Island newspaper celebrates a quarter-century

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It was 1974 when a nameless First Nations newspaper first hit the presses.

The four-page tabloid, featuring just a few short profiles and stories, advertised its namelessness in the top banner; pleading for someone to suggest a name for this new paper focusing on First Nations issues along the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

From its small office overlooking the grounds of the former Alberni Indian Residential School, Ha-Shilth-Sa (Interesting News) has now entered its 25th year of covering the news, sports and happenings of the 14 Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations.

Published every two weeks by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (N.T.C.), Ha-Shilth-Sa was there throughout the Meares Island protests and the subsequent trial. From battles in and around Clayoquot Sound, to the damages wrought by area residential schools, from negotiations towards a treaty, to fisheries and whaling issues, Ha-Shilth-Sa journalists have reported on events affecting the more than 7,000 Nuu-chah-nulth people.

Covering stories in remote communities in some of the world's most rugged landscapes, requires the paper's reporters to become accustomed to bumpy float plane trips, harrowing helicopter experiences, rugged logging-road drives and two-hour boat rides in eight to twelve foot swells. Despite the challenges, Ha-Shilth-Sa has thrived.

With the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations nearing the end of the agreement-in-principle stage (Stage 4) of treaty negotiations, keeping members informed on the intricacies and developments of their treaty has become the recent focus of the publication.

The paper began in response to the lack of First Nations stories in local mainstream newspapers and quickly became the main source of Nuu-chah-nulth news, and one of the most respected newspapers on Vancouver Island.

More than 3,000 copies of Ha-Shilth-Sa are mailed out every two weeks to people and places around the world. From the British Columbia legislature, to Great Britain's House of Lords, to the Australian office of rock band Midnight Oil, Ha-Shilth-Sa has been responsibly reporting Nuu-chah-nulth stories for the past 25 years from a distinctly Nuu-chah-nulth perspective. And with a solid quarter-century behind them, the sky is the limit for the paper's next 25 years.

A regular contributor to Raven's Eye, David Wiwchar is also the managing editor of Ha-Shilth-Sa