The Nuxalk worldview holds that Tatau, the Creator, took us from the heavens and put us in ancestral Nuxalk territory. Family ancestors came to the earth in various animal cloaks- the eagle, killer whale, grizzly bear, raven, and others. We are the caretakers of our lands and are part of them. We validate these claims through our songs, dances, names and titles, which have been handed down to us since the first ancestors descended to Nuxalk territory. Nuxalk views on the environment are tied to the responsibilities of being a Nuxalk citizen.
 Bella Coola River; photo by Jacinda Mack
As late Nuxalk elder Elsie Jacobs said,
"You can put on your dancing blanket and say that you're proud to be from the house of the grizzly bear, or you can put on your dancing blanket and say that your grandfather was a raven, or you can say that you are proud to be a killer whale... but what is happening to the grizzly bear? To the raven? To the killerwhale? They're getting kicked out of their house... what are you doing about it? And you put on your blanket and say you're proud? I don't think so. It doesn't work that way."
Nuxalk Ancestral
Territory has been under considerable stress since the time
of colonialism. Industrial logging and fishing have contributed to a severely
over-harvested and depleted ecosystem, which has reached a critical state of
existence.
In 1995, under the leadership of Head
Hereditary Chief Nuximlayc -Lawrence Pootlass, the House of Smayusta took a stand at
one of our most pristine, most sacred valleys- Ista. It was a peaceful stand
against industrial logging and a declaration of Nuxalk Sovereignty in our Ancestral Territory. (Read more on Ista in the articles section of the website.)
In 1998, the last runs of ooligans came to
the Bella Coola River. In June of 2007, a conference was hosted by the Nuxalk to
address the significance of the loss of the ooligans. It was a first step to
initiate inter-nation collaboration on dealing with an issue that is important
to many nations on the central and north coast. (See article on ooligans for more information.)
Presently, the Nuxalk administration runs
a Fisheries Program,
has secured a Community Forest License and is participating in central coast
marine use planning within our Ancestral
Territory. However, there
remains much work and collaboration to protect the lands and waters and all the
resources on which we depend as Nuxalkmc. Industrial resource extraction is a
reality for us, as our lands and waters are rich in natural resources.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 06 September 2009 )
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