Seal is served: How coastal First Nations are reclaiming their roots by bringing back the hunt

By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Before there was an Island highway connecting the west coast to the rest of Canada and long before there was a food store bringing in fresh supplies, coastal First Nations hunted and ate seal for subsistence. To bring back this forgotten tradition, young Indigenous men from the Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Warriors Family harvested four harbour seals in October – two from Sarita Bay in Huu-ay-aht First Nations (HFN) modern treaty territory and two from unceded Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations (TFN) territory. For most of the Warriors, the whole experience of harbour seal hunting, or kuukuḥw̓isa ʔuʔuʔiiḥ as they say in Nuu-chah-nulth language, was a first. “There were a lot of emotions and tears of joy and pride in bringing this back and revitalizing this knowledge…

Add Your Voice

Is there more to this story? We'd like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Contribute your voice on our contribute page.