website : Archived copy ( memento of the original from November 14, 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. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www2.news.gov.bc.ca
  11. ↑ The decision can be found here: [1]  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www2.news.gov.bc.ca  
  12. ^ The Tourism Brief, May 2007
  13. ↑ Dr. Judith F. Sayers. Biography and Memberships  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.fin.gov.bc.ca  
  14. ↑ Hupacasath Reconciliation Protocol (PDF; 282 kB)
  15. ↑ Vancouver 2010