Coast Salish Traditional Territory (Vancouver) – Last December in Paris, France, Prime Minister Trudeau stated these encouraging words:
“Indigenous peoples have known for thousands of years how to care for our planet. The rest of us have a lot to learn. And no time to waste.”
With warming coastal and inland waters and dramatically shifting weather patterns in BC, causing valuable glaciers to melt at an alarming rate, traditional foods security is emerging as a critical issue for First Nations. Wild salmon, moose and other sources of food are in a serious decline. In the summer our smokehouses, traditional learning centres, remain mostly empty. The mountain pine beetle decimated huge swaths of northern and interior forests, leaving millions of hectares of dead trees. Many of our working-age people can’t find work or can’t access available opportunities.