Family moves into Nuxalk village site Nusq’lst for the first time in 164 years

By Dionne Phillips, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Nestled in the lush coastal temperate rainforest of the Bella Coola Valley sits the ancestral village of Nusq’lst. The last time someone lived at the historic Nuxalk townsite was in 1862, as people’s forced removal from their homelands and the devastating smallpox epidemic emptied many traditional villages. Now, 164 years later, three generations of a family are calling Nusq’lst home again. Kmalsuuncw (Orden Mack) and his mother Nuskmata turned what was originally planned as a hand-built hunting cabin into a permanent family home when Kmalsuuncw became a new father. Building the cabin quickly became a family project, with Kmalsuuncw receiving advice on its construction from cousins, uncles and other supporters. “We’ve received a lot of community support, and honestly, that’s been a…

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