Pacheedaht
The Pacheedaht are North American Indians and live in the south of Vancouver Island off the west coast of Canada . They speak Wakash and are members of the Nuu-chah-nulth , but are the only ones of the 16 bands, as these groups are called in Canada, not part of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council . Its four reserves are in the Port Renfrew area and cover almost 172 hectares . Chief of April 2010 261 members counting tribe was Chief Marvin McClurg. In August 2018 there were 284 recognized relatives, Jeff Jones was chief.
Original settlement area and today's reserves
According to oral tradition, the original settlement area extended from Point no Point north to Pacheenah Bay and Bonilla Point and from the mouth of the San Juan River to the Todd Mountains , 26 miles inland. The sea off the coast, including the fishing grounds on the Juan de Fuca Strait , also belonged to the traditional area of the pacheedaht .
Of the 261 pacheedaht, 90 lived in their own reserve, i. H. in the four Pacheedaht reserves, the rest outside. The largest reservation, Gordon River Indian Reserve Number 2 , is located at the mouth of the Gordon River . In other reservations, 27 pacheedaht lived, the remaining 143 lived outside the reservations.
Forestry
In the 1930s, most of the San Juan Valley was cleared. The Malahat Logging Company built a 22 km long railway line from its beach camp at what is now Port Renfrew to the Bear Creek area. This created the Bear Creek Trestle , a roughly 80 m high and 170 m long bridge.
Logging on the San Juan River was so extensive that silting caused the salmon population to collapse. In the meantime, efforts are not only being made to establish marine reserves, as they have been since 1901, but also to protect the remaining forests. For a number of years, attempts have even been made to restore the badly damaged ecosystems, a work that has also received state funding since 2002/03. There are still very old stands of Sitka spruce , which are almost 100 m high.
In January 2003 the tribe signed a contract with the Ditidaht , also belonging to the Nuu-chah-nulth , who live further north, in order to start a joint timber industry.
The role of the national park
With the establishment of the Pacific Rim National Park , the number of tourists has skyrocketed. The neighboring tribes, together with the park administration, have taken on the task of maintaining the West Coast Trail , one of the three important sections of the park. To this end, the Quu'as partnership was founded, a corporate joint venture between Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht and Parks Canada .
See also
literature
- Wayne Suttles (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 7: Northwest Coast. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 1990, ISBN 0-87474-187-4 .
Web links
- West Coast Vancouver Island Aquatic Management Board
- Report of the Pacheedaht Harriet Nahanee about her assimilation experiences Audio (English)
Remarks
- ↑ According to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development: Pacheedaht First Nation ( memento of the original from June 17, 2010 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. .
- ^ Pacheedaht , Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
- ↑ According to the information from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development , First Nation Profiles: Pacheedaht First Nation ( Memento of the original dated December 2, 2015 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. .
